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8 ORDINANCE NO. _______
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE,
CALIFORNIA, ENACTING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE
DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATION OF PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES ON
PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY IN THE CITY OF GLENDALE
WHEREAS, the City of Glendale has a substantial governmental interest in protecting the public health, safety, and welfare of persons using the City's streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, pedestrian paths of travel, parkways, and other portions of the public right-of-way; and
WHEREAS, the public right-of-way is a limited public resource that must safely accommodate pedestrians, persons using wheelchairs and other mobility devices, persons with visual, hearing, cognitive, and other disabilities, older adults, children, bicyclists, transit riders, motorists, emergency responders, public works and utility operations, commercial loading, refuse collection, deliveries, outdoor dining, street furniture, trees, landscaping, and other public and private uses authorized by law; and WHEREAS, personal delivery devices, commonly described as food delivery robots or sidewalk delivery robots, are motorized devices used or intended to be used to transport food, packages, merchandise, or other items for commercial delivery, and may be operated remotely, semi-autonomously, autonomously, or by a combination of remote-control and automated functions; and
WHEREAS, personal delivery devices are an emerging technology whose operation in the public right-of-way may provide convenience to consumers and businesses, but also raises unresolved local issues regarding pedestrian safety, accessibility, traffic control compliance, right-of-way obstruction, device size and speed, stopping and dwelling, interaction with driveways and alleys, crosswalk operations, emergency response, insurance, indemnity, data reporting, enforcement, and operator responsibility; and
WHEREAS, the City has observed, received reports of, or has reason to anticipate the deployment of personal delivery devices on sidewalks and other portions of the public right-of-way within Glendale without a comprehensive local regulatory program governing permits/licenses, operating conditions, fleet size, approved routes or zones, hours of operation, device specifications, incident reporting, data reporting, customer service, indemnification, insurance, removal, impoundment, or penalties; and WHEREAS, without local operating standards and an enforceable regulatory program, the deployment of personal delivery devices may create conflicts with pedestrians and other lawful users of the public right-of-way, particularly in commercial districts, transit-adjacent areas, high-pedestrian corridors, narrow sidewalks, construction zones, special event areas, and locations with existing sidewalk congestion; and
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8 WHEREAS, maintaining a clear and accessible pedestrian path of travel is essential to ensuring that sidewalks and crossings remain usable by persons with disabilities, including persons using wheelchairs, walkers, canes, service animals, or other mobility aids, and by persons with visual or hearing impairments who may have difficulty detecting, anticipating, or avoiding a motorized device operating on a sidewalk or at a crosswalk; and
WHEREAS, personal delivery devices may stop, dwell, queue, stage, park, or become disabled in locations that obstruct sidewalks, curb ramps, building entrances, transit stops, crosswalks, driveways, fire access areas, loading zones, outdoor dining areas, or other locations where obstruction may create safety, accessibility, or operational impacts; and
WHEREAS, the City requires time to evaluate whether, and under what conditions, personal delivery devices may safely and appropriately operate in Glendale's public right-of-way, including whether a pilot program, permit program, geographic limitations, fleet caps, speed limits, operating-hour restrictions, insurance requirements, indemnification requirements, data reporting requirements, device identification requirements, local-contact requirements, enforcement mechanisms, removal procedures, or complete prohibition should be adopted; and WHEREAS, a temporary moratorium will preserve the status quo and prohibit deployment and operation of personal delivery devices while the City studies existing and potential impacts, consults with affected departments and stakeholders, evaluates practices adopted by other jurisdictions, assesses staffing and enforcement needs, and prepares appropriate local regulations for City Council consideration; and WHEREAS, allowing unregulated deployment of personal delivery devices while the City studies these issues could result in operational patterns, business reliance, public expectations, or right-of-way impacts that may make later regulation more difficult and could undermine the City's ability to protect pedestrian safety, accessibility, and the orderly management of the public right-of-way; and
WHEREAS, the prohibition imposed by this Ordinance is limited in scope and duration, applies only to the deployment or operation of personal delivery devices in the public right-of-way, does not prohibit traditional human delivery services, and does not regulate the content of speech or favor or disfavor any particular business based on viewpoint, message, or commodity delivered; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds this Ordinance is a reasonable and necessary interim measure to protect the public health, safety, and welfare while the City develops a comprehensive regulatory approach tailored to Glendale's local conditions; and WHEREAS, the Council further finds that the moratorium is necessary to protect pedestrian safety, accessibility for persons with disabilities, the orderly use and management of the public right-of-way, and the City's ability to adopt and enforce 1 6
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8 regulations before personal delivery devices become more widely deployed within the City; and
WHEREAS, the Council desires to direct City staff to study and return with recommendations regarding appropriate long-term regulation of personal delivery devices; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that the adoption of this Ordinance is consistent with the City's police powers and its authority to regulate the use of City streets, sidewalks, and other public places in order to protect public health, safety, welfare, accessibility, and the orderly use of the public right-of-way; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the absence of this temporary moratorium creates a present risk that personal delivery devices may operate on sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalks, parkways, transit stops, and other portions of the public right-of-way in a manner that obstructs pedestrian travel, interferes with disability access, creates conflicts with pedestrians and vehicles, or impairs the orderly and safe use of the public right-of-way; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that immediate effectiveness is necessary because the City currently lacks a comprehensive local permit program or operating standards specifically designed to address personal delivery devices in the right-of-way, including standards for device identification, local operator contacts, emergency removal, response to disabled or abandoned devices, required reporting of collisions or near misses, and procedures to ensure that sidewalks, curb ramps, and accessible paths of travel remain unobstructed; and
WHEREAS, for the reasons stated in this Ordinance, the Council finds and declares that this Ordinance is necessary as an urgency measure for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, and that the facts constituting the urgency are the existing absence of comprehensive local regulation for personal delivery devices, the potential for immediate or expanded deployment in the public right- of-way, the risks to pedestrian safety and disability access, and the need to preserve the status quo while the City studies and adopts appropriate regulations; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA:
SECTION 1. Incorporation. The above recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein, as is the information contained in the Reports to Council dated March 31, 2026 and July 14, 2026.
SECTION 2. Definitions. As used herein, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them, unless otherwise noted:
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8 “Personal delivery device” (“PDD”) means any motorized device, excluding any conveyance regulated under the California Vehicle Code, that is manufactured for transporting goods, products, or other items on a public right-of-way and equipped with automated and/or manual operation technology, including software and hardware, and which may be a device that operates with the remote support and supervision of a human, or a device that operates without the remote support and supervision of a human.
“Public right-of-way” means any public highway, street, alley, sidewalk, parkway, paseo, and all extensions or additions thereto which is either owned, operated, or controlled by the city, or is subject to an easement or dedication to the city.
SECTION 3. Prohibition. No person shall deploy or operate, or cause to be deployed or operated, a personal delivery device on any public right-of-way in the city.
SECTION 4. Penalties and Remedies. It shall be a misdemeanor to do any act prohibited by this Ordinance, and such violations shall be punishable in accordance with Glendale Municipal Code Section 1.20.010. Violations of this Ordinance may also be subject to administrative code enforcement remedies pursuant to the administrative code enforcement remedies and procedures under Chapter 1.24 of the Glendale Municipal Code, or may be deemed a public nuisance and may be enforced by an action for injunction or civil penalties as provided in the Glendale Municipal Code, or may be addressed by any other remedy authorized by law.
SECTION 5. Study. The Council hereby directs City staff to further study and prepare draft regulations for personal delivery devices, including but not limited to a permitting structure, operating standards, fleet limitations, operating distances, geographic restrictions, hours of operation, levels of automation, insurance and indemnity, ADA and accessibility requirements, device identification, data reporting, incident reporting, penalties, impoundment, administrative remedies, and coordination among City departments including Public Works, Police, Fire, Community Development, Economic Development, and the City Attorney's Office, as directed by Council; and SECTION 6. Compliance with California Environmental Quality Act. The City Council finds and determines that this Ordinance is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301, in that it consists of the operation of existing public facilities, namely, existing highways and streets, sidewalks, and similar facilities, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Moreover, the City Council finds and determines with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment; thus, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061, subdivision (b)(3).
SECTION 7. Urgency. By the Council's making the findings and determinations of fact which the Council declares to constitute an urgency for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety, or welfare, the Council hereby declares that this Ordinance is an urgency measure pursuant to City of Glendale Charter Article VI, Section 7, which 1 6
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8 becomes effective immediately upon adoption by an affirmative vote of at least four-fifths (4/5ths) of the members of the City Council.
SECTION 8. Severability. This Ordinance is adopted under the authority of the Charter of the City of Glendale. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase is declared invalid or otherwise void by a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not affect any remaining provisions hereof. In this regard, the Council finds and declares that it would have adopted this measure notwithstanding any partial invalidity hereof.
SECTION 9. Effectiveness. This Ordinance shall go into effect immediately upon its adoption and shall be of no further force and effect ___________ thereafter, unless extended by further action of the Council.
Passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Glendale on the _____ day of _______________, 2026.
____________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
City Clerk
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8 STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS.
CITY OF GLENDALE )
I, Suzie Abajian Ph.D., City Clerk of the City of Glendale, certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. ___________ was passed by a 4/5ths vote of the Council of the City of Glendale, California, at a regular meeting held on the _____ day of _____________, 2026, and that the same was passed and adopted by the following vote.
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
Abstain:
______________________________
City Clerk