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SR 12-13-2022 10C City Council Report City Council Meeting: December 13, 2022 Agenda Item: 10.C 1 of 1 To: Mayor and City Council From: Douglas Sloan, City Attorney, City Attorney's Office, Administration Subject: Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.12.1055 to Authorize the Operation of Remote- Controlled Personal Delivery Devices (PDDs) and Prohibit the Operation of Autonomous Delivery Devices Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached Ordinance. Executive Summary At its meeting on November 15, 2022, the City Council introduced for first reading an Ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.12.1055 to authorize the operation of remote-controlled personal delivery devices (PDDs) and prohibit the operation of autonomous delivery devices. The ordinance is now presented to the City Council for adoption. Prepared By: Bradley Michaud, Legal Operations Coordinator Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. PD-Ord-Remotely Controlled Devices-2d 10.C Packet Pg. 489 1 City Council Meeting: December 13, 2022 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS) (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL SECTION 3.12.1055 TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATION OF REMOTELY CONTROLLED PERSONAL DELIVERY VEHICLES AND DEVICES AND PROHIBIT THE OPERATION OF AUTONOMOUS PERSONAL DELIVERY VEHICLES AND DEVICES WHEREAS, in October 2020, in response to public safety concerns over the national proliferation of autonomous personal delivery vehicles and devices operating on sidewalks and pedestrian paths of travel, the City adopted a moratorium which prohibited the deployment and operation of autonomous personal delivery vehicles and devices; and WHEREAS, at that time, the City allowed the deployment and operation of remotely controlled personal delivery vehicles and devices, so long as operators participated in the Zero Emission Delivery Zone (ZEDZ) pilot program between the City and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator; and WHEREAS, on December 31, 2022, the ZEDZ pilot program will end, and the City desires to continue allowing the deployment and operation of remotely controlled personal delivery vehicles and devices, subject to rules and regulations drafted by City staff; and WHEREAS, for the same public safety concerns described in the October 2020 emergency ordinance, the City also desires to adopt a permanent prohibition on deployment and operation of autonomous personal delivery vehicles and devices operating on City sidewalks and pedestrian paths of travel. 10.C.a Packet Pg. 490 Attachment: PD-Ord-Remotely Controlled Devices-2d (5496 : Delivery Devices - Second Reading) 2 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 3.12.1055 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby amended as follows: 3.12.1055 Autonomous and remotely controlled personal delivery vehicles or devices. (a) At no time shall a person deploy or operate, or cause to be deployed or operated, an autonomous personal delivery vehicle or device, or a semi-autonomous personal delivery vehicle or device, on City sidewalks or pedestrian paths of travel. (b) For purposes of this Section: (1) “Autonomous personal 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. (2) “Semi-autonomous personal 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, where vehicle or device operation technology is a combination of hardware and software, remote and/or on-board, and performs the dynamic piloting task. (b) A person may deploy and operate, or cause to be deployed and operated, a remotely controlled personal delivery vehicle or device to transport items, products, 10.C.a Packet Pg. 491 Attachment: PD-Ord-Remotely Controlled Devices-2d (5496 : Delivery Devices - Second Reading) 3 or any other materials on City sidewalks or pedestrian paths of travel for commercial purposes. All operations of remotely controlled personal delivery vehicles or 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 other rules and regulations pertaining to the deployment and operation of a remotely controlled personal delivery vehicle or device. (c) The City Manager, or designee, is authorized to adopt rules and regulations consistent with, and necessary to, implement this Section. Such rules and regulations may include, but are not limited to, provisions governing: (1) dimensions of devices and vehicles; (2) yielding of the right of way to pedestrians and bicycles; (3) obeyance of all signs and signals governing traffic and pedestrians; (4) non-interference with the maintenance of paths of travel for persons with disabilities; (5) non-transport of waste or hazardous materials (including flammables or ammunition); (6) mandatory use of headlights that operate at night, sunrise, and sunset; and (7) 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. Such rules and regulations shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk where they shall be made available for inspection by the public. Violations of rules and regulations issued pursuant to this Section shall constitute violations of this Chapter, and shall subject the violator to the penalties set forth in this Chapter. 10.C.a Packet Pg. 492 Attachment: PD-Ord-Remotely Controlled Devices-2d (5496 : Delivery Devices - Second Reading) 4 (d) This Section shall not apply to vehicles regulated solely under the autonomous vehicle sections of the California Vehicle Code. 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 effect 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. This Ordinance shall become effective thirty days after adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: _________________________ Douglas Sloan, City Attorney 10.C.a Packet Pg. 493 Attachment: PD-Ord-Remotely Controlled Devices-2d (5496 : Delivery Devices - Second Reading)