Panama City adopts ordinance requiring railroad owners to maintain vegetation, drainage outside ballast zone

Panama City’s Commission voted unanimously Feb. 24 to adopt Ordinance No. 32-99, amending Chapter 12 to require railroad owners and operators to maintain vegetation, drainage and nuisance control in rights-of-way outside the immediate ballast area.

The ordinance requires written, certified notice and provides a minimum 30 days for abatement. If property owners or railroad operators do not correct identified nuisances, the city may abate the problem and assess the cost via lien and nuisance assessment, city staff said. City Attorney Mister Zimmerman described the measure as a more proactive complement to the city’s existing code-enforcement process, patterned after similar local ordinances.

“The ordinance requires all railroad companies to maintain grass and weeds outside the ballast tract zone...so they do not exceed 12 inches in height,” said Mister Zimmerman, identified in the meeting as the city attorney, summarizing the ordinance’s basic maintenance standards and the 15-foot exemption for immediate operational track area.

Commissioners discussed concerns about scope and unintended enforcement against private property and asked staff to ensure certified outreach to the railroad before any abatement activity. Staff told the commission they have had multiple verbal and email contacts with the railroad’s local representatives and will follow up with additional certified letters and documentation if the ordinance takes effect.

Commissioners agreed to a delayed effective date to allow formal notice and operational coordination; the motion to adopt carried 4-0.

Next steps include staff-certified notice to the railroad, a 30-day minimum correction period, and administrative follow-up as prescribed by the ordinance. The city attorney read the ordinance title into the record after passage.