ORDINANCE NO. 1787
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 10.62 OF THE SAN CLEMENTE MUNICIPAL CODE TO INCLUDE PASSENGER TRANSPORT AGE RESTRICTIONS AND UPDATING DEFINITIONS FOR ELECTRIC BICYCLES AND OTHER FORMS OF ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION AND FINDING THE ORDINANCE NOT SUBJECT TO THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT WHEREAS, the City of San Clemente, California (“City”) is a municipal corporation, duly organized under the constitution and laws of the State of California; and WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1778 on September 3, 2024, establishing regulations for the operation and use of electric bicycles and other electric transportation devices; and WHEREAS, Section 10.62.020(A)(4) of Ordinance No. 1778, which governs passenger restrictions for electric bicycles and other forms of electric transportation does not contain age or licensing requirements for operators transporting passengers; and WHEREAS, the omission of operator age requirements for transporting passengers was identified at the August 20, 2024 City Council meeting when Ordinance 1778 was introduced, and the City Council directed that the Public Safety Committee review said omission for inclusion as a future amendment to the introduced ordinance; and WHEREAS, the Public Safety Committee, during its September 24, 2024 meeting, recommended that the City Council amend Section 10.62.020(A)(4) to include passenger transport restrictions based on operator age and licensing to improve public safety and enforcement clarity; and WHEREAS, modifying Section 10.62.020(A)(4), including the update to a relevant definition, is in the best interests of the City and the public by enhancing safety measures for electric bicycle and other electric transport device usage within City limits; and WHEREAS, all legal prerequisites to the adoption of this Ordinance have occurred.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente does ordain as follows:
Section 1. Incorporation of Recitals. The recitals above are true and correct and are hereby incorporated as findings as if fully set forth herein.
Section 2. CEQA. The City Council finds that this Ordinance is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Ordinance does not qualify as a project because it has no potential to result in either a reasonably foreseeable direct or indirect physical change in the environment. (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15378(a).) This Ordinance merely modifies existing restrictions and prohibitions regarding the operation of electric bicycles and other forms of personal electric transportation devices on public property.
The Ordinance also falls within the “common sense” exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), which exempts activity from CEQA where “it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” This Ordinance simply modifies an existing regulation regarding electric bicycle and electric transport device passenger restrictions; it will not result in any development or activity that could impact the environment.
Section 3. Code Amendment.
The following definition is hereby added to Section 10.62.010 of the San Clemente Municipal Code, and the subsequent numbering of existing definitions is adjusted to accommodate its inclusion in alphabetical order:
“N. “Seat” shall mean a device manufactured, designed, and factory-installed/appropriately-installed on a vehicle for the purpose of providing points of contact that support an operator or rider in a sitting position on the vehicle including foot support. When transporting passengers, this term shall mean a device, or devices, manufactured, designed, and factory-installed/appropriately-installed on a vehicle, for the purpose of providing points of contact that support each rider in a sitting position, including foot pegs, separate from the operator’s seat such that each person operating or riding on the vehicle are seated on a device to allow for their individual occupancy with individual foot support.
Section 4. Code Amendment.
Section 10.62.020(A)(4) of the San Clemente Municipal Code is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:
4. Passenger Restrictions. No person riding or operating an electric bicycle, motor-driven cycle, or any other electric or motorized conveyance shall transport another person upon an electric bicycle, motor-driven cycle, or any other electric or motorized conveyance unless:
a. Such passenger is seated upon a seat attached to the vehicle in a safe manner; and b. The operator is at least 16 years of age and possesses a valid driver’s license, or is at least 18 years of age.
Section 5. Publication. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance by the City Council and cause it, or a summary of it, to be published once within 15 days of adoption in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published within the City of San Clemente, and shall post a certified copy of this ordinance, including the vote for and against the same, in the Office of the City Clerk in accordance with California Government Code section 36933.
Section 6. Records. The documents and materials associated with this ordinance that constitute the record of proceedings on which the City Council’s findings and determinations are based are located at City Hall, 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, CA 92673.
Section 7. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity has no effect on the other provisions or applications of the ordinance that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this extent, the provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any portion thereof.
Section 8. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days after its adoption.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this ____ day of _______________, 2025.
ATTEST:
_______________________________ ___________________________ City Clerk of the City of Mayor of the City of San
San Clemente, California Clemente, California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, hereby certify that Ordinance No. 1787 having been regularly introduced at the meeting of _______________, 2024, was again introduced, the reading in full thereof unanimously waived, and duly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the _____ day of ____, 2025, and said ordinance was adopted by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of ____________, 2025. __________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________________
Elizabeth A. Mitchell, CITY ATTORNEY