The council is being asked at its 6 p.m. meeting at
In a letter to the City Council, Gisbert states it is in the “public interest to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.” On Monday, the city’s Planning Board voted unanimously to issue a development order for the amusement park.
The quasi-judicial hearing was requested by the owners of Miracle Strip at Pier Park, which previously operated its business in the same location in Pier Park that the company now contends should not be allowed under the city’s comprehensive plan.
Another major item to be discussed is a requirement that scooter rental businesses carry liability insurance, which is vehemently opposed by some business owners.
Staff is recommending scooter coverage that amounts to the minimum required by the state on automobiles: $10,000 per person for each crash, $20,000 for all people and $10,000 property damage.
“We are advised by credible sources that this coverage is available,” Gisbert writes in a letter to council members.
He writes the insurance amount will be sufficient “to provide some reasonable and readily available recourse to innocent visitors and residents alike who are involved in crashes with these rented scooters.”
His letter points out
Gisbert states in his letter to the council that in most cases, damages caused by scooters to third parties will fall within the coverage limits staff is recommending.
Gisbert said Wednesday he heard from a local resident earlier this week whose car was damaged by a scooter, and the resident asked him who would be paying the deductible on his insurance.
“I said, ‘I can’t help you,’ “ Gisbert said. “But if we adopt what I hope to adopt, then there will be security for the person impacted.”
California Cycles, which operates four scooter rental businesses in the city limits, has sued the city and
Owner Rick Roof said the only insurance available under the city’s proposal would cover riders 21 years old or older. He said many of his riders are under that age and wouldn’t be allowed to ride under the city’s proposal.
“You’d be eliminating 60 percent of my customers,” he said.
Roof said he doesn’t understand why the city is moving forward with an insurance requirement at the same time he is suing over the insurance requirement. The lawsuit contends insurance on scooters is not required under state law, which pre-empts local laws.
“The state has already decided you don’t have to have insurance,” Roof said. “You can’t do more than the state says.”
Beach ordinance
The council also is slated to make revisions to its beach ordinance that would allow the city to impose fines — ranging from $50 to $1,000 for the first infraction — for a variety of violations. Gisbert said under the current ordinance, the violator is given a notice to appear in court.
“That is basically an arrest, which is rather extreme,” he said. “Now we would have a system to issue a citation. We still have the ability to give a notice to appear if the person is being belligerent.”
The latest version of the ordinance still prohibits things such as glass on the beach, dogs on the beach and peddling on the beach.
He said the police have been hesitant to enforce the law because the punishment is so harsh.
“Who is going to give an 18-year-old summer student a notice to appear in front of judge with the potential to ruin a kid’s career?”