E-Bike Laws in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara's Bicycle and E-Conveyance Safety Ordinance, SBMC Chapter 10.52, was approved 7–0 on February 25, 2025. It prohibits riding a bicycle or electric bicycle on any sidewalk, with limited exceptions for driveways, designated bikeways and immediate danger. Riders must use designated bike lanes where available, ride single file or no more than two abreast, and yield to pedestrians. Helmets are required under 18, and an enumerated unsafe-riding list covers excessive speed, tricks, wheelies or stunts near pedestrians or vehicles, and riding against traffic. Santa Barbara PD issued nearly 600 citations in 2026 — by far the highest documented volume in California.
Two sources give different figures for SBMC § 10.52.080. Noozhawk reports $100 / $200 / $500. Bike Legal reports up to $200 / up to $300 / up to $500. Both agree on a three-tier escalating structure within one year. This could not be resolved against the primary code — the eCode360 node for Chapter 10.52 would not serve and the city's own page omits the amounts. No figure is published here as authoritative. Given that Santa Barbara PD issued nearly 600 citations in 2026, the amount matters to a lot of people; verify with the City Clerk. The ordinance number is also unconfirmed.
The rules, line by line
| Subject | Rule | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Sidewalks | "Prohibits the riding of a bicycle or electric bicycle on any sidewalk" — with limited exceptions for driveways, designated bikeways and immediate danger. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 (§§ 10.52.010–10.52.080) |
| Bike lanes | Must use designated bike lanes where available. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Riding abreast | Single file, or no more than two abreast, except on bike-exclusive paths. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Yielding | Must yield to pedestrians when exiting alleys, driveways or bike paths, and to vehicles and pedestrians at intersections and crosswalks. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Helmets | Required under 18. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Equipment | Reflectors front and rear; brakes capable of "one braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement." | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Unsafe riding | Enumerated: excessive speed in hazardous conditions; tricks, wheelies or stunts in areas with pedestrians or moving vehicles; riding against traffic on a public street or bikeway; failing to yield. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Electric motorcycles | Sur-Rons and similar are illegal on all public rights of way. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Youth diversion | Minors may enter the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) Youth Diversion Program. If a minor refuses, an administrative fine issues to the minor. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Parent responsibility | Parents and guardians are financially responsible for fines and for reimbursement claims if a minor's unsafe riding damages public property. | SBMC Ch. 10.52 |
| Fine amounts | Disputed. Two sources conflict — see the caution below. | SBMC § 10.52.080Citation unconfirmed |
The enforcement outlier
Nearly 600 citations in 2026 is not close to any other figure in this survey. For comparison: Oceanside issued 139 citations across roughly two years, Santa Cruz impounded 16 bikes from August 2025, Sacramento County issued 7 citations and towed 4 vehicles in a targeted American River Parkway operation, and Manhattan Beach — with a $500-and-a-misdemeanour first offense — issued zero on the Strand or the Marvin Braude trail.
Santa Barbara is where California e-bike ordinances are actually being enforced at volume. Which is precisely why the unresolved fine schedule is a problem rather than a footnote.
The diversion design has an edge to it
Most California youth diversion programs are purely an off-ramp: complete the course, the citation goes away. Santa Barbara's has a consequence for declining. A minor may enter the CADA Youth Diversion Program — and if a minor refuses, an administrative fine issues to the minor.
Pairing diversion with an administrative fine as the alternative is a sharper structure than the
pure-option model used in Newport Beach (NBMC § 12.56.080), Encinitas (EMC § 14.56.080) and San
Diego's 120-day online course.
Santa Barbara also goes further than most on parental responsibility: parents are financially responsible not only for fines but for reimbursement claims if a minor's unsafe riding damages public property. That property-damage liability provision is unique in this survey.
"E-conveyance" as a category
The ordinance's title — the Bicycle and E-Conveyance Safety Ordinance — reflects a drafting choice several California cities have converged on: rather than regulate e-bikes by Vehicle Code class, define a broad local category covering everything electric and two-wheeled.
The other instances: Riverside's 2026 proposal defines all devices collectively as "e-conveyances"; Carlsbad, Seal Beach and Oceanside use "regulated mobility device"; Dublin uses "micro-mobility device"; Calabasas uses "electric mobility device."
The advantage is that the category does not go stale when a new device type appears — the problem
that left LAMC § 56.15 covering only human-powered devices and Berkeley's BMC § 14.68.010
defining "motorized bicycle" by the old moped standard. The cost is that a broad local category can
sweep in devices the Vehicle Code treats differently, and the interaction is untested.
The wider county has nothing
As of a September 17, 2026 roundtable, Santa Barbara County had adopted no e-bike ordinance for its unincorporated areas. Supervisor Laura Capps: "There's no easy or obvious solutions," with staffing constraints leaving the county "hard-pressed to enforce existing ones." A 2025 County Grand Jury report recommended increased e-bike education and enforcement — a recommendation, not a rule.
Note a search trap: a county Board of Supervisors ordinance that surfaces in results amends Chapter 23 of the County Code on road speed limits and contains no e-bike, bicycle, helmet, sidewalk, trail or fine provisions.
Common questions
Can you ride an e-bike on the sidewalk in Santa Barbara?
No. SBMC Chapter 10.52 prohibits riding a bicycle or electric bicycle on any sidewalk, with limited exceptions for crossing driveways, designated bikeways, and cases of immediate danger. Riders must use designated bike lanes where available. Santa Barbara PD issued nearly 600 citations in 2026, so this is actively enforced.
What is the fine for riding an e-bike on the sidewalk in Santa Barbara?
Genuinely uncertain. Two sources conflict on SBMC § 10.52.080: one reports $100 / $200 / $500 and the other reports up to $200 / up to $300 / up to $500. Both agree on a three-tier escalating structure within one year. This site does not publish either figure as authoritative — verify with the City Clerk.
Can a minor avoid an e-bike fine in Santa Barbara?
By entering the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) Youth Diversion Program. Note the consequence for declining: if a minor refuses diversion, an administrative fine issues to the minor. Parents and guardians are financially responsible for fines and also for reimbursement claims if a minor's unsafe riding damages public property.
Are Sur-Ron electric motorcycles legal in Santa Barbara?
No. SBMC Chapter 10.52 states that electric motorcycles such as Sur-Rons are illegal on all public rights of way. This matches state law: since January 1, 2026, Veh. Code § 436.1 defines pedal-less electric two-wheelers designed for off-highway use as off- highway electric motorcycles, prohibited on streets, sidewalks, bike lanes and bike paths. Santa Barbara Unified separately bans them from campuses.