Sorry, long first post...but VERY IMPORTANT!
BTW, great forum!
Since January 2010, there have been several extensive posts in this forum and others regarding metal detecting in Brevard County FL's county-owned parks. Despite the fact that md'ing IS LEGAL in these parks, there have been ongoing incidents, and we were the victims of one last week. I wanted to tell you what happened, as well to consolidate and update the previously posted information.
My boyfriend & I live in northern Brevard County and began md'ing in the county parks about a month ago. We checked out three parks that had "No Metal Detecting" signs and avoided them, but had been working a couple of others with no signs. At one park we had two people tell us they had been "busted" for md'ing there. One said there was a sign at the entrance and when we said we hadn't seen it, he actually drove out, came back, and said "well, its not there now...they must have taken it down." Concerned and confused, I decided to check the Internet.
In this forum I found a lengthy thread posted by Ray S ECenFL, dated June 12, 2011. He had been told on two occasions that md'ing was against the law in Brevard county parks, and had contacted the County Commission about it. He received a call from the Parks and Recreation Director, saying that some parks at the north end of the county had put up signs about no metal detecting due to someone having cut a sprinkler line on a playing field while digging a target. The park Ray was in did not have signs, but the employees said, "they just hadn't been put up yet". The Director told Ray that the signs prohibiting md'ing were not authorized, there is no county ordinance against md'ing, and that he would find out who had misinformed the park employees and set them straight. So we said, "this is cool...I guess we don't have anything to worry about."
Last Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 2nd), we were md'ing in same park where the two guys told us they had been "busted". We had spread out because it's a pretty big area. Suddenly, my boyfriend drives up to me in the truck and motions for me to get in. When I asked him what was going on, he tells me that the Park Manager (a deputy sheriff who lives on the property) had come up to him and asking him what he was doing. When he said "metal detecting", she replied "that's against the law here". He told her it wasn't...she didn't want to hear it and told him there was a sign at the entrance that said so. He told her there wasn't one, and wanted ask her to go out there with him so she could see for herself. Then, apparently she got upset because although he said he was being very respectful and trying not to smart-mouth, in essence he was telling her she didn't know what she was talking about. So she said if he didn't leave immediately, she would give him a ticket for trespassing (yes, they can do that...if a LEO asks you to leave an area and you refuse to, even if it's public property), so he figured at that point the best thing to do was to get the heck out of there, and we did.
We came home very upset, and I got back on the Internet and found another two posts that confused the issue even further. Both were in the ( EDIT) " Different Forum". The first, dated Jan. 20, 2010 by Cadaster, said he had received an email from "Staff Assistant II, Brevard County Parks & Recreation Dept." stating that "use of metal detectors in our parks is not allowed", and citing a Brevard County Ordinance dated 2008, regarding "Removal of Natural Resources". The second post dated Oct. 01, 2011 by adh247, said he was told he could not md in Wickham Park (Central Brevard) because the new Park Supervisor had decided he did not want people doing it there anymore. Someone (not an official) replied to the thread, citing a City of Melbourne Ordinance very similar to the Brevard County "Removal of Natural Resources" law (both essentially say you can't 'dig', disturb plants or soil, etc.), and suggested that was the problem. The OP did not post any followup info.
So now, we're thinking, maybe we are in a "Catch 22" situation here..."sure it's legal to md, it's just not legal to dig your targets". Plus we don't know how this relates to what the Parks and Recreation Director told Ray S ECenFL, since he didn't mention these ordinances. On Thursday morning (Nov. 3), my bf decided to call the Parks and Recreation Director to try to get some clarification. His office said they would give him the message but after several hours, my bf left to run some errands and told me to talk to him if he called.
I was very surprised when the Director called about an hour later. He was extremely friendly and apologetic, and spent what I thought was a huge amount of time on the phone with me, answering all my questions. He reaffirmed that MD'ING IS LEGAL in Brevard County parks, with the following two exceptions: 1) A few state owned environmental and/or wildlife protected areas are within/adjacent to some county parks, so md'ing is NOT allowed in THOSE AREAS of the park only; 2) No md'ing on any playing fields.
I got the impression that they would be putting up new signs saying "no metal detecting in designated areas" in the parks with playing fields or state owned areas, and then "No Metal Detecting Area" signs at those specific parts of the park. In fact, when I told him about the parks where we saw the "No Metal Detecting" signs, he asked if I was sure they didn't say "... in designated areas". I told him they were # 10 rule on the normal "Park Rules and Regulations list - no mention of 'designated areas'. He seemed surprised, and said he thought that all those signs had been removed or scratched out.
The state areas are covered under the FL law which prohibits md'ing on any state owned land or parks, while the "no md'ing" on playing fields appears to be more of a request than an actual law, most likely to placate the north end park folks. However, I'm sure they could make it a law if we don't heed the request, so hopefully things will remain the way they are if md'ers will stay off of those areas and they will soon clearly get marked as "no md'ing areas". IMO, the playing fields are a small piece to give up in order to have access to the entire rest of the parks, so I hope that everyone can and will respect this, especially since these few north county folks seem to really have their panties in a bunch about it, and (my opinion) people digging irresponsibly/not or improperly filling holes, could potentially be a safety hazard for the kids.
The only other thing the Director asked of us md'ers (and this is a request, but again if they get too many reports of problems you can bet something official will be done), is please not to detect at the play areas when there are children present, as some parents get uncomfortable about having strangers with metal detectors near their kids. At first he said not to detect on the play areas at all, but I told him that personally we always go to another section of the park if there are kids or even adults at the play area, and will only detect it when there is no one there, or will leave if someone comes up and wants to use the equipment, so he agreed that was alright. This is another thing that, I think, is really just common sense and courtesy as much as anything.
The Director said the Brevard County Ordinance regarding "Removal of Natural Resources" and similar City of Melbourne ordinance does not apply to md'ing unless people failed to fill in their holes, although he indicated that he would be very angry if he found out that we were not replacing what he referred to as "divots". So comeon, guys....FILL YOUR HOLES! I know most of you do this anyway, but if we want to continue to have this man on our side and fighting for us to continue metal detecting in the Brevard County parks, we need to be extra careful to behave responsibly.
He told me that the person who sent Cadaster the email saying that md'ing was illegal here was "someone from the North end of the county", and that what that person said was not correct. I asked him about the recent Wickham Park incident and he said that too was the result of misinformation and that there is no prohibition on md'ing or digging there. I also mentioned Jetty Park, which says on their web site that they don't allow 'digging with metal detectors' (LOL), and he told me that they make their own rules because they have not been a county park for a couple of years and in fact are now governed by the Cape Canaveral Port Authority.
The Director was very interested our incident last week and asked lots of questions about it. He apologized several times, and said that while all of the county park employees had been informed that md'ing is allowed, evidently some of the Park Managers were not. He said he knew for a fact that the "no md'ing" entrance sign at that particular park was gone, because his office had personally taken it down. He told me that he would take care of getting all of the remaining signs changed, and make sure that all of the Park Managers and employees are clear on what is allowed as far as md'ing goes.
I was extremely impressed when the Director took down our contact information and said he would send a followup email to let us know what had been done. He also made sure that I had his name and phone number, and told me not to hesitate to let him know of any further problems or questions. The North end Supervisor came into his office while he was talking to me, and he asked him to stay and told me that he would fill him in on all of the things that we had discussed. I feel very good that we have such a strong advocate in the Brevard County government, but as I said above, he will only be willing and able to continue to defend us if we show the proper courtesy, respect and responsibility for our actions while on county park property, and to obey the few rules and requests that he mentioned.
BTW, great forum!
Since January 2010, there have been several extensive posts in this forum and others regarding metal detecting in Brevard County FL's county-owned parks. Despite the fact that md'ing IS LEGAL in these parks, there have been ongoing incidents, and we were the victims of one last week. I wanted to tell you what happened, as well to consolidate and update the previously posted information.
My boyfriend & I live in northern Brevard County and began md'ing in the county parks about a month ago. We checked out three parks that had "No Metal Detecting" signs and avoided them, but had been working a couple of others with no signs. At one park we had two people tell us they had been "busted" for md'ing there. One said there was a sign at the entrance and when we said we hadn't seen it, he actually drove out, came back, and said "well, its not there now...they must have taken it down." Concerned and confused, I decided to check the Internet.
In this forum I found a lengthy thread posted by Ray S ECenFL, dated June 12, 2011. He had been told on two occasions that md'ing was against the law in Brevard county parks, and had contacted the County Commission about it. He received a call from the Parks and Recreation Director, saying that some parks at the north end of the county had put up signs about no metal detecting due to someone having cut a sprinkler line on a playing field while digging a target. The park Ray was in did not have signs, but the employees said, "they just hadn't been put up yet". The Director told Ray that the signs prohibiting md'ing were not authorized, there is no county ordinance against md'ing, and that he would find out who had misinformed the park employees and set them straight. So we said, "this is cool...I guess we don't have anything to worry about."
Last Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 2nd), we were md'ing in same park where the two guys told us they had been "busted". We had spread out because it's a pretty big area. Suddenly, my boyfriend drives up to me in the truck and motions for me to get in. When I asked him what was going on, he tells me that the Park Manager (a deputy sheriff who lives on the property) had come up to him and asking him what he was doing. When he said "metal detecting", she replied "that's against the law here". He told her it wasn't...she didn't want to hear it and told him there was a sign at the entrance that said so. He told her there wasn't one, and wanted ask her to go out there with him so she could see for herself. Then, apparently she got upset because although he said he was being very respectful and trying not to smart-mouth, in essence he was telling her she didn't know what she was talking about. So she said if he didn't leave immediately, she would give him a ticket for trespassing (yes, they can do that...if a LEO asks you to leave an area and you refuse to, even if it's public property), so he figured at that point the best thing to do was to get the heck out of there, and we did.
We came home very upset, and I got back on the Internet and found another two posts that confused the issue even further. Both were in the ( EDIT) " Different Forum". The first, dated Jan. 20, 2010 by Cadaster, said he had received an email from "Staff Assistant II, Brevard County Parks & Recreation Dept." stating that "use of metal detectors in our parks is not allowed", and citing a Brevard County Ordinance dated 2008, regarding "Removal of Natural Resources". The second post dated Oct. 01, 2011 by adh247, said he was told he could not md in Wickham Park (Central Brevard) because the new Park Supervisor had decided he did not want people doing it there anymore. Someone (not an official) replied to the thread, citing a City of Melbourne Ordinance very similar to the Brevard County "Removal of Natural Resources" law (both essentially say you can't 'dig', disturb plants or soil, etc.), and suggested that was the problem. The OP did not post any followup info.
So now, we're thinking, maybe we are in a "Catch 22" situation here..."sure it's legal to md, it's just not legal to dig your targets". Plus we don't know how this relates to what the Parks and Recreation Director told Ray S ECenFL, since he didn't mention these ordinances. On Thursday morning (Nov. 3), my bf decided to call the Parks and Recreation Director to try to get some clarification. His office said they would give him the message but after several hours, my bf left to run some errands and told me to talk to him if he called.
I was very surprised when the Director called about an hour later. He was extremely friendly and apologetic, and spent what I thought was a huge amount of time on the phone with me, answering all my questions. He reaffirmed that MD'ING IS LEGAL in Brevard County parks, with the following two exceptions: 1) A few state owned environmental and/or wildlife protected areas are within/adjacent to some county parks, so md'ing is NOT allowed in THOSE AREAS of the park only; 2) No md'ing on any playing fields.
I got the impression that they would be putting up new signs saying "no metal detecting in designated areas" in the parks with playing fields or state owned areas, and then "No Metal Detecting Area" signs at those specific parts of the park. In fact, when I told him about the parks where we saw the "No Metal Detecting" signs, he asked if I was sure they didn't say "... in designated areas". I told him they were # 10 rule on the normal "Park Rules and Regulations list - no mention of 'designated areas'. He seemed surprised, and said he thought that all those signs had been removed or scratched out.
The state areas are covered under the FL law which prohibits md'ing on any state owned land or parks, while the "no md'ing" on playing fields appears to be more of a request than an actual law, most likely to placate the north end park folks. However, I'm sure they could make it a law if we don't heed the request, so hopefully things will remain the way they are if md'ers will stay off of those areas and they will soon clearly get marked as "no md'ing areas". IMO, the playing fields are a small piece to give up in order to have access to the entire rest of the parks, so I hope that everyone can and will respect this, especially since these few north county folks seem to really have their panties in a bunch about it, and (my opinion) people digging irresponsibly/not or improperly filling holes, could potentially be a safety hazard for the kids.
The only other thing the Director asked of us md'ers (and this is a request, but again if they get too many reports of problems you can bet something official will be done), is please not to detect at the play areas when there are children present, as some parents get uncomfortable about having strangers with metal detectors near their kids. At first he said not to detect on the play areas at all, but I told him that personally we always go to another section of the park if there are kids or even adults at the play area, and will only detect it when there is no one there, or will leave if someone comes up and wants to use the equipment, so he agreed that was alright. This is another thing that, I think, is really just common sense and courtesy as much as anything.
The Director said the Brevard County Ordinance regarding "Removal of Natural Resources" and similar City of Melbourne ordinance does not apply to md'ing unless people failed to fill in their holes, although he indicated that he would be very angry if he found out that we were not replacing what he referred to as "divots". So comeon, guys....FILL YOUR HOLES! I know most of you do this anyway, but if we want to continue to have this man on our side and fighting for us to continue metal detecting in the Brevard County parks, we need to be extra careful to behave responsibly.
He told me that the person who sent Cadaster the email saying that md'ing was illegal here was "someone from the North end of the county", and that what that person said was not correct. I asked him about the recent Wickham Park incident and he said that too was the result of misinformation and that there is no prohibition on md'ing or digging there. I also mentioned Jetty Park, which says on their web site that they don't allow 'digging with metal detectors' (LOL), and he told me that they make their own rules because they have not been a county park for a couple of years and in fact are now governed by the Cape Canaveral Port Authority.
The Director was very interested our incident last week and asked lots of questions about it. He apologized several times, and said that while all of the county park employees had been informed that md'ing is allowed, evidently some of the Park Managers were not. He said he knew for a fact that the "no md'ing" entrance sign at that particular park was gone, because his office had personally taken it down. He told me that he would take care of getting all of the remaining signs changed, and make sure that all of the Park Managers and employees are clear on what is allowed as far as md'ing goes.
I was extremely impressed when the Director took down our contact information and said he would send a followup email to let us know what had been done. He also made sure that I had his name and phone number, and told me not to hesitate to let him know of any further problems or questions. The North end Supervisor came into his office while he was talking to me, and he asked him to stay and told me that he would fill him in on all of the things that we had discussed. I feel very good that we have such a strong advocate in the Brevard County government, but as I said above, he will only be willing and able to continue to defend us if we show the proper courtesy, respect and responsibility for our actions while on county park property, and to obey the few rules and requests that he mentioned.
