E-bike riders in Lake Forest could now face e-bike impoundment and towing fees if they violate new regulations rolled out by city officials to crack down on unsafe riding – a trend that’s been happening throughout Orange County.
Several cities across Orange County have cracked down on e-bikes as use has increased over the past few years, resulting in deaths and injuries.
In April, Ed Ashman, a 81-year-old Vietnam War veteran, died after being hit by an e-motorcycle in Lake Forest.
Lake Forest Senior Management Analyst Robert Bauman said the regulations would provide a more severe penalty for reckless and unsafe e-bike use while aligning the city with the regulations of other Southern California agencies.
“The intended effect of this ordinance will be to create an additional enforcement mechanism to provide [Orange County Sheriff’s Department] with the ability to impound e-bikes and similar conveyances that are involved in significant disruption of public spaces,” Bauman said at the meeting on Election Night.
There are three new regulations that can result in e-bike impoundment.
Riders under the age of 16-years-old on a class 3 e-bike will have their bikes immediately confiscated, as will anyone using an e-bike that’s unlicensed to go over 20 mph, according to the presentation.
The third circumstance for impoundment involves a rider under 16 years old riding an e-bike or similar device in restricted areas without a parent or guardian available to take possession of the bike.
Violators of these three regulations can result in towing fees and an administrative fee.
According to the presentation, the fee per tow is $312, daily storage fees are $51, and the fee for release of the bike outside of the company’s hours is $156.
The city hired Sea Country Towing to handle the towing operations, which has a location in the city to pick up confiscated e-bikes.
But Bauman said e-bikes must be claimed within 30 days or else it will be considered abandoned, similar to a car.
“Pursuant to state law, if property is unclaimed after 30 days, it’s considered abandoned, and the tow company essentially can then take ownership,” Bauman said.
Bauman said violators will also be required to pay a $100 administrative fee issued by Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and e-bike impoundments will be at the discretion of OC Sheriff Deputies the department. He also said the city has no financial interest in the matter as customers will pay fees directly to Sea Country Towing.
However, Bauman said not every violation of the municipal code will automatically result in impoundment, saying the riders needed to meet “specific criteria” to have their bikes confiscated.
Councilmember Doug Cirbo said the city is taking a deliberate approach to the regulation of e-bikes.
“We want to try to come up with creative solutions that are in the best interest of our residents and that’s not something that other people do—we do that very well here,” Cirbo said at the Nov. 3 meeting.
Mayor Robert Pequeño added that these ordinances take time to ensure legality.
“There’s a lot that we don’t allow, but if there’s not something in place, we have to have legal go through their paces and best practices and go and look all across the state to see what other agencies are doing because one thing that I would hate to see is Lake Forest in case law because we did something knee-jerk,” Pequeño said.
The city has received a number of e-bike related complaints in recent months, according to Bauman. He said the complaints were mainly about unsafe operation on sidewalks and roadways, damage to city property, and disruptions of events at Lake Forest Sports Park.
According to Bauman’s presentation, the city already prohibits e-bikes in playground and sports fields and court areas.
Other existing regulations include a 5 mph speed limit on sidewalks, an overall 10 mph speed limit unless otherwise posted, yielding right-of-way to pedestrians, following the direction of vehicle traffic and no unsafe operations.
Bauman also said that the city has already implemented barricades, designated e-bike storage and enhanced security and staff at the sports park.
During public comment, Resident Reed Buck encouraged rider safety education for children.
“We tend to try to criminalize every new mode of transportation that children have, and I want us to encourage ourselves to think of them as children who are capable of making good decisions if educated,” Reed said.
He also mentioned Irvine Public School’s requirement where students have to attend safety presentations to be able to ride their bike to school.
Resident Sean Fletcher also recommended further regulations and said he hopes this is the first step towards meaningful enforcement, saying he had been hit by e-bikes several times before.
Bauman clarified this does not mean e-bikes are banned.
“While these proposed regulations would further restrict e-bike usage and add some additional potential penalties, it’s not an outright ban on e-bikes. E-bikes are still allowable in public spaces if they are being operated safely and responsibly in compliance with the municipal code.”
