HOLMES BEACH – It looks like residents’ golf cart driving days aren’t numbered after all.
At the first reading of a new golf cart ordinance on April 12, commissioners made a few eleventh hour changes before approving the amended regulations with a unanimous vote. Most notable among those changes is the elimination of a sunset period for golf cart usage in the city.
Commissioner Carol Soustek started the discussion, stating that she’d spoken to several residents who were unhappy with the provision in the new ordinance that didn’t allow for a replacement vehicle to be purchased and put in use on city streets once a resident’s golf cart died.
“It’s very little that they’re asking for,” Soustek said.
Her fellow commissioners all agreed.
Under the new regulations, golf carts can only be operated in the city by residents. Another change made was to add a provision allowing annual renters and other long-term residents as well as homesteaded residents to the list of people allowed to drive a golf cart on city streets.
If the ordinance passes a second and final vote at an upcoming commission meeting, residents will have three months to get their golf carts registered with the Holmes Beach Police Department. Golf carts will be required to have a sticker identifying them as a registered vehicle with the city and must be driven by a licensed driver. To register the vehicle, the owner must show proof of primary residency in Holmes Beach, such as an annual lease agreement or property homestead paperwork.
An important distinction is that, while they may look alike, a golf cart and a low-speed vehicle are considered two different things under Florida law.
A low-speed vehicle is one that has to be registered with the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles and can travel at speeds greater than 21 mph. A golf cart does not have a license plate, nor can it be registered with the DMV. Golf carts travel at speeds lower than 21 mph.
Holmes Beach is the only Anna Maria Island city where golf carts can be legally driven on the road.
Related coverage
Golf cart regulations considered
