HAMILTON, Ohio — After the City of Hamilton posted on Facebook that golf carts are not legal on city streets, one low-speed vehicle owner brought concerns before city council, saying his nearly $15,000 purchase was stuck in his driveway despite no ordinance or code banning them.
Harold Peetz bought his EVolution low-speed vehicle in July to help get his elderly mother-in-law and father-in-law around.
"Our biggest reason why we purchased it was to be able to take them out, go down to places like The Hub or Marcum Park where they stay in the vehicle and still enjoy it," he said.
Peetz told us and members of the city council that he checked all relevant state and city codes before making the purchase and found no specific ban on low-speed vehicles in city limits.
"When there's no language allowing or disallowing it, it usually falls to the next level, which, in this case, would be the state rules," Peetz said.
WATCH: We dig for answers to clear up golf cart confusion
Ohio law allows for low-speed vehicles to be driven on any roadway with a 35-mile-per-hour speed limit or lower.
Hamilton Law Director Letitia Block said at Wednesday's meeting, "Since we haven't allowed it, it's not allowed."
When we asked council member Michael Ryan on Friday, however, he said it's not clear what Hamilton's codes allow.
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Ryan said.
Peetz told us he's hoping for some clarity soon, as his golf cart sits in the driveway. He said he would gather petitions and bring the issue up for a vote on the next possible ballot if necessary.
Ryan said the law director and city manager are working on clarification, and the council would likely act before a ballot initiative was necessary.
"I would assume there will be a path forward to bring it to a council vote, council discussion, and council debate, so hopefully we can avoid going to the voters and we can just handle it in-house," said Ryan.
