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TO: The Board --of County Commissioners <br />DATE: October 15, 1986 <br />SUBJECT:ain Whistle Ordinance <br />FROM: J P. Wilson <br />t County Attorney <br />BOOK 66 PAGE N <br />Paul Risner, attorney for the Florida East Coast Railway <br />Company, has contacted me regarding proposed changes to the <br />above -referenced ordinance. Mr. Risner believes the <br />following changes must be made to our ordinance because of <br />an amendment to the enabling legislation and a recent <br />Attorney General's Opinion. The changes are as follows: <br />1. The ordinance must prohibit audible signals at all <br />railway crossings, public or private; rather than public as <br />cited in our ordinance. <br />2. The ordinance must be effective on a county -wide basis <br />and municipalities which prefer not be affected by the <br />ordinance must pass a contrary ordinance. The existing <br />ordinance is effective only in the unincorporated areas. <br />3. Any prolL bition of audible warnings must be <br />unconditional. The Indian' River County ordinance <br />specifically permits railroad engineers to sound warnings in <br />emergency situations. Mr. Risner is concerned that due to <br />the mandatory nature of the enabling legislation, which <br />requires an unconditional prohibition, that any exceptions <br />to the ordinance may render the ordinance unenforceable. As <br />a practical matter, Mr. Risner advised me that the engineers <br />on Florida East Coast Railway trains have been instructed to <br />sound the horns in emergency situations. In the event that <br />criminal charges are brought under these circumstances, the <br />railroad will cite the emergency to the court as.a defense <br />to the charges. <br />The Indian River County ordinance is scheduled to go into <br />effect on November 1, 1986. 1 have advertised the proposed <br />amendments to this ordinance as suggested by the railroad <br />for November 18, 1986. Mr. Risner is wilting to appear <br />before the Board at the public hearing to explain the <br />Florida East Coast Railway's -position on this matter. At <br />that time Mr. Risner may also be able to answer any other <br />questions you may have regarding the affect of this <br />ordinance and the experience his company has had with such <br />ordinances in other jurisdictions. <br />Attorney Wilson stated his only concern was that the City <br />of Vero Beach and the City of Sebastian both indicated they <br />wanted to be excluded and the state has indicated that the <br />ordinance must be enacted on a countywide basis; he, therefore, <br />wondered if the Board wished to make the new ordinance effective <br />51 <br />