The update was provided in response to a question that had been raised by District 4 council member Charles Lauersdorf, who asked during the committee\u2019s March 3 meeting whether homeowners associations can regulate e-bikes and scooters.<\/p>\n
Chapter 22 Article VII<\/a> of the city of Fort Worth\u2019s ordinances governs bicycles and focuses primarily on safety equipment, proper operation and helmet laws. Vehicles like four wheelers and dirt bikes are strictly for off-road operation and not allowed to operate on public land or sidewalks, Kenjura said.<\/a><\/p>\n Class 3 e-bikes<\/a> perform at speeds under 28 mph. \u201cUnder Texas statute right now, that is the maximum speed that can travel on the roadways without being a licensed vehicle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n State of Texas Transportation Code Chapter 551<\/a> addresses the operation of bicycles, mopeds, golf carts and other low-powered vehicles.<\/p>\n This code sets some boundaries where they can be operated and sets some age limits. For example, Class 3 e-bikes can be operated by anyone who\u2019s at least 15. Kenjura also discussed hoverboards and Segways, which can legally operate on sidewalks and roadways with speed limits of 30 miles per hour or less when sidewalks aren\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n HOA\u2019s powers are dictated, in part, by the type of roadways that are within their boundaries. If the roads and sidewalks are publicly maintained, then the regulatory powers fall to the city, according to Kenjura.<\/p>\n When \u201cHOAs have privately owned property \u2026 such as the common areas, sidewalks, trails, parking lots \u2026 they can enforce their own house rules,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Limitations can range from speed limits to age restrictions and where certain types of vehicles can be operated, Kenjura said.<\/p>\n When asked about golf carts, Kenjura said, \u201cobviously, state law does allow for operation of golf carts under certain conditions in certain types of developments.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to qualify that comment, \u201cGenerally, when we have an issue with those, it\u2019s because someone gets out into a roadway with greater than 35-mile-an-hour speeds, areas where it would require you to be registered, licensed, to operate a vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n Encounters involving golf carts typically begin with the officer educating the driver so they understand where they can go in a golf cart. Some attention was also given to young riders.<\/p>\n \u201cYoung riders is a big issue \u2026 that\u2019s our greatest area of concern is the safety of these kids,\u201d Kenjura said. \u201c(We) need to educate them on the operation and the dangers. And, unfortunately, some of these devices that are marketed really exceed the capacity of what \u2026 smaller kids should be on, should be riding.\u201d<\/p>\n Toward the end of the briefing, Kenjura noted the staff is working on a proposed comprehensive update of the ordinances, which would go to the City Council for approval. The review will include public engagement, Kenjura said.<\/p>\n Without going into detail on what the proposal might include, he said \u201cI think that once you look at it and get it for review, I think you\u2019ll like what you see.\u201d<\/p>\n Public Safety Committee<\/p>\n Documenter: Patrick Banis<\/p>\n Date: June 2, 2026<\/p>\n Learn more about this meeting by clicking here<\/a>. For the agenda, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Patrick Banis is a member of the Fort Worth Report Documenters<\/a> crew. If you believe anything in this account is inaccurate, please email us at news@fortworthreport.org<\/a> with \u201cCorrection Request\u201d in the subject line.<\/p>\n This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/06\/27\/can-hoas-regulate-scooters-and-e-bikes\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n <img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&post=628653&ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/06\/27\/can-hoas-regulate-scooters-and-e-bikes\/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js”><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Janna Franzwa Canard, Fort Worth Report June 27, 2026 Can HOAs regulate e-bikes and scooters? Sean Kenjura,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[8219,116,118,117],"class_list":["post-353135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-documenters","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DeputyChiefKenjura.png\")
Sean Kenjura, deputy chief at the Fort Worth Police Department, gave an update on small motorized vehicles at the Public Safety Committee meeting on June 2, 2026. (Courtesy | City of Fort Worth)<\/p>\n