Agoura Hills City Council members on Wednesday directed staff to pursue municipal-code changes that would bar riding electric bicycles on sidewalks citywide and inside city parks, and to return with proposed enforcement, education and funding options.

The council discussion followed a staff presentation that outlined options ranging from education-only to an outright ban in parks and on sidewalks. Amy Brink, director of community services, said the council had identified review of e‑bike rules as a budget-year goal and that staff and outside traffic consultants had vetted a set of options: “Residents are witnessing and reporting unsafe use and reckless behavior from individuals utilizing different forms of electric bicycles on city streets, sidewalks, and in city parks,” Brink said.

The presentation from Matt Stewart, traffic engineer with Kimley‑Horn, explained the three federal/state e‑bike “classes” and summarized recent state legislation. Stewart told the council that AB 875 expands officers’ authority to confiscate class‑3 e‑bikes operated by people under 16 and to impound motorized cycles that exceed e‑bike definitions: “AB 875 … expands the ability for peace officers to confiscate class 3 ebikes if it's operated by someone under 16,” he said. He also referenced a separate bill noted in staff materials as “SP 586.”

Public commenters urged action. Emily Scharf, a Forest Cove Park resident, described a near‑miss with her toddler: “A group of e bikes came and almost ran over my son,” she said, adding that a responding officer told her there was “nothing he could do.” Longtime resident Ed Frank said the behavior he’s seen after school is dangerous and needs “teeth” behind any rule: “These are little hooligans,” Frank said, describing riders who he said shout profanity and perform wheelies in neighborhoods.

Council members repeatedly framed the discussion as balancing safety with mobility. Councilman Chris Anstead, who said he owns a class‑1 e‑bike, said he favors pulling e‑bikes off sidewalks and onto streets and bike lanes where appropriate: “We need to pull them off the sidewalks because we have a lot of residents that are walking on the sidewalks and they want to feel safe,” Anstead said. Several members also said they support prohibiting riding inside city parks because local park parcels are small and heavily used by pedestrians and youth sports.

Staff laid out enforcement pathways and constraints. Charmaine Yambaud, director of public works, summarized current municipal code gaps (the city’s code bans bicycles inside shopping-center sidewalks but does not explicitly include e‑bikes), and said enforcement would be multi‑layered: traffic enforcement on streets and sidewalks by the Lost Hills Sheriff Station and municipal code enforcement (or contracted security) inside parks. Brink said the city would likely need additional contracted code enforcement resources to handle park enforcement if the council adopts a prohibition. The city’s public safety liaison and volunteer programs were discussed as supplements to enforcement.

Council members and staff emphasized education alongside regulation: proposed steps include school‑based safety courses, a permit/education program for student riders, targeted outreach to parents, updated park signage and a social‑media/public‑notice campaign. Anstead said a local bike retailer had volunteered to help with school programs.

Council members did not adopt an ordinance at the meeting. Instead they gave staff direction—by general consensus—to proceed with the “Option 3” approach presented by staff (prohibit riding class‑1/2/3 e‑bikes on sidewalks and prohibit e‑bike riding in non‑roadway park areas while still allowing use of driveways/parking lots for access), and asked staff to return with draft municipal-code language, enforcement details (fines/penalties and staffing/costs), and outreach plans. Staff said it would bring proposed ordinance language and implementation options back to council at a future meeting.

Next steps: staff will draft code language incorporating the council’s direction; evaluate enforcement options with the Lost Hills Sheriff Station, code enforcement and possible contract security; estimate budget impacts and outreach costs; and return to council with an ordinance, signage plan and proposed timeline for implementation.