Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – Gulf Shores business office staff and police laid out its case to deny a license to a golf cart rental company that applied for a license in the spring and started doing rentals in areas not designated for golf cart use before the license was issued.

The presentation was during the July 18 city council work session and the council could vote on issuing or denying the license at the July 25 regular meeting. They could also choose to postpone it for further study.

“On April 7 we received an application from an Orange Beach golf cart rental company that is requesting to rent golf carts in Gulf Shores,” Revenue Supervisor Layla Andrews told the council. “Upon the application, Deputy Chief, Sgt. Josh Coleman and myself had met with the applicant to explain to him about the current ordinance that we have in place for golf carts communities and designated streets. We explained to him that the golf cart activity or rentals could only happen in the designated street areas, private roadways or private campgrounds.”

But Deputy Chief Dan Netemeyer said Gulf Coast Rental Co. owned by John “Tater” Harris rented carts a handful of times and in areas where they are not currently allowed.

“We’ve had multiple incidents with the applicant already,” Netemeyer said. “On that particular day one of his golf carts was seen down on 59 I believe on the sidewalk. On May 14 we had an incident with a golf cart that was rented by him and delivered into Gulf Shores in a nonauthorized area.”

Those areas include anywhere along the beach road and on any road where the speed limit is higher than 25 mph.

“They are not authorized down there,” Netemeyer said of the beach area. “We had another incident on July 5 down on West Beach where one of his carts was observed by a renter being driven. We have a history of him dropping off carts in prohibited areas here in Gulf Shores. The police department concurs with the recommendation to deny this business license.”

A repentant Harris addressed the council at the meeting and acknowledged his company made mistakes with rentals in Gulf Shores but will work to limit those in the future if the license is granted.

“We’ve created a workflow and through the work flow anything that would come through the city of Gulf Shores would require a manager or my wife or my approval,” Harris told the council. “We’re getting better. I apologize for the mistakes. I can’t say we’ll never make another mistake. I wish I could. My goal would be not to.”

Of the five neighborhoods in town, there are only six vacation rental units in the five and those are directly behind Target in the western end of Craft Farms.

“Those five areas that you said are legal for golf carts to operate in our city those are long-standing residential areas,” Councilman Jason Dyken said. “Those areas do not have short-term rental availability in them. So, his business model of wanting to rent golf carts to visitors or people who are coming down to Gulf Shores is a very limited target market. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

But Harris said he believes there’s still enough of a market to rent the golf carts in private areas where it is legal to drive them.

“There are also places down Fort Morgan Road like Peninsula that there are short-term rentals where people would want carts,” Harris said. “Private communities, RV parks like Doc’s, Island Retreat. I also talked to people with the state park about providing stuff for the kids to ride through the state park. I would like to stay in compliance that way.”

During the work session, the council also discussed:

• Continuing its role for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to enforce the Division 8 regulations for the coast. This contract allows the city to receive funds from ADEM reimbursing our expenses for enforcing these regulations on permitting, variance requests and patrolling city beaches.
• Approving a liquor license application for Desmond’s Taste of Jamaica now operating in the old Crazy Cajun location near the previous site of the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.
• Issuing assembly permits for the Tour De Beach fundraiser for the National MS Society on the weekend of Sept. 17-18 and for the city’s S’mores on the Shore event on Aug. 4 at 6 p.m. at the west end of Gulf Place.
• Approving a contract Olsen Associates to perform a coastal engineering service for work related to Hurricane Nate and Hurricane Sally engineered beach losses for $282,590.