Grant County allows permitted golf carts on roads

EPHRATA - Residents in three Grant County communities can drive golf carts on the road.

The Grant County commissioners approved an ordinance establishing golf cart zones in Desert Aire, Sunland Estates and Sunserra at Crescent Bar.

The ordinance allows residents in the three areas to operate carts on the roads with 25-mph speed limits. The Grant County Sheriff's Office will inspect the carts annually for tail lamps, stop lamps, turn signals, horn, two mirrors, windshield, safe tires, seat belts, bumper and brakes. Drivers will also need to register the vehicles.

The requirements drew comments from several members of the audience. Gary Varney, a Desert Aire homeowners association representative, started with questioning allowing the carts on the street at night.

"This is a very positive ordinance that we would like to see passed," he said. "In your ordinance ... there is no provisions for operating times as there is in the state statute, and we strongly suggest adopting the language in the substitute bill ... which limits the operating time to a half hour before sunset to a half hour before sunrise."

Varney also suggested adding the state requirements for seat belt, reflectors and rearview mirrors.

"The primary reason is for safety," he said. "There are a lot of roads in Desert Aire and without having headlights, which most golf carts do not have headlights, operating at night ... it will be pretty unsafe to do so."

Varney also questioned the mandatory inspection requirement, saying the state law doesn't require inspection.

"However it does give you the opportunity of issuing some type of a decal," he said. "We're concerned with safety, and also the administration and the cost of doing so ... We need to know what it's going to be inspected for, and we think once it's done once it doesn't need to be done any more."

Undersheriff Dave Ponozzo responded it would be too easy to modify the carts from one year to the next. He said the sheriff's office has established an inspection form, which is going to be provided to the homeowners associations in the areas affected by the ordinance.

"We wanted the inspections done every year for the reasons you brought up, the safety concerns that we have there," he said. "(The information will include) what those inspections will entail, what dates we will meet you at. We're going to come to your locations. We're not going to make you drive all the way to Ephrata."

Officers will come to the locations between one and three times per year, Ponozzo said, adding if people can't make it, they need to arrange a time with the motor traffic unit to have the cart brought to Ephrata. He hopes to start inspections before the Memorial Day weekend.

The registration form will be similar to those of other vehicles and allow police to track them if they get stolen, Ponozzo said.

Responding to Varney's comments about running the carts during the night, Ponozzo said the sheriff's office isn't interested in regulating when people use the carts.

"We're interested in the safety, but we're not interested in regulating the hours because I will tell you even if you regulate the hours, they're going to be operated after the hours," he said. "We know they're going to be operated and we're going to spend the time to write the ticket and our district court is going to dismiss them. Period."

Ponozzo pointed out the carts will be required to follow the rules of the road, and have headlights and taillights if they're operating after dark.

Steve Bodin, a Desert Aire resident, agreed with allowing golf carts, but disagreed with the inspection requirement. He and his wife have used a neighborhood electric vehicle in the area for the past 15 months without any encounters with other vehicles. Bodin's vehicle is similar to a golf cart.

"There's no reason for the county to invent another bureaucracy to watch out for golf carts," he said. "There is no cash cow in golf cart fees. You can do the math; a 100 carts in Desert Aire times maybe $30 a cart won't even pay the cost of envelopes and stamps."

Commissioner Cindy Carter pointed out Bodin's vehicle is allowed on the road at the moment, but golf carts aren't, and the ordinance would allow them.

"Also what this is doing is establishing a zone and, if I'm not mistaken, county roads are not necessarily considered a zone unless identified as such," Commissioner Carolann Swartz said.