- December 4, 2025
Palm Coast children under the age of 11 will no longer be able to ride their E-bikes on city-owned property, effective immediately.
The Palm Coast City Council approved an ordinance restricting E-bike use in Palm Coast in a 4-1 vote at its Oct. 7 meeting. The restrictions include implementing a minimum age limit of 11 years old to use an E-bike on any city-owned property, including roads, bicycle paths and sidewalks.
"I think this ordinance is the right thing to do from a public safety perspective," Councilman Charles Gambaro said.
A sticking point for City Council members in each reading of this ordinance has been the age limit. Vice Mayor Theresa Carli Pontieri, the sole dissenting vote against the ordinance, said she could not support an ordinance that contained an age limit.
“I just can't support what I think is government overstep into the purview of parenting by telling a parent they can or cannot put their child on a certain type of bike,” Pontieri said. “Particularly when a regular bike can be ridden in an unsafe manner as well.”
Originally, the ordinance included an age limit of 15, but it was lowered at a September council meeting.
“I will not sign the ordinance if it doesn't have an age," Councilman Dave Sullivan said.
Flagler County Commissioner Andy Dance, who has attended the meeting as a Palm Coast resident and avid E-bike user, said one argument for an age limit is the weight of the bikes.
E-bikes, he said, are heavy and younger riders may not be able to handle the weight or speed of an E-bike.
"[E-bikes] are anywhere from 50 to 70 to 80 pounds," he said. "They can't stop as quickly, and they hit things with different force. That's where the age is important."
In a document he sent to the council detailing suggested changes to the ordinance, Dance included the suggestion that the age limit be set to 13, with an allowance for 11- and 12-year-olds to ride E-bikes with direct adult supervision on sidewalks and shared-use paths.
But Pontieri was concerned about the precedent it set.
“What precedent are we setting," she said, "by telling parents they can or cannot allow their children to ride a certain type of bicycle?"
The rest of the council felt the ordinance with the age was the right direction Mayor Mike Norris said if needed the council could revisit the ordinance and make any necessary changes.
E-bike riders of all ages must also carry a government issued photo-ID while riding on city-owned property and present that identification to law enforcement when requested. “Government issued photographic identification” includes a driver license, passport, military ID and a school ID.
Those who violate the ordinance could be subject to a fine of up to $100 for each violation, according to the ordinance’s penalty section. Law enforcement officers are also authorized to remove and impound an E-bike that was violating the ordinance.
The ordinance was brought up after multiple people brought up safety concerns from some E-bike riders driving recklessly in the city.
E-bikes, by state statute, can be ridden wherever bicycles can. The city ordinance now requires E-bike riders to comply with all pedestrian traffic signs and intersections and makes it “unlawful to operate an E-bike…in an unsafe and reckless manner.”
A “reckless manner” includes failing to yield or slow for pedestrians and riding at excessive speed. Riders also are prohibited from using E-bikes with a modified propulsion system in city limits.
E-bikes are also required to have a light and reflector gear equipped while riding at night, just as a bicycle is required to have.
