TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Lynn Gelin, City Attorney
DATE: July 14, 2026
Title
DISCUSSION REGARDING DRAFT LANGUAGE FOR E-BIKE ORDINANCE
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Provide Direction to Staff Regarding Draft Language for E-Bike Ordinance.
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Background:
At its June 9, 2026 meeting, the City Commission discussed the possibility of adopting an ordinance addressing the operation of electric bicycles, also known as e-bikes. Recently, due to the high incidence of e-bike accidents, many cities have considered enacting ordinances to regulate these devices. Most recently, the Palm Beach County Commission considered a draft ordinance that the City of Lake Worth Beach committed to adopting as well. In addition, the Village of Wellington, as part of a visioning session, discussed drafting its own ordinance rather than wait for the County to approve its own.
The Palm Beach County ordinance, known as the Micromobility Device Ordinance (the “County Ordinance”), provides operation and safety standards, requires the use of helmets, and establishes youth safety requirements to lawfully operate micromobility devices. The County Ordinance specifically provides that any municipality may elect to “opt out of the provisions” of the ordinance by expressly stating its intent not to be governed by same. In other words, the County Ordinance, when adopted, would be applicable to all municipalities within Palm Beach County unless the governing body of the municipality stated otherwise by resolution or ordinance. To date, the County has not adopted its Micromobility Device Ordinance.
The state regulates electric bicycles. Similar to the draft County Ordinance, Florida Statute 316.20655 provides, inter alia, that local governments may (1) adopt an ordinance providing one or more minimum age requirements to operate an electric bicycle and may adopt an ordinance requiring an operator of an electric bicycle to possess a government-issued photographic iden...
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