Martin County Commission Votes 3-2 to Revisit Train Quiet Zones for Hobe Sound

Jeff Aderman used to sleep through the night. Now, he counts horn blasts.

The Hobe Sound resident told the Martin County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday that Brightline's passenger rail service has turned his neighborhood into something close to unlivable — more than 30 trains a day, more than 40 horn blasts a day, every day.

"It just became a nightmare for us," Aderman told the board.

The Martin County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to reconsider establishing quiet zones along the rail corridor, agreeing to schedule a future discussion once a Federal Railroad Administration representative is available to attend.

The practical effect: no quiet zone is imminent, but the vote signals a formal policy conversation absent from the commission chambers for more than a year. For residents along the Brightline corridor in Hobe Sound, it marks the first sign of institutional movement on an issue that advocates say has damaged their quality of life for months.

Aderman, who is leading the resident push, framed the issue in broad community terms before commissioners — describing families losing sleep, veterans with PTSD startled awake, and students trying to concentrate through horn-interrupted classroom lessons.

"This is not about eliminating safety, it's about improving quality of life while maintaining safety standards that are already recognized and approved by the FRA," he said.

Commissioner Stacey Hetherington backed the path forward. "There is a process in place. We can safely do this and implement these crossings and balance the quality of life for our residents," Hetherington said.

Commissioner Blake Capps supported opening the discussion but flagged a sequencing concern about whether additional crossing safety infrastructure should be in place before any horn restrictions take effect. "What I wrestle with is whether we should get these additional safety measures in place first before we institute quiet zones in Hobe Sound," Capps said.

The quiet zone designation process requires coordination between local governments and federal railroad authorities. Crossing safety upgrades — typically including medians, gates, or other engineering measures — must meet FRA standards before a municipality can restrict train horn use.

No date has been set for the follow-up hearing. The timeline depends on FRA representative availability, officials said.

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