California Vehicle Code 22358.9 – (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a local authority …
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a local authority may, by ordinance, determine and declare a 25 or 20 miles per hour prima facie speed limit on a highway contiguous to a business activity district when posted with a sign that indicates a speed limit of 25 or 20 miles per hour.
(2) The prima facie limits established under paragraph (1) apply only to highways that meet all of the following conditions:
Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 22358.9
- business: includes a proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and any other form of commercial enterprise. See California Vehicle Code 234
- Highway: is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See California Vehicle Code 360
- traffic: includes pedestrians, ridden animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel. See California Vehicle Code 620
(A) A maximum of four traffic lanes.
(B) A maximum posted 30 miles per hour prima facie speed limit immediately prior to and after the business activity district, if establishing a 25 miles per hour speed limit.
(C) A maximum posted 25 miles per hour prima facie speed limit immediately prior to and after the business activity district, if establishing a 20 miles per hour speed limit.
(b) As used in this section, a “business activity district” is that portion of a highway and the property contiguous thereto that includes central or neighborhood downtowns, urban villages, or zoning designations that prioritize commercial land uses at the downtown or neighborhood scale and meets at least three of the following requirements in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive:
(1) No less than 50 percent of the contiguous property fronting the highway consists of retail or dining commercial uses, including outdoor dining, that open directly onto sidewalks adjacent to the highway.
(2) Parking, including parallel, diagonal, or perpendicular spaces located alongside the highway.
(3) Traffic control signals or stop signs regulating traffic flow on the highway, located at intervals of no more than 600 feet.
(4) Marked crosswalks not controlled by a traffic control device.
(c) A local authority shall not declare a prima facie speed limit under this section on a portion of a highway where the local authority has already lowered the speed limit as permitted under Section 22358.7, has retained the currently adopted speed limit under Section 22358.8, or has restored the immediately prior adopted speed limit under Section 22358.8.
(d) A local authority shall issue only warning citations for violations of exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles per hour or less for the first 30 days that a lower speed limit is in effect as authorized by this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 406, Sec. 4. (AB 1938) Effective January 1, 2023.)