The Youngsville City Council is reviewing a 2014 golf cart ordinance in an effort to increase compliance amid safety concerns.
The council unanimously approved an introductory amendment at its regular meeting Thursday aimed at reducing the city’s mandatory golf cart registration fees and reducing the frequency and cost of golf cart inspections.
Currently, the city requires all golf cart users to pay $75 to register their vehicle and pay $75 annually for golf cart inspection to obtain an updated registration sticker. The amendment presented at Thursday’s meeting would reduce registration and inspection fees to $50 and require inspections to occur every two years. It is expected to go before the board for final approval at the November meeting.
The city of Youngsville issued 383 golf cart permits between June 2022 and October 2023. Of those, 104 permits had expired as of Thursday’s meeting because residents had not renewed their permits, Mayor Ken Ritter said .
Keith Landry, a resident of Youngsville’s Sugar Mill Pond neighborhood, said he owned a golf cart with an overdue license because he couldn’t find the insurance paperwork required for the annual inspection.
“I’m glad you brought it up because I had a 43-foot coach and I didn’t pay $75 a year to get it registered,” Landry said at Thursday’s meeting. “I understand this is an old ordinance. It’s been around for a long time. I think you’ll get a lot more compliance – from people registered – and that’s what we want them to do because we want that they understand your responsibilities when you “drive this golf cart.”
Travis Detske, a resident of Youngsville’s Copper Meadows neighborhood, said he has no problem with the city’s permitting and inspection requirements, but appreciates the lower fees. Detske suggested there would be greater compliance if the city created golf cart crossings and trails so residents in subdivisions like his could safely access businesses, parks and the sports complex.
At one point, a sidewalk along La. 92 had become a way for Copper Meadows golf cart owners to access Sugar Mill Pond, but the city added bollards to the path after several golf carts crashed into a bridge along the road.
“It allowed us to expand our radius a little bit, provide business to restaurants and stores along Highway 92, in the Sugar Mill area. It was a great, great concept,” Detske said .
Council members discussed at Thursday’s meeting the possibility of engineering and building crossings across highways for golf carts to connect some of the city’s largest neighborhoods to businesses and parks.
Council member Ken Stansbury said the city needs to ensure compliance among golf cart users before considering such measures.
“Right now you have young kids driving all the time,” Stansbury said. “And that’s a big deal. So I think once we get to some compliance, get enforcement in place, then we can start to find safe ways to be able to cross into other areas.”
Youngsville leaders have long struggled to get residents to comply with the long-running golf cart ordinance, which allows licensed drivers to operate the vehicles during the day within city limits. It requires the display of a current license sticker and prohibits driving on 19 state highways within the city and during rain, fog or inclement weather. The penalty is $200 for any violation of any rule described in the ordinance.
When Youngsville council members drafted the golf cart ordinance, they also required developers to include green spaces in neighborhoods without requiring parking lots for those spaces.
The intent of the golf cart ordinance, according to the current mayor, was to allow residents to travel around their neighborhoods to take advantage of these resources.
In June 2022, former Youngsville Police Chief Rickey Boudreaux said he was implementing a zero tolerance policy after multiple golf cart accidents involving young unlicensed drivers and cases of adults using golf carts on state highways after nights out at bars and restaurants.
A recent accident at Sugar Mill Pond caused by a suspected drunk driver of a golf cart is what has brought the topic back into the spotlight.
Youngsville residents can register a golf cart and schedule a home inspection online. The city also regularly hosts registration events in some of the larger neighborhoods. Learn more about youngsville.us.
