The city council adopts the ordinance codified in this title
based upon the following findings:
A.
Article
11, Section 7 of the California Constitution authorizes the city to
make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary, and
other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with the general
laws.
B.
Cities
across the country, especially those in California, have experienced
rapid and unauthorized introduction and implementation of shared on-demand
personal mobility devices whereby large quantities of such devices
are provided and offered to residents and visitors for rent via self-service
applications, portals, and/or other methods.
C.
Many
of the devices provided through these share programs are "dockless,"
meaning they are available without any designated platform, parking
area, or other safe and unobtrusive location for leaving parked or
unattended devices. In certain cities, these programs have resulted
in a proliferation of unattended or abandoned devices on streets,
sidewalks, parks, and trails which block pedestrian access and public
accessible paths of travel and, in general, unlawfully encroach on
publicly-owned property. Such encroachment presents multiple liability
concerns, including, but not limited to, trip hazards with resulting
injuries and lawsuits in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities
Act ("ADA").
D.
These
devices are capable of traveling up to 16 miles per hour whereby many
riders, especially minors, are ambivalent to potential safety hazards
and state laws restricting operation of such devices on sidewalks,
high-speed roadways, or other areas. This has resulted in well-documented
complaints of injury and harm to riders, pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles,
and property.
E.
The
unmanaged proliferation of these devices detracts from community aesthetics
and creates a general public nuisance as such devices are often abandoned
by users in streets, sidewalks, and other public places throughout
other cities. In addition, such devices constitute electronic and
other hazardous waste, and abandonment of such devices requires them
to be impounded and properly disposed of at a significant cost to
the city.
F.
The
city council has therefore determined that the operation of unregulated
and unpermitted on-demand personal mobility devices in the city will
cause immediate and highly significant impacts to the public health,
safety and welfare, including unauthorized use of streets and sidewalks,
unpermitted obstructions and encroachments on public and private property,
increased traffic congestion and accidents, and the increased potential
for gravely serious injury to persons and property.
G.
The
city council therefore desires to prohibit the operation of shared
on-demand personal mobility devices and shared on-demand personal
mobility device operators within the city as such terms are defined
herein.
H.
The
city council further finds that the ordinance codified herein is necessary
to preserve the public peace, health and safety, as well as to prevent
public nuisance.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
The purpose and intent of this chapter is to prohibit shared
on-demand personal mobility devices from being placed in the public
right-of-way, or offered for use by shared on-demand personal mobility
device operators anywhere in the city to ensure that the use of the
public right-of-way at all times promotes the public health, safety,
and welfare and allows for safe and unhindered pedestrian and vehicular
circulation.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
means the area on, below, or above a public roadway, highway,
street, or alley that is owned by the city, publicly held by the city
or dedicated to the city for public use and over which the city has
jurisdiction and control and may lawfully grant access pursuant to
applicable law.
means any wheeled mobility device by which a person can be
propelled, moved, or drawn, that is displayed, offered, or placed
in any public area, public right-of-way, or city-owned property, that
is powered in any form; is accessed via on-demand portal, whether
through a smart-phone application, access code, identification device,
or similar method; or is provided by a shared on-demand personal mobility
device operator by which such devices are available to members at
any staffed or un-staffed, self-service locations. Examples of such
devices include, but are not limited to, e-scooters, motorized scooters
and hover boards. This definition does not include automobiles, motorcycles,
electric personal assistive mobility devices, electronically assisted
bicycles, permitted bicycle share programs, or mopeds as defined by
the California Vehicle Code.
means any individual or entity, public, private, or nonprofit,
that owns, manages, operates, or maintains any shared on-demand personal
mobility device for use on sidewalks, streets, public right-of-way,
public area, or city-owned property.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
It shall be unlawful to operate, provide, place, or offer for
use a shared on-demand personal mobility device, or to operate or
conduct business as a shared on-demand personal mobility device operator,
within the city.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
Shared on-demand personal mobility devices displayed, offered,
or made available for rent, or abandoned in the public right-of way,
on sidewalks, or on city-owned property shall be subject to immediate
removal and impoundment by the city in accordance with this section.
A.
City
employees are authorized to remove and impound such shared on-demand
personal mobility devices. Removed and impounded devices shall be
taken to the corporation yard. After removal and impoundment, the
employee shall attempt to notify the owner of the device or other
responsible party of the removal and impoundment, if such can be ascertained,
and will also provide the location of the device, the procedure for
retrieving the device, and the procedure for challenging the removal
and impoundment of the device.
B.
Any person desiring to retrieve a shared on-demand personal mobility device by the city may do so upon the payment of an administrative fine of $50.00 for each device. Any person retrieving a device will also be charged a five dollars per day storage fee for each device. In lieu of paying such administrative fine and storage fees, such person may retrieve a device upon signing an administrative citation issued to him or her for violation of this title. Administrative citations may be appealed in accordance with Chapter 2.50 of the Roseville Municipal Code.
C.
Any
shared on-demand personal mobility device removed and impounded by
the city will be considered abandoned if it is not retrieved within
15 calendar days after the date of such removal, and may be disposed
of by the city without liability to any person.
D.
Shared
on-demand personal mobility devices which are in violation of this
title but are neither in the public right-of way, on a sidewalk, or
city-owned property, shall not be removed and impounded by city employees
without the prior written consent of the property owner or the issuance
of a warrant by a court of competent jurisdiction, but may be abated
by appropriate criminal or civil actions, or both.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
It is unlawful and a public nuisance to violate any of the provisions
of this chapter. Violation of this chapter may be charged as either
an infraction or a misdemeanor in the discretion of the city attorney.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
The violation of any provision of this chapter shall be and
is hereby declared to be contrary to the public interest and shall,
at the discretion of the city, create a cause of action for injunctive
relief.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
In addition to the civil remedies and criminal penalties set
forth above, any person or entity who violates any provision of this
chapter may be subject to administrative remedies, as set forth by
city ordinance.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
Unless otherwise expressly provided, the remedies, procedures,
and penalties provided by this chapter are cumulative to each other
and to any others available under state law or other city ordinances.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
Any person that violates any provision of this chapter shall
be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any
portion of which any such person commits, continues, permits, or causes
a violation thereof, and shall be punished accordingly.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
The provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
If any provision, clause, word, sentence, or paragraph of this chapter
or the application thereof to any person, establishment, or circumstances
shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other
provisions or application of this chapter.
(Ord. 6123 § 1, 2019)
