CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2004).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
Mr. William R. Lisch Bradenton City Attorney 519 13th Street West Bradenton, Florida 34205 Dear Mr. Lisch: You ask substantially the following question: What is the meaning of the term "self-contained retirement community" as used in section
316.2125 (1), Florida Statutes, which authorizes the use of golf carts within such communities? Section
316.212 , Florida Statutes, prohibits the operation of golf carts on the public roads or streets of this state, except under specified conditions. 1 Section
316.2125 (1), Florida Statutes, however, provides: "Notwithstanding the provisions of s.
316.212 , the reasonable operation of a golf cart, equipped and operated as provided in s.
316.212 (4), (5), and (6), within any self-contained retirement community is permitted unless prohibited under subsection (2)." 2 Subsection (2) of section
316.2125 , Florida Statutes, authorizes a county, municipality, or the Department of Transportation to prohibit the operation of golf carts on any street or highway under its jurisdiction if it determines that such prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety....
...ace for travel and the right of general and common use which makes certain private property subject to public control pursuant to Chapter 316 , Florida Statutes. You therefore note that if the phrase "self-contained retirement community," as used in section
316.2125 (1), Florida Statutes, refers only to a community where the streets of the retirement community are privately owned and not generally open to the public, the provisions of Chapter 316, and more specifically, sections
316.212 and
316.2125 , would not be applicable. 11 Thus, the authorization in section
316.2125 for golf carts to be operated within a self-contained retirement community would be meaningless since the prohibitions against golf cart operation would not be applicable. Provisions enacted by the Legislature must be assumed to have some useful purpose, as the Legislature is not to be presumed to have enacted useless or meaningless legislation. 12 Clearly, then, the Legislature intended the provisions of section
316.2125 , Florida Statutes, to include retirement communities with roads that are open to the public for travel....
...lf carts on the streets of such retirement communities and not limit the use of golf carts to those areas around a retirement community's golf course. Accordingly, I am of the opinion that the use of the term "self-contained retirement community" in section 316.2125 (1), Florida Statutes, does not limit the use of golf carts to those retirement communities that maintain private roads on which the public does not have the right to travel, but includes retirement communities with roads open to the public....
