CALABASAS : City Officials Shop for Electric Car

Calabasas officials are shopping for an electric car in which to send volunteer sleuths whispering through neighborhoods, reporting signs of trouble to sheriff’s deputies and doling out parking tickets.

With a maximum range of about 60 miles and top speeds near 55 m.p.h., the one-car fleet would suit the purposes of the planned Calabasas Volunteer Patrol, said Lt. Jim Pierson of the Lost Hills-Malibu sheriff’s station.

“Obviously, they’re not going to be in any high-speed chases in this thing,” Pierson said. “The patrols are only going to handle routine items like checking homes where people are on vacation, giving us more time for other things.”

If Calabasas buys an electric car, the upscale town will join a growing number of cities, utilities and businesses using electric cars for their more modest needs, said Mike Gage, chairman of CALSTART, a public-private sector consortium researching and promoting electric cars.

Lured by the lack of emissions and low maintenance of electric vehicles, officials in Santa Monica, Pasadena, Vernon and Chula Vista have already purchased them for building inspections, parking enforcement and official trips across town, Gage said.

“The cars are getting more sophisticated with every passing day,” Gage said. “But a lot of cities have decided they are going to get in on the action and be part of the answer, instead of just standing there.”

Last week, Calabasas officials tested a Denmark-made electric car marketed by Green Motorworks Inc. of North Hollywood, said Calabasas Building Official Tim Steenson. On Friday, they will check out a Ford Escort or Chevy pickup and, possibly, a Plymouth Voyager van, converted to electricity by Electricar Los Angeles, he said.

The electric car would probably cost $15,000 to $20,000, and would be paid for with funds given the city by the Southern California Air Quality Management District to fight air pollution, Steenson said.

Steenson said he and others testing cars for the city will report their findings to the City Council on Nov. 17, after which the council may approve a purchase.

Calabasas City Manager Charles Cate said recruitment is under way for volunteers for the patrol. They will be trained by sheriff’s deputies, armed with flashlights and cellular phones and sent out on patrol during daytime and evening hours, he said.