> To: cq-contest@tgv.com
> From: al crespo <wr6r@ccnet.com>
> Reply-to: al crespo <wr6r@ccnet.com>
> Subject: Linn County Ordinance
> Praise the Lord the Linn County Tower Ordinance applies only
> to that
> county!
> If you read the document, there is NO mention of the
> special status
> of Amateur Radio under PRB-1. Commercial towers do not have the same
> special status that amateurs have under FCC guideline- this
> ordinance never differentiates between the two totally different
> types of classes.
> For those in need of help concerning tower ordinates,
> contact the ARRL- Or was this ordinance really an early
> April Fool's joke?
>
> Aloha, Al, WR6R/KH6
>
Well, I didn't think we did that bad. We had one ham - W0EJ - on the
committee with one TV station engineer and six county government
representatives. It was politics at its finest.
They had been trying to enforce a 35 ft limit, which we found
slightly objectionable. After almost three years of wrangling,
including an election for the board of supervisors, where the amatuer
community was very active, we got the following:
On a residential lot, in the county we have the right to:
1. Put up an 80 foot tower anywhere for any non-commercial
communication purpose.
2. If you have a one acre lot, which most of the county requires from
a septic and well limit, you can go to either 125 feet in a
subdivision, or 150 if in an agricultural area.
3. If you have 35 acres, then the limit is 200 feet.
4. There is no limit on the number of towers.
All of this is with only meeting the set back for towers over 80
feet. The set back only applies to towers over 80 feet tall and is
100% of the total height of a freestanding tower, and 70% of the
total height of a guyed tower. By the way, you can't put a tower or
guy anchors in your front yard, not that my wife would let me do that
anyway.
In the city of Cedar Rapids (about 200,000 people in the area), 1 and
4 above apply, but no set back required. Still can't put it in the
front yard.
You can go higher than these limits, but it takes a public zoning hearing
and variance.
If you stay within the limits, you go to the zoning department, and
show them the lot plan; then you go to the building department and
show them the manufacturer's plans and you get a building permit.
We don't have to get a PE stamp, just follow the manufacturers
installation guidlelines.
BTW the limit mentioned in PRB-1 is 60 feet, so we didn't talk about
that too much. And PRB-1 has been shot down enough that we did not
want to hang our hats on it alone.
The lessons we learned:
1. Make sure you are technically correct.
2. Be proactive, make proposals.
3. Be willing to settle for 80% of what you want and work on getting
the other 20% later.
4. This is a POLITICAL process. Talk to all the powers in the chain,
and keep them informed. Figure out your allies and your opponents.
Figure out their motivations, on both sides, so you don't get
surprised.
5. Be calm, cool, rational, reasonable and persistant. Attend all of
the meetings and present a professional appearance. Leave the call
hats, tee shirts and beer bellies at home.
6. Stay out of court - it is EXPENSIVE.
de n0yvy steve
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