10/21/1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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r r ON MOTION by Commissioner Lyons, SECONDED by Commissioner Bird, the Board unanimously (4-0) authorized -the Legal Dept. to negotiate a lesser amount with Mr. Udell and bring it back to the Board. TRAIN WHISTLE ORDINANCE The Board reviewed the following memo dated 10/15/86: TO: The Board of County Commissioners DATE: October 15, 1986 SUBJECT:ain Whistle Ordinance FROM: J P. Wilson nt County Attorney Paul Risner, attorney for the Florida East Coast Railway Company, has contacted me regarding proposed changes to the above -referenced ordinance. Mr. Risner believes the following changes must be made to our ordinance because of an amendment to the enabling legislation and a recent Attorney General's Opinion. The changes are as follows: 1. The ordinance must prohibit audible signals at all railway crossings, public or private, rather than public as cited in our ordinance. Z. The ordinance must be effective on a county -wide basis and municipalities which prefer not be affected by the ordinance must pass a contrary ordinance. The existing ordinance is effective only in the unincorporated areas. 3. Any prohibition of audible warnings must be unconditional. The . Indian River County ordinance specifically permits railroad engineers to sound warnings in emergency situations. Mr. Risner is concerned that due to the mandatory nature of the enabling legislation, which requires an unconditional prohibition, -that any exceptions to the ordinance may render the ordinance unenforceable. As a practical matter, Mr. Risner advised me that the engineers on Florida East Coast Railway trains have been instructed to sound the horns in emergency situations. In the event that criminal charges are brought under those circumstances, the railroad will cite the emergency to the court as a defense to the charges. 71 BOOK 06 fA�r 1�,S2