O26561
City Council Meeting: October 27, 2020 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2656 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA CREATING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 3.12.1055 TO
ESTABLISH A ONE-YEAR MORATORIUM ON THE DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATION
OF AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY VEHICLES OR DEVICES ON SIDEWALKS AND
PEDESTRIAN PATHS OF TRAVEL
WHEREAS, the proliferation around the country of delivery services using
driverless, electrified vehicles or devices appears to be part of a broader trend of
partnerships between robotics firms and goods retailers to use autonomous delivery
vehicles or devices to deliver goods from a hub to private property via public rights of way;
and
WHEREAS, in cities where autonomous delivery vehicles or devices are currently
in use, such use has been permitted after extensive consideration, granted on a trial
basis, and only after operators agree to various requirements with the aim of evaluating
and regulating important areas such as direct human supervision of the autonomous
delivery vehicles or devices, limitations on speed, limitations on types of infrastructure on
which the vehicles or devices may operate, compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act, limitations on operation in high-risk corridors, limitations on the number
of operating vehicles or devices, requirements for liability coverage, requirements for
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operational data disclosures, limits and requirements for operation in low visibility
weather, and requirements for interactions with surroundings and terrain; and
WHEREAS, the recent deployment and operation of autonomous delivery vehicles
in the City by one company elicited numerous complaints from members of the public that
the vehicles obstructed sidewalks and created difficulties as people attempted to navigate
around the devices; and
WHEREAS, City staff has expressed public safety concerns about the unregulated
operation of autonomous delivery vehicles or devices on City sidewalks and pedestrian
paths of travel, particularly where a large number of companies can deploy a very large
number of vehicles or devices, clogging City sidewalks and pedestrian paths of travel,
inundating City code enforcement officers, and creating a public safety hazard, ; and
WHEREAS, a one-year moratorium will give City staff time to develop a regulatory
framework and present that regulatory framework to Council for consideration; and
WHEREAS, under City of Santa Monica Charter Article VI, Section 615, any
ordinance declared by the City Council to be necessary as an emergency measure for
preserving the public peace, health or safety and containing a statement of the reasons
for its urgency, may be introduced and adopted at one and the same meeting if passed
by at least five affirmative votes; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and declares that the unregulated deployment
and operation of potentially very large numbers of autonomous delivery vehicles or
devices on City sidewalks and pedestrian paths of travel will result in an immediate threat
to the public health, safety, and welfare and, as a result, the adoption of an ordinance
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establishing a one year moratorium is necessary as both an emergency preservation and
emergency preventative measure.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.12.1055 is hereby created as
follows:
3.12.1055 Autonomous and Remotely Controlled Delivery Vehicles or Devices
Beginning on October 28, 2020 and ending on October 28, 2021, no person shall
deploy or operate an autonomous delivery vehicle or device on City sidewalks or
pedestrian paths of travel. For purposes of this section, “Autonomous delivery vehicle or
device” means a motorized vehicle or device used to transport items, products, or any
other materials on City sidewalks or pedestrian paths of travel for commercial purposes,
and guided or controlled without a human operator, whether while sitting or standing upon
the device or remotely, actively and physically controlling the movements of the vehicle
or device. For purposes of this section, “Remotely controlled delivery vehicle or device”
means a motorized vehicle or device used to transport items, products, or any other
materials on City sidewalks or pedestrian paths of travel for commercial purposes that is
guided and controlled with a human operator, whether while sitting or standing upon the
device or remotely, actively and physically controlling the movements of the vehicle or
device. Beginning January 1, 2021, or at such time as the pilot program referenced below
commences, and ending on October 28, 2021, no person shall deploy or operate a
remotely controlled delivery vehicle or device on City sidewalks or pedestrian paths of
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travel remotely controlled delivery vehicle or device other than as part of the pilot program
being overseen in Santa Monica by Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (‘LACI”) on those
City sidewalks or pedestrian paths of travel within the voluntary zero emissions delivery
zone as defined for purposes of that pilot program. All operations of autonomous or
remotely controlled delivery vehicles or devices that are not prohibited by this section
(“non-prohibited devices”) shall comply with all requirements, including insurance and
indemnification requirements, imposed as conditions of the grant to the operator of a
required Santa Monica business license, as well as all of the following operational
requirements: (1) non-prohibited devices shall yield the right of way to pedestrians and
bicycles; (2) non-prohibited devices shall obey all signs and signals governing traffic and
pedestrians; (3) non-prohibited devices shall not interfere with the maintenance of paths
of travel for persons with disabilities; (4) non-prohibited devices may not transport waste
or hazardous materials (including flammables or ammunition); (5) non-prohibited devices
shall be equipped with headlights that operate at night, sunrise, and sunset; (6) each non-
prohibited device shall bear, in markings of a size sufficient to be clearly legible to passing
vehicles and pedestrians, a unique identifier for the device together with the name and
contact information of the device’s operator.
Section 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to
affect the provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
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court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance
would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of
this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official
newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective
immediately upon adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
GEORGE S. CARDONA
Interim City Attorney
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Approved and adopted this 27th day of October, 2020.
_____________________________
Kevin McKeown, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2656 (CCS) had its
introduction and adoption at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on
October 27, 2020, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Davis, Jara, Winterer, Morena, Himmelrich,
Mayor Pro Tem O’Day, Mayor McKeown
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2656 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
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11/2/2020