Thousand Oaks, CA has a similar strategy..
More a question for the ham-law forum: Is $1000 a "reasonable accommodation"
under PRB-1? In the OTARD rules, a $5 fee for a Ku-band dish was held to be
unreasonable. (The FCC used a metric of comparing cost of
equipment/installation against fee... $100 for dish vs $5 fee... So, $10,000
tower and antenna for a $1000 fee?)
Where does the cost line get drawn?
It probably costs the local municipality (at least here in So Cal) around
$50-100 just to handle the paperwork for any sort of permit or license,
especially if it's something that they actually have to look at and check.
Compare, for example, a business license, min $22, but nobody has to look at
it. Figure that some engineer in the city is going to have to look at your
drawings and at least make sure it matches the rules.. Figure 30 minutes
@$100/hr fully burdened cost, then you have to add the time of the counter
clerk, the filing system, etc.
If one wanted to look into it, compare the cost for the tower permit against
that for, say, a swimming pool or spa or room addition, etc.
BTW, I understand that some of these punitive tower fees were actually an
attempt at a)revenue enhancement from telecom companies wanting to install
cell towers; and b)thinly disguised means of discouraging casual cell tower
placement or competitive "site grabbing". (i.e. if you're company A, and you
want to keep company B out, one way is to file for permits on all of the
possible locations for B's tower, paying some de-minimis fee to the
landowners for the right to do so.
----- Original Message -----
From: <wf3h@ptdprolog.net>
To: "Bill Ralston" <n7vm@lgcy.com>; <towertalk@contesting.com>
Cc: <k0tv@arrl.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 10:13 AM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tower legal battles [was Chicago Tribune:
AntennaStirs Static Among Neighbors]
> My township has a new way to restrict ham radio. Any tower over 30'
requires
> a $750 permit plus hearings at $250/hearing. As one Supreme Court Justice
> once said, 'the power to tax is the power to destroy'. Once this method
of
> outlawing towers gets noticed, you can expect it to become fairly common.
> It's money for the township.
>
> Bob/WF3H
>
>
> Bill Ralston <n7vm@lgcy.com> said:
>
> > Jerry wrote:
> > >This guy got off easy. I live in "Live Free or Die" New Hampshire and
had
> > to
> > >spend over $25K in legal fees to protect three towers on six acres that
are
> > >almost invisible. (New Hampshire Supreme Court, Marchand v. Hudson)
> >
> > Marchand v. Town of Hudson, 788 A.2d 250 (N. H. 2001)
> >
> > Synopsis: The town zoning administrator granted the ham radio operator
> > builder a permit to erect three 90-foot amateur radio towers. The
builder's
> > neighbors appealed the grant of the building permit. The town zoning
board
> > upheld the grant, but was overturned by the trial court. The supreme
court
> > held that ham radio towers are an allowed use, and remanded to the
zoning
> > board with orders to considered what steps had been taken to reasonably
> > accommodate the builder's amateur radio communications, because federal
> > regulations required that such accommodations be made.
> >
> > So Jerry - what happened after that? Seem like the zoning board got one
> > more shot at you, or did they leave it alone since they had originally
> > approved it?
> >
> > -- Bill
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
> Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with
any
> questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TowerTalk mailing list
> > TowerTalk@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> >
>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
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