10.970 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles.

(1) Definitions.

Neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) means any self-propelled electrically powered motor vehicle, excluding golf carts, that has successfully completed the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle America Test Program conducted by the Federal Department of Energy, and that conforms to the definition and requirements for low-speed vehicles as adopted in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Low-Speed Vehicles under 49 CFR 571.3(b) and 571.500, as amended from time to time.

(2) Standards. NEVs:

(a) Shall be four-wheeled and have a speed range of at least 20 miles per hour and not more than 35 miles per hour on a paved surface. NEV does not include an electric golf cart.

(b) Shall have a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) that complies with Federal law (49 CFR 565, as amended from time to time).

(c) Shall meet the general test conditions under 49 CFR 571.50056, as amended from time to time, and shall include all of the following items of equipment:

1. Headlamps;

2. Front and rear turn signals;

3. Stop lamps;

4. Reflex reflectors: one red on each side as far to the rear as practicable, and one red on the rear;

5. An exterior mirror mounted on the driver’s side and either an exterior mirror on the passenger side or an interior rearview mirror;

6. Parking brake;

7. A windshield that conforms to the requirements of the Federal motor vehicle safety standard on glazing materials (49 CFR 571.205, as amended from time to time);

8. A Type 1 or Type 2 seatbelt assembly conforming to 49 CFR 571.209, as amended from time to time, and Federal Motor Safety Standard No. 209, for each designated seating position.

(3) Operation.

(a) Where Neighborhood Electric Vehicles May Operate. Neighborhood electric vehicles, authorized pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 349.26, as amended from time to time, shall be allowed to operate on the public roads within the City of Manitowoc subject to the following restrictions:

1. Neighborhood electric vehicles shall not operate on any public road within the City of Manitowoc where the speed limit exceeds 35 miles per hour.

2. An NEV may be used upon connecting highways within the City of Manitowoc but only upon those sections where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less. The exact locations shall be as promulgated from time to time and at any time by the City Engineer, who is hereby authorized to do so by the Common Council, as approved by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. All such locations shall be compiled, kept and updated in written form, and kept on file for public inspection at all times in the lobby of the Manitowoc Police Department, in the City Clerk-Treasurer’s office and on the City’s website. Such list of authorized locations is hereby adopted by reference and incorporated herein as if fully set forth verbatim. All additions and changes shall be updated on said list by the City Engineer and/or his/her designees.

3. An NEV may cross State Trunk Highways within the City of Manitowoc but only at public intersections where the speed limit upon the State Trunk Highway at that particular intersection is 35 miles per hour or less. The exact locations shall be as promulgated from time to time and at any time by the City Engineer, who is hereby authorized to do so by the Common Council, as approved by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. All such locations shall be compiled, kept and updated in written form, and kept on file for public inspection at all times in the lobby of the Manitowoc Police Department, in the City Clerk-Treasurer’s office and on the City’s website. Such list of authorized locations is hereby adopted by reference and incorporated herein as if fully set forth verbatim. All additions and changes shall be updated on said list by the City Engineer and/or his/her designees.

(b) Approval of Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Subsections (3)(a)(2) and (3) of this section are subject to the approval of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation as outlined in Wis. Stat. § 349.26(3), as from time to time amended or renumbered.

(c) Driver’s License and Registration Required. Any person who operates a neighborhood electric vehicle on any City street must hold a valid driver’s license.

(d) Registration. Any person who operates a neighborhood electric vehicle on any City street must register the neighborhood electric vehicle. Registration shall be in accordance with State of Wisconsin Statutes and as required by State law.

(4) Compliance. The operation of an NEV as permitted herein shall comply in all respects with the Manitowoc Municipal Code and in particular with this chapter, all traffic code provisions and all other applicable provisions of the Code of General Ordinances of the City of Manitowoc, as applicable to the operation of motor vehicles.

(5) Violation – Penalty.

(a) Each violation of this chapter shall result in the issuance of a citation and the payment to the City of a forfeiture by the violator in an amount of not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00 together with applicable State penalty and other surcharges and court costs.

(b) Each violation of a State or local traffic code not contained within this chapter shall subject the operator of the NEV to the citations and penalties set forth for such violations in the applicable State Statutes and City ordinances. Such violations are cumulative to and not in lieu of those set forth for violations of this chapter.

[Ord. 08-259 § 1, 2008. Prior code § 10.206]