Lawyer: Golf cart ban violates Constitution

Opponent says sidewalks are for pedestrians, not vehicles

By RICHARD PRIOR

An attorney for Morris Steinheimer argued Monday that the disabled man has a constitutional right to drive his golf cart on the sidewalks of St. Augustine Beach.

Steinheimer, who lives on Treasure Beach Road, has to travel a "substantial distance" to "church, grocery stores and other things" available to the public, said attorney Thomas E. Cushman.

His client is entitled to the "reasonable accommodation" of a golf cart to run ordinary errands with his "life companion," Mandy Fugate, who also is physically impaired, said Cushman.

Steinheimer suffered a severe brain injury in a four-wheeler accident in 1983, when he was 21 years old, Cushman said.

Fugate was injured in an ATV accident when she was 11 years old.

The couple got a divorce in June 2007 so Fugate could collect a portion of her father's Social Security benefits, said her mother, Sandy Middlemiss.

Denying Steinheimer a "reasonable accommodation" for his condition, Cushman said, is a violation of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions, the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Steinheimer told St. Johns County Judge Charles J. Tinlin that he has not had a driver's license since his accident. He doesn't feel physically able to drive a car, and he has concerns about maneuvering a car in traffic, he told the judge.

Without a driver's license, he can't operate the golf cart in the roadway.

Smaller "mobility devices," such as wheelchairs and Segway Personal Transporters aren't large enough to hold two people and their purchases, argued Cushman, who was assisted by local attorneys Anne Marie Gennusa and Kara E. Mort.

In response to the judge's question, Steinheimer said his golf cart has a top speed of 18 mph.

"A golf cart going 18 miles an hour on a sidewalk with pedestrians could certainly do some damage," Tinlin said.

Mort and Cushman cited that portion of the state statute covering motorized scooters that would be allowed on sidewalks.

They are restricted to three wheels and a top speed of 30 mph.

Steinheimer was ticketed March 29 near Jack's BBQ on A1A Beach Boulevard. He was arrested and later released on a pre-set bond of $200.

SAB Police Chief Richard Hedges said later that pedestrians claimed they had to move into the grass and onto A1A to get out of the way of the cart.

Steinheimer had received written warnings and citations in the past for driving on sidewalks. That was his first arrest.

Tinlin asked Cushman if it was true that the police department was responding to citizen complaints when an officer cited Steinheimer.

Cushman said he didn't know -- but he has collected the signatures of 3,000 people who think Steinheimer and Fugate should be allowed to drive on the sidewalk.

Asked by the judge to assess several letters to the editor that criticized Steinheimer, Cushman said he preferred to keep his feelings to himself.

"My opinion is (the letter writers) have never had a disability; they've don't need a reasonable accommodation."

"Steinheimer has a physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of his major life activities," his attorneys wrote in their motion to dismiss the charge. "(T)hat major life activity is walking."

Geoff Dobson, city attorney for St. Augustine Beach, brought a proposed ordinance before the City Commission a year ago that would have allowed Steinheimer and Fugate to use the golf cart on sidewalks under city jurisdiction.

The commission dismissed the proposal.

Even if it had been approved, the change would have covered only two streets in the city's jurisdiction - Mickler Boulevard and Old Beach Road. The other roadways are under state or county jurisdiction.

If Steinheimer feels he is "not qualified to operate a slow-moving electric vehicle or golf cart on the highway," Dobson said, he is "probably not qualified to drive the golf cart where there is pedestrian traffic."

He told Tinlin that the City doesn't discriminate against Steinheimer and Fugate. The distinction between their cart and the variety of motorized wheelchairs that is allowed "has to do with the number of people who can ride in the vehicle," he said.

The smaller vehicles aren't so large that they take over the sidewalks, which are for pedestrians, not vehicles, Dobson insisted.

"To open the door ... to allow golf carts on all the sidewalks of the state" would be unreasonable, he said.

Cushman wasn't put off by that prospect.

If a decision in his client's favor forced the Legislature to examine the needs of those with disabilities, "So be it," he said.

Tinlin said he hopes to have a decision by the end of the week.

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