O27291
City Council Meeting: November 15, 2022 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2729 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 3.12.1055 TO
EXTEND THE MORATORIUM ON THE DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATION OF
AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY VEHICLES OR DEVICES ON SIDEWALKS AND
PEDESTRIAN PATHS OF TRAVEL
WHEREAS, on October 27, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number
2656 (CCS), an Emergency Ordinance establishing a one-year moratorium on the
deployment and operation of autonomous delivery vehicles or devices on sidewalks and
pedestrian paths of travel; and
WHEREAS, on September 14, 2021, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number
2683 (CCS), extending the moratorium to December 31, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the proliferation around the country of delivery services using
driverless, electrified vehicles devices appears to be part of a broader trend of
partnerships between robotics firms and goods retailers 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 delivery vehicles
or devices, limitations on speed, limitations on types of infrastructure on which 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
DocuSign Envelope ID: 72F45FC9-ECBB-441D-8DB4-62BE66A8AD53
2
devices, requirements for liability coverage, requirements for operational data
disclosures, operation in low visibility weather, and interactions with surroundings and
terrain; and
WHEREAS, deployment and operation of autonomous delivery vehicles in the City
by one company eliciting 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, the City 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 an infinite number of companies can deploy an infinite
number of vehicles or devices, clogging City sidewalks and pedestrian paths of travel,
inundating City code enforcement officers, and create a public safety hazard; and
WHEREAS, on November 15, 2022, City Council considered on first reading an
ordinance permanently prohibiting operation and deployment of autonomous personal
delivery vehicles devices, however, the ordinance will not become effective until
approximately two weeks after the expiration of the moratorium as extended by Ordinance
Number 2729; and
WHEREAS, based on the aforementioned preambles, and the staff report
accompanying this ordinance, it is necessary to adopt an emergency ordinance to extend
the moratorium until the end of January 2023, so that the moratorium does not expire
prior to the effective date of the ordinance establishing a permanent prohibition on the
deployment and operation of autonomous personal delivery vehicles and devices; and
DocuSign Envelope ID: 72F45FC9-ECBB-441D-8DB4-62BE66A8AD53
3
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 infinite 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 continuing the
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 amended
as follows:
3.12.1055 Autonomous Delivery Device or Vehicle
Beginning on October 28, 2020 and ending on January 31, 2023, no person shall
deploy or operate an autonomous delivery device or vehicle on City sidewalks or
pedestrian paths of travel. ‘Autonomous delivery device or vehicle’ means a motorized
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 sitting or standing upon and actively and physically controlling the
movements of the device or vehicle.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 72F45FC9-ECBB-441D-8DB4-62BE66A8AD53
4
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
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. Pursuant to Sections 615 and 619 of the
City Charter, for the reasons stated in the recitals above, the staff report accompanying
this ordinance, oral and written testimony received by the City Council, and City Council
discussion, the City Council declares this ordinance to be necessary as an emergency
measure for preserving the public peace, health, and safety, with the result that this
ordinance shall be introduced and adopted at the same meeting and shall become
effective immediately upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
Douglas Sloan, City Attorney
DocuSign Envelope ID: 72F45FC9-ECBB-441D-8DB4-62BE66A8AD53
Approved and adopted this 15th day of November, 2022.
_____________________________
Sue Himmelrich, 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. 2729 (CCS) had its introduction
and adoption at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on November 15,
2022, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers de la Torre, Davis, Negrete, Parra,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan, Mayor Himmelrich
NOES: Councilmember Brock
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2729 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to California
Government Code Section 40806.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 72F45FC9-ECBB-441D-8DB4-62BE66A8AD53
11/26/2022