Peachtree City cart weight limit hard to enforce, staff say

Peachtree City’s golf cart rules are back before a city advisory group Tuesday. Last month, city staff told the group that one of those rules, the 1,300-pound weight limit, cannot be checked.

The Transportation Advisory Group meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Community Room at City Hall, 153 Willowbend Road. “Ordinance update discussion on section 78” is on its Oct. 27 agenda. That is the part of the city’s ordinances that defines which carts can use the paths.

The agenda packet carries the draft minutes of the group’s Sept. 22 meeting, which the members are due to approve Tuesday. They record a long discussion of the cart rules, prompted by a memo from City Manager Justin Strickland.

What staff told the group

The minutes record these points:

• The city’s weight limit is lower than the state’s. City rules cap a motorized cart at 1,300 pounds. State law allows up to 1,375 pounds.
• Weight cannot be checked. Assistant Finance Director Dustin Farron said manufacturers’ stated weights are not reliable and are not on every cart or website. There are no scales at City Hall.
• Width is easier. Staff use videos to check that a cart measures under 50 inches from tire to tire. Many carts are wider than that once mirrors and running boards are counted.
• Proving weight is a common problem at the counter, along with proof that a cart is governed to 20 mph, a city employee who handles registrations told the group.

Farron said he would like the weight requirement dropped, because the width limit already keeps weight in check. He said front desk staff were facing “angry people who had just spent $15,000 on a cart, only to find out that it could not be registered.”

The 1,375-pound figure is the state’s definition of a personal transportation vehicle, the legal term for a golf cart. The Georgia Department of Public Safety’s low-speed vehicle guide sets out the same limit, with a top speed of 20 mph.

What the members said

The group took no vote on the weight rule. The minutes show several members pointing at state law instead:

• Vice Chair Heidi Becker said she did not like the idea of the city quietly not enforcing the limit. She wanted to ask state Rep. Josh Bonner to seek a change in state law.
• Member Blake Hayes said Peachtree City can be stricter than the state, but not looser. He suggested teaching buyers to check that a cart is legal in the city before they buy it.
• On width, then-Chair Paul Schultz said the paths are 10 feet wide. He asked what would happen as carts keep getting bigger if there were no limit.

Members also discussed clarifying in the ordinance that a mirror or other accessory sticking out past 50 inches does not count toward a cart’s width.

The fee question

The minutes also record a question about cart fees. Hayes read the state law that lets cities register carts “at least once every five years for a fee not to exceed $15.”

The city charges more than that, according to its paths and motorized carts page:

Farron asked whether the $250 nonresident charge breaks state law. Hayes said he had argued that it does, but the city attorney had said it does not. The question would be settled only if someone with standing challenged it in court, he said, according to the minutes.

What it means for you

• Nothing changes yet. The advisory group recommends; only the City Council can change the cart ordinance. The current rules still apply when you register.
• Buying a cart? Check it before you pay. The city’s registration check sheet asks owners to show the cart is under 50 inches wide, under 1,300 pounds and cannot go faster than 20 mph.
• Want a say? Public comment comes near the start of the advisory group’s meetings. Tuesday’s agenda also includes electing a new chair, path updates and the NavigatePTC app.

More: getting around Peachtree City, including how to register a cart, and road and path closures.