It’s official, golf carts will be allowed to drive on some neighborhood streets in unincorporated Johnson County.
The Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved an amended ordinance Monday that allows golf carts on neighborhood roads while allowing recreational off-highway vehicles for general transportation on county highways. The vote was 2-1 with Commissioner Brian Baird voting no because he is against asking county residents to pay a registration fee for an agricultural rough terrain vehicle, or RTV.
Golf carts can now be operated on roads within residential neighborhoods in unincorporated Johnson County with a posted speed limit of no greater than 25 mph and with standard signs conspicuously located within the neighborhood.
Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles are allowed on any county highway within unincorporated Johnson County where they are equipped to follow local ordinances, state traffic laws, state regulations and the requirements of the ordinance.
The ordinance was introduced after some county residents expressed a desire to drive golf carts and recreational off-highway vehicles on county roads, according to the ordinance. The commissioners wanted to accommodate the desires or residents while balancing public safety concerns, they said.
No golf carts can be operated on any county road outside of the designated neighborhood roads and carts cannot be operated on sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, multi-use paths, jogging paths, greenway trails or non-designated public ways or roads in unincorporated Johnson County, according to the ordinance.
All carts must be registered by their owner through the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office with a one-time fee of $100 plus applicable services fees for each registered cart, according to the ordinance. All registration fees for carts will be deposited in the sheriff’s Continuing Education Fund.
Baird voted against the ordinance because of the registration fee for off-highway vehicles used for agriculture. As an owner of an RTV that he uses for agricultural use, he said it’s no different than farmers who use tractors, trailers or trucks and they don’t have to pay a registration fee.
“This ordinance requires me to pay a registration fee for putting my RTV on the road that all other vehicles in the agricultural world are not paying fees for,” Baird said. “We want to talk about unfair, there’s unfairness … That’s just my opinion but I’m telling you right now, I’m not paying the fee using my vehicle to go from farmland to farmland.”
There was discussion on how to differentiate between an off-highway vehicle used for farming versus a vehicle used for recreation. Commissioner Ron West said it would be difficult to separate recreational use from agricultural use.
West said a lot of similar ordinances restrict off-road vehicles and UTVs to a radius around the primary owner’s home.
Baird said utility terrain vehicles, or UTVs, and RTVs have functioning mechanisms like seat belts, turn signals and brake lights and there is no difference between agricultural RTVs are no different than tractors. Baird said there is a difference between agricultural use and recreational use of these vehicles.
Commissioner Kevin Walls encouraged the board to approve the ordinance and then work out any issues that arise in the future.
“We’ll run this thing for a year, we’ll see what needs to be adjusted, we’ll make adjustments and we’ll move forward. It’s that simple,” Walls said. “If the sheriff finds a lot of abuse, we’ll take something away that people wanted, have asked for, and if it becomes too cumbersome, we’ll eliminate it but we are giving the option for people to make this choice and smart decisions and be able to utilize this. If they don’t, we’ll take it away.”
At Monday’s meeting, one person spoke during public comment about concerns they had with the ordinance. Dr. Dick Huber said there are golf carts in his community and around 80% of the time there are no adults and at least 50% of the time the driver looks under 16 years old. He recommended that the commissioners mandate that a teenager needs an older person with them.
Huber also spoke about concerns with children riding on the back of a golf cart, since he said a crash could possibly disable them. He questioned how reporting golf carts in the community will work since oftentimes he said the golf cart is already gone and public safety officials can have trouble finding the golf cart when he’s reported them in the past.
“When I look at situations, I look at is this situation healthy and is it safe? And I know I can’t do anything about it, but I sleep better at night knowing if I see something that’s not safe that I say something about it. And I also think that you have a further responsibility that I say something, but you can act and do something about it,” Huber said.
West said the ordinance legitimizes the use of golf carts in the area while also ensuring there is a financial responsibility with fines and safety measures in place. West believes a valid license is enough and requiring seat belts helps with the safety for those riding on the rear of the cart, alongside hopefully “some semblance of adult supervision.” Putting the permitting in the hands of the sheriff’s office and allowing them to issue fines for misuse, gives the sheriff’s office a tool to enforce the ordinance.
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