The good news: PRB-1, and its Massachusetts state law adoption into our
General Laws here, have won one for a ham seeking a 115 foot tower on
Cape Cod.
The bad news: The ham is K1ZM, the location is wonderful, and he's going
to be very loud in Europe on 160, as well as any other band he cares to
use.
In my view, the key to the win was the documentation provided by Briggs
(K1ZM) to show that 115' was necessary to accomodate his communications
need. Again in my view, low take-off angles for 20 meters was useful,
but nowhere near as useful as the showing that a nearby ridge between
K1ZM and his closest PacketCluster (tm) node had to be overcome.
Kudos to Briggs for incredible thoroughness in preparing the file. When
you read below that "the Building Commisioner (sic) exhaustively
researched ...", you should understand that the phrase means he made
exhaustive demands on K1ZM.
As any lawyer will tell you, good preparation helps to promote good luck.
Fred Hopengarten K1VR
617/259-0088
Six Willarch Road
Lincoln, MA 01773-5105
permanent e-mail address: fhopengarten@mba1972.hbs.edu
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*************
Town of Orleans
Board of Appeals
School Road
Orleans, Massachusetts 02653
DECISION CASE #1427 SUSAN HAMILTON
The appeal of SUSAN HAMILTON of the decision of the Building
Commissioner as set forth in MGL Ch. 40A, Section 8, 13 and
14 under Orleans Zoning Bylaw Sections 164-4 and 164-21-A,
to issue a Building Permit to allow construction of an
amateur radio tower that was over 30 feet, has been heard.
The property is located at 6 Kingsbury Lane, Orleans Map
#70, Parcel #47, New Assessors Map.
The Board has heard an abundance of testimony, both pro and
con, as to why the Building Commissioner's decision should
be upheld or reversed, and the issue of aesthetics is a
sentiment of many of the neighbors in opposition to the
granting of the building permit due to the appearance of the
tower and its impact on the views and vistas of Pleasant Bay
and environs. Before reaching his decision, the Building
Commisioner [sic] exhaustively researched a tower to be
constructed by a federally licensed amateur radio operator
and found that both the FCC regulations and the
Massachusetts Zoning Act permit, and, in fact, require that
"No zoning ordinance or by-law shall prohibit the
construction or use of an antenna structure by a federally
licensed amateur radio operator....such ordinances and by-
laws [must] reasonably allow for sufficient height of such
antenna structures so as to effectively accommodate amateur
radio communications..." The recipient of the building
permit had been required to bring sufficient information to
support a 115-foot tower. That information was received by
the Building Commissioner, and after consultation with Town
Counsel, the aforesaid regulations and Act were found to be
pre-emptive of the local By-Laws. Therefore this Board
finds that the Building Commissioner was in conformity with
good practice and should be supported and therefore the
application of Susan Hamilton is DENIED.
VOTED FOR APPROVAL: APRIL 16, 1997
Susan Christie
Richard Cole (signature)
John Kelsey Susan B. Christie, Chairman
Craig Johnson (signature)
Elizabeth Henson Elizabeth L. Henson, Clerk
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