§ 18-1. Roadway obstructions at railway crossings.

(a)

For purposes of this section, the term "railroad equipment" shall mean any railroad train, locomotive, car, piece of rolling stock or other railroad materials, equipment, machinery or devices that are not installed as a fixed part of a railway.

(b)

No railroad equipment shall be operated or permitted to be placed so as to close, block or otherwise obstruct in whole or in part any railway crossing of any public or private roadway for motor vehicle or pedestrian traffic for any period of time longer than ten (10) continuous minutes within any fifteen-minute interval, except in cases of emergency. The provisions hereof shall not apply to railroad trains in continuous motion but shall apply to railroad trains or cars engaged in switching or engaged in loading or unloading.

(c)

Any person or entity owning, leasing, using, possessing or otherwise in the actual or physical charge, custody or control of any railroad equipment that is placed so as to close, block or otherwise obstruct in whole or in part any railway crossing of any public or private roadway in violation of subsection (b) shall be guilty of an offense that, pursuant to section 125.69, Florida Statutes, and any successor thereto, shall be prosecuted in the same manner as misdemeanors are prosecuted and, upon conviction, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), only, but not by imprisonment. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any member of the crew operating or otherwise in the actual or physical charge, custody or control of any railroad equipment when the closure, blockage or obstruction prohibited under subsection (b) is necessitated by the crew's obeyance of federal laws and regulations regarding the stoppage and movement of railroad equipment.

(d)

For purposes of subsection (b), an emergency includes, but is not limited to, a railroad accident or collision; a locomotive or rail-car mechanical failure; a track-switching or signal-system failure; or a blocking of railroad tracks that is not due to or caused by the operations of any railroad company carried out by it or on its behalf through its principals, officers, employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors, laborers, suppliers, licensees or permittees, or that is otherwise beyond the reasonable control of a railway company. An emergency does not include events such as delays in scheduling, delays in arrival, delays in delivery, or any other delay that is not the result of an unforeseen mechanical breakdown in the operation of the railway or in the passage of conveyances thereon between termini.

(e)

The prohibitions of subsection (b) shall not apply to activities associated with scheduled maintenance on or emergency repairs to railroads, railroad beds or equipment, devices or facilities associated therewith, provided that such activities are carried out with all expedition and dispatch in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.

(f)

This section shall be applicable throughout the unincorporated areas of Clay County, Florida, as well as within any incorporated municipality located in Clay County, Florida, to the extent not inconsistent with any ordinance of such incorporated municipality.

(Ord. No. 98-5, § 1, 2-10-98)