§ 132.10. ELECTRIC PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY DEVICES, (EPAMDs).

(A)

EPAMD allowed in certain areas.

(1)

An EPAMD, as defined in Florida Statutes Section 316.003(83), may be operated in the areas allowed by Florida Statutes Section 316.2068(1), subject to the conditions listed below as well as the requirements listed in this section.

- No EPAMD shall park in a vehicle parking space.

- The EPAMD shall use the public sidewalks, unless there is no sidewalk or the sidewalk surface is not conducive for EPAMD traffic. EPAMDs may ride through intersections on the same basis as a pedestrian. EPAMDs shall be subject to all traffic regulations. EPAMDs shall not exceed the speed of twelve (12) miles per hour while using a public sidewalk.

- Every EPAMD or rider shall be equipped with a sounding device, which shall be used, when necessary, when passing or approaching pedestrians or other users of the street or sidewalk.

- An EPAMD user shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and disabled people with assistive devices or guide animals.

(B)

Prohibition of riding EPAMDs in certain areas.

(1)

The use of EPAMDs is hereby prohibited, based upon the interest of safety, on sidewalks, streets/roads and bike lanes on Atlantic Avenue from A-1-A to I-95, Pineapple Grove Way from Atlantic Avenue to N.E. 3rd Street, on A-1-A from the north end of the municipal beach to Casuarina Road, and in the Old School Square and Robert W. Federspiel parking garages, except as specifically authorized by Section 132.10(C).

(2)

The prohibitions set forth in subsection (1) shall not be applicable to City personnel in the course of conducting official City business.

(C)

Limited use of EPAMDs authorized for tour operations with conditional use approval by the City. This subsection shall only apply to tour businesses that have received conditional use approval from the City. The tour business shall operate under the conditions of the conditional use permit, the minimum conditions and requirements as set forth in LDR Section 4.3.3 (ZZZZ), as well as the following requirements:

(1)

The tour business shall provide an approved site for education and instruction, and shall provide such instruction, (such instruction shall be for a minimum of fifteen (15) minutes), on the operation and use of EPAMDs by its employees and customers. For purposes of this section, customers shall include all tour patrons and users, whether or not consideration is paid for such use.

(2)

The maximum number of EPAMD users that can be included in any single tour is nine (9), plus tour leaders.

(3)

No rider shall be allowed on any tour under eleven (11) years of age and seventy-five (75) pounds in weight, and/or as limited by the tour operator's insurance company requirements, and/or pursuant to the EPAMD manufacturer's specifications. There shall only be one rider per EPAMD.

(4)

There shall be a minimum of one tour leader for each tour and such leader shall be an employee or owner of the business.

(5)

Only leaders/operators experienced in the use and operation of EPAMDs shall give tours. Tour leaders or operators, as well as tour customers, shall wear safety reflector vests. All tour customers and leaders/operators shall ride in single file while participating in such tours.

(6)

No EPAMD shall park in a vehicle parking space.

(7)

No EPAMD shall be used or operated in excess of a maximum speed of twelve (12) miles per hour except, when operating an EPAMD along the west side of A-1-A, where allowed, from the north end of the municipal beach to Casuarina Road the maximum speed shall be four (4) miles per hour.

(8)

Tours shall use the public sidewalks, unless there is no sidewalk or the sidewalk surface is not conducive for EPAMD traffic. Tours may ride through intersections on the same basis as a pedestrian. EPAMDs shall be subject to all traffic regulations.

(9)

No tour will be conducted or operated after sunset and before sunrise.

(10)

Tours shall not enter any private property without prior permission from the owner.

(11)

Every EPAMD or rider shall be equipped with a sounding device, which shall be used, when necessary, when passing or approaching pedestrians or other users of the street or sidewalk.

(12)

An EPAMD user shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and disabled people with assistive devices or guide animals.

(13)

All users or customers shall wear helmets during training and at all other times during the tour or at any time while on or operating an EPAMD.

(14)

Users or customers shall not be permitted to operate an EPAMD while under the apparent influence of alcohol or drugs, including prescription drugs that impair the user's ability to operate machinery, or in the event that the tour operator or employees have actual knowledge of the fact that such user or customer is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including prescription drugs that impair the user's ability to operate machinery.

(15)

Tour operators shall follow the requirements of Florida State Statutes regarding the necessity to file a police report in the event of an accident.

(16)

All of the above requirements and conditions shall be explained and specifically described by the tour operator or employees to each user or customer prior to the use of an EPAMD by such user or customer.

(17)

No EPAMD shall exceed the width of twenty-six (26) inches at its widest point. No EPAMD shall contain signage advertising any business. The tour leader's EPAMD may contain minimal advertising regarding the tour business.

(18)

No tour shall be permitted on Atlantic Avenue from A-1-A to I-95; the east side of A-1-A from the north end of the municipal beach to Casuarina Road; the west side of A-1-A from the public parking lot located at the north end of the Marriott Hotel to Miramar Drive; and Pineapple Grove Way from Atlantic Avenue to N.E. 3rd Street, which includes all sidewalks, streets/roads and bike paths. Nor shall tours be allowed in the Old School Square and Robert W. Federspiel parking garages. EPAMDs may traverse the areas listed above if the EPAMDs are not ridden and only when it will not interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

(D)

Limited use of EPAMDs authorized for persons disabled for mobility purposes.

(1)

A disabled person may use an EPAMD for mobility purposes in accordance with the regulations set forth in Section 132.10.

(2)

The permit process is as follows:

(a)

The City of Delray Community Improvement Department or its designee shall, upon completion of the City application form and receipt of the application fee, issue a permit for use of an electric personal assistive mobility device (also known commercially as a "Segway") by a person who is disabled for mobility purposes as defined in this section for a period of up to two (2) years in the case of long-term mobility impairment, or a temporary permit not to exceed six (6) months to any person in the case of a temporary mobility impairment.

(b)

For purposes of this section, a "person disabled for mobility purposes" shall mean a person who can be certified, and is currently certified, as set forth below, as having any of the following disabilities that render him or her unable to walk two hundred (200) feet without stopping to rest as a result of one or more of the following:

(i)

Inability to walk without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, or other assistive device, or without the assistance of another person.

(ii)

The need to permanently use a wheelchair.

(iii)

Restriction by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the person's arterial oxygen is less than sixty (60) mm/hg on room air at rest.

(iv)

Restriction by cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as class III or class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association.

(v)

Severe limitation in the person's ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.

(c)

Permit application including medical certification; certain documentation accepted in lieu of medical certification.

(i)

Certification for a person disabled for mobility purposes.

(1)

A certification for a person disabled for mobility purposes must be provided as part of the permit application from a physician licensed under Florida Statute Chapter 458, Chapter 459, or Chapter 460, by a podiatric physician licensed under Chapter 461, by an optometrist licensed under Chapter 463, by an advance registered nurse practitioner licensed under Chapter 464 under the protocol of a licensed physician as stated in this subsection, by a physician assistant licensed under Chapter 458 or Chapter 459, or by a similarly licensed physician from another state if the application is accompanied by documentation of the physician's licensure in the other state and a form signed by the out-of-state physician verifying his or her knowledge of the eligibility guidelines set forth in this section.

(2)

The certification must include, but need not be limited to:

(a)

The disability of the applicant; the certifying practitioner's name and address; the practitioner's certification number; the eligibility criteria for the permit; the penalty for falsification by either the certifying practitioner or the applicant; and the duration of the condition that entitles the person to the permit.

(b)

The signatures of the applicant's physician or other certifying practitioner, the applicant or the applicant's parent or guardian, and the employee of the City of Delray Beach who processes the application.

(ii)

In lieu of the medical certification required in subsection (D)(2)(c)(i) above, an applicant may submit a State of Florida Disabled Person's parking placard and the registration card identifying the applicant as the owner of the placard, or any other state's equivalent documentation.

(d)

An issued permit shall be prominently displayed on the front of any EPAMD used by a permittee within the City of Delray Beach.

(e)

Any permit issued is nontransferable and authorizes only the named permittee to use an EPAMD in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(f)

An EPAMD shall not be used or operated at a speed in excess of twelve (12) miles per hour at any location authorized by this section.

(g)

A person disabled for mobility purposes who is operating an EPAMD which prominently displays the required permit may operate an EPAMD on a marked bicycle path, shared use path and/or sidewalk and at an intersection to cross a road or street even if the road or street has a posted speed limit of more than twenty-five (25) miles per hour, and in City-owned parking lots. An EPAMD permit shall not authorize the use or operation of an EPAMD on any beach, within any City park or on any other City property except as specifically authorized in this section. An EPAMD permit does not authorize the use of an EPAMD on any private property (or quasi-public property such as a shopping center parking lot) provided; however, a permittee may operate an EPAMD in such private or quasi-public areas with any legally required consent or permission of the private or quasi-public property owner.

(h)

Any person who knowingly makes a false or misleading statement or provides false or misleading information in any part of the application process for an EPAMD permit or in the use or display of an issued EPAMD permit commits a violation of this section and of the Delray Beach Code of Ordinances.

(E)

Violations.

(1)

A violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable in accordance with the penalty provisions of the Delray Beach Code of Ordinances.

(2)

A violation by any tour owner or operator, any employee, agent or subcontractor of such tour owner or operator, any user or customer associated with such tour operation, or any other person, of the provisions of this section shall be punishable in accordance with the penalty provisions of the Delray Beach Code Ordinances.

(3)

It shall be a violation of the provisions of this section:

(a)

For any person to knowingly make a false or misleading statement or provide false or misleading information in any part of an application process for an EPAMD permit; and/or

(b)

For any person other than the permittee to use or display an EPAMD permit or to represent that any such person using an EPAMD possesses a City of Delray Beach issued permit when such statement is not true; and/or

(c)

For a permittee to use an EPAMD without display of an EPAMD permit as required by this section; and/or

(d)

For any permittee to transfer or knowingly allow the use of an EPAMD permit by another person; and/or

(e)

For an EPAMD permittee to use an EPAMD or an EPAMD permit in any way or in any location except as specifically authorized by the provisions of this section; and/or

(f)

For any certifying person or entity to certify an individual as a person disabled for mobility purposes who does not meet the criteria set forth in this section.

(Ord. No. 05-11, § 1, passed 4/5/11)