Belvedere wants tough rules for teen e-bike riders, including allowing police to temporarily seize illegal bikes.

Mayor Jane Cooper, speaking at the City Council meeting Monday, suggested making the city ordinance “more strict than AB 1778.” The state law, among other provisions, allows Marin municipalities to ban youths under 16 from riding throttle-controlled e-bikes.

“It just doesn’t make sense to me,” Cooper said. “They’re on an illegal bike. We give them a ticket for $25 and they still keep the bike?”

“I think in those instances what we would do is, instead of having the child ride the bike home, we would take the bike and call the parents,” police Chief Jason Wu said. “Clearly, we can’t allow them to continue the violation.”

The council gave preliminary approval to new e-bike rules that would take effect this summer. However, it asked the city attorney to return before final passage with language to toughen the law and put pressure on parents.

“It sounds nice on paper, it just feels completely unenforceable and has no teeth whatsoever,” said Vice Mayor Sally Wilkinson. “I understand that it is the educational component that we’re hoping has most effect and it’s really guiding parents to stop allowing kids to have these bikes. But it just doesn’t feel like it’s meaningful.”

“I do know that Mill Valley and San Anselmo have higher fines,” Councilmember Peter Mark said. “It does seem that 25 bucks is a bit of a throwaway, and no one’s going to go to traffic school or make the effort to, in a sense, alter their behavior.”

Under AB 1778, authored by Assemblymember Damon Connolly and approved last fall, Marin municipalities can pass local ordinances to limit class 2 e-bikes and require all e-bike riders to wear a helmet. Violators would pay a $25 fine. The fine would be dropped if offenders take an online drivers’ education course.

In March, Marin County supervisors passed a model e-bike ordinance based on the legislation for the county’s unincorporated areas. The board has asked all cities and towns to adopt similar rules to ensure consistency.

“Regardless of the age, a class 2 e-bike is defined as any bike that can travel up to 20 miles per hour and has a throttle,” Belvedere City Manager Robert Zadnik said before the council discussion. “Recent data from hospitals has shown that e-bikes are contributing to more severe emergency room related injuries, not only here in Marin but across California.”

At a brief public hearing, several residents said they regularly see youths recklessly riding e-bikes.

“I don’t think they know the rules of the road at all,” said Sandra Donnell, who cited examples of youths ignoring stop signs, passing on the right and using cellphones while riding. “Not only at 14 should you not be riding a bike like that, you need to understand the rules of the road.”

Belvedere might partner with Mill Valley, whose police department has developed a more extensive drivers’ education program for violators than the online course from the California Highway Patrol, Zadnik told the council.