R-10441City Council Meeting: November 24, 2009 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 10441 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA SUPPORTING THE ADOPTION OF STATE
REGULATIONS THAT WOULD AUTHORIZE THE USE OF MEDIUM-SPEED
VEHICLES ON PUBLIC STREETS IN ORDER TO PROMOTE DEVELOPMENTS IN
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
WHEREAS, electric vehicle technology and other developing technologies afford
encouraging opportunities for enhanced environmental protection and sustainability;
but, commercially viable, full-speed electric and other developing technology vehicles
are still several years away; and
WHEREAS, at present, such vehicle technology is limited to medium speed
vehicles (MSV's), which generally travel at speeds of 35 miles per hour or less; and
WHEREAS, federal regulations require vehicles limited to 35 miles per hour, to
comply with the same safety standards and testing requirements as full-speed vehicles;
and
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WHEREAS, these federal regulations require, for example, the use of advanced
air bags and other safety features that have limited or no benefit on a vehicle traveling
at low speeds and are prohibitively expensive for the low-volume manufacturers of such
vehicles; and
WHEREAS, as a result, the federal regulations have effectively discouraged the
development, purchase and use of MSV's and have thereby impeded efforts to attain
environmental goals through increased use of electric and other new technology
vehicles; and
WHEREAS, in response, several states have adopted, and others are
considering, legislation allowing the use of MSVs with speeds up to 35 miles per hour
even though those vehicles do not comport with Federal regulations; and
WHEREAS, the experience in these states has been MSV's accommodate
electric and other new vehicle technologies, that purchases of such have increased, that
environmental sustainability has been enhanced, and that small manufacturers have
responded by increasing technological development and production; and
WHEREAS, this experience has also shown that authorizing MSV's to utilize
public streets provides an opportunity for smaller American businesses to develop
technology faster and on a larger scale than can be achieved by relying solely on large
automobile manufacturers because battery technology, fuel cells, compressed air
engines and other technologies can be deployed in significant numbers of MSV's now,
rather than waiting to perfect these systems for full-speed vehicles; and this benefits the
environment now; and
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WHEREAS, safety is the highest priority, MSV's should not be authorized for use
on public streets without the development of adequate safety standards, and the state
should work with manufacturers to develop such standards so that these vehicles can
be promptly brought to market; and
WHEREAS, MSV's would be very beneficial to this community because they
would help effectuate Santa Monica's commitment to environmental sustainability,
because MSV's are safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and other vehicles, and because
almost all of Santa Monica's streets have speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The City of Santa Monica supports the establishment of State
regulations authorizing Medium Speed Vehicles, which meet standards developed to
ensure safety and which operate at speeds of 35 miles per hour or less, to utilize public
streets with speed limits of up to 35 miles per hour.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
M SHA ES M UTRIE
Ci Ito n
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Adopted and approved this 10th day of November, 2009.
Lr~ f ~`~~
Pam O'Connor, Mayor Pro Tem
I, Maria Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify
that the foregoing Resolution No. 10441 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of
the Santa Monica City Council held on the 24th day of November, 2009, by the
following vote:
.Ayes: Council members: Bloom, Holbrook, Davis, McKeown
Mayor Pro Tem O'Connor
Noes: Council members: None
Abstain: Council members: None
Absent: Council members: Shriver
Mayor Genser
ATTEST:
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Maria M. Stewart, Oity Clerk