COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
Department: Legal Council Meeting Date: September 17, 2019
Staff Contact: Ron Shaver; Daniel Yoza
Subject: Report on proposed 2019 amendments to the Olathe Traffic Ordinance, O.M.C. Title 10.
Focus/Perspective Area: Effective Organization
Executive Summary: Every summer, staff prepares updates to the Olathe Municipal Code (OMC) to align it with state law. Staff typically consults with the League of Kansas Municipalities (LKM) to identify which OMC sections need to change. Five 2019 Kansas Legislature bills affected OMC Title 10 (SB20, SB41, SB63, HB 2104, and HB 2211). These changes can be found in the draft Ordinance 19-XX (Attachment A) in sections One, Three, Five, Six, Nine, Eleven, Sixteen, Seventeen, Twenty, and Twenty-One.
This year, the LKM undertook the task of reviewing all state traffic statutes, and providing suggested language to add every state traffic misdemeanor and infraction that may be included as a municipal offense. Staff has reviewed these recommendations, and has included some of them in the attached ordinance.
The summary document (Attachment B) provides a detailed explanation of each section. Changes caused by a 2019 Kansas bills are noted as (2019). The 2019 changes are as follows:
-Allowing transportation network (Uber or Lyft) drivers to display a light for customers.
-Requiring obedience to signals on railway equipment.
-Allowing a medical exemption for sun screening devices (tint).
-Allowing All-Terrain Vehicles, Recreational Off-highway Vehicles and Work Site Utility Vehicles to cross highways for an agricultural purposes.
-Adding limitations on electric-assisted scooters.
-Changes to DUI Laws necessitated by caselaw.
-Increasing the driver’s license reinstatement fee to $100.
-Making a violation of Olathe’s safety belt law a traffic infraction.
-Increasing Fines for passing a school bus.
The draft ordinance includes additional changes related to lighting, penalties, safety considerations, law enforcement interactions, and restrictions on various non-automobile vehicles. These provisions have been in state law for many years, and this ordinance simply updates OMC Title 10 for these changes. The summary document (Attachment B) provides more detailed information on these topics.
Fiscal Impact: None.
Recommendations/Options/Action Requested: Accept the report. Unless directed otherwise, staff will prepare the Ordinance for formal consideration on October 1, 2019.
Attachments: Attachment A: Title 10 Ordinance
Attachment B: Summary Document