I posted a similar note to Tower Talk. Please do not cross post any
answers.
A while back I found that our township was rewriting their zoning. I
found that they planned on addressing towers as a single group and that
they were also addressing tower heights along the approach paths to the
local airport (KIKW) which has at present "I believe" 5 or 6 instrument
approaches.
I called the head of the zoning board and mentioned that the FAA already
had addressed the approach and structure heights. There was also the
approach to towers, grouping amateur with commercial towers. That ours
is a volunteer service that during emergencies works with the EOC.
Their approach would put the cost of towers out of reach for most hams.
The next day, the person in charge of that part of the rewrite called
me. We had a nice talk for a good half hour or so. In the end amateur
installations were removed from the zoning regulations entirely as were
the references to the airport.
This was pertaining to antennas, but there have been many instances of
regulations placing interference problems on the shoulders of hams, but
a "so what" attitude when it's the ham being interfered with.
It matters not what party is in power, but ham radio often become the
political orphan, that gets the blame. We have the ARRL and their years
of experience behind us, but even with the law on our side, prevailing
over opinion, be it local or a wider area can be extremely costly with
the opposition depending on the ham not being able to afford to fight
the battle. They also depend on the thought of the hostile neighbors
it'd cause. If it's reached this stage it's doubtful if you are on
their Christmas card list anyway. We need to provide well thought out
information provided in a helpful manner to try for a friendly resolution..
My point is that I was the only person who called with information
pertaining to amateur radio. Had I (one person) not called, there would
have been some heavy restrictions on ham towers.
73
Roger (K8RI)
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