ONTARIO –- After maneuvering around several roadblocks, Ontario City Council’s “golf cart legislation” passed unanimously Wednesday evening.

The legislation will allow golf carts, snowmobiles, off-highway motorcycles and all-purpose vehicles to operate on some Ontario roads after the vehicle is inspected and receives a permit from the Ontario Police Department.

Ontario residents, age 16 and older with a valid driver’s license, will be able to drive select off-highway vehicles on Ontario roads with speed limits up to 35 miles per hour and never on roads with more than two-lanes total.

On Aug. 1, the city’s safety committee added the age and license requirement, the restriction of roads more than two lanes and phrasing that will only allow Ontario residents to have their golf carts inspected through the legislation. Additionally, a slow-moving vehicle emblem must be displayed at the rear of the vehicle.

“That will keep people off Lex-Springmill and Park Avenue, which we had talked about, and Fourth Street, so the major streets,” second ward councilwoman Michelle Webb said about the lane regulation.

She asked to bring back the “golf cart legislation” – first introduced in May – after it “died” at council’s June 20 meeting.

“By not having an ordinance – number one – it means you can’t drive a golf cart on the road or anything that’s in the ordinance, and I feel like we’re putting our officers in the middle of this thing, this debate … I don’t think that’s where we want to go with this,” Webb said at that time.

Council had argued about what regulations needed added into the ordinance. Some wanted to add an age requirement and limit what roads the carts could be driven on, but others feared over-legislating.

When the legislation was read for a third time in July, council members didn’t motion to move forward with a vote. All were present.

Council President James Hellinger asked council multiple times if they wanted to make a motion or table the legislation, but when he repeatedly heard nothing in response, he called it.

“Okay, no motion? The ordinance dies,” Hellinger said.

But because Webb resuscitated it, the revised legislation was brought back before council and voted for unanimously.

The legislation makes the physical requirements for the under-speed vehicles mimic characteristics of a car. Vehicles are required to have a windshield, rearview mirror, “appropriate” tires, a “properly working” steering mechanism, adequate brakes and a braking system. Also, they must be equipped with properly working brake lights, headlights, tail lights and turn signals.

Furthermore, the vehicle needs to pass an inspection by the Ontario Police Department to determine if it met the above requirements before it could be driven on the road. The vehicle’s operator must be able to present the completed inspection form to law enforcement at any time. Inspections will only be provided to Ontario residents.

Only then can the under-speed vehicles be driven on the road. Violations of the ordinance would result in a minor misdemeanor on the first offense.

The idea to add legislation on this topic was first brought to council by Ontario resident Craig Hunt, who wanted to know if it was legal to drive a golf cart on the road and asked council about it several times.

The law director shared that while Ohio Revised Code addresses the use of golf carts and other similar vehicles on Ohio roads, it requires local governments to establish a permit process before this is allowed, which the legislation does.

Hunt said Wednesday he still desired the legislation to require a sticker on golf carts that would show that they had been inspected.