San Jose is like most cities...the building department won't cite you
for an infraction unless someone complains. If you put one up w/o a
permit, then you run the risk that a neighbor WILL complain. At that
point, the building inspector has no option but to cite you and tell
you to take it down. If nobody complains, you're fine, but these days
your chances of avoiding a neighbors complaint seem slim. The risk of
a complaint goes up as the size and/or height of the tower/antennas
increases. You'll almost certainly get a complaint if you put
something substantial up like a UST HDX or Trylon or similar lattice
structure, esp. if you put lots of aluminum up. There could be legal
issues too if a non-permitted tower falls on your neighbors property.
San Jose doesn't explicitly state that antenna towers are illegal.
Antennas aren't discussed at all in the zoning ordinance, so they lump
them under the category of "accessory structures". Accessory
structures are limited to 12 feet in San Jose, thus you can have a 12
foot high antenna tower. You can also mount the antenna to the top of
your house in which case it is just considered an "architectural
feature" of your house just like a chimney or windvane. Houses are
limited to 35 feet in San Jose, thus your roof mounted antenna can be
35 feet high. No permit is needed in either case. The building
department refused to accept my permit application for a 72' crankup
on the grounds that it is a violation of the zoning ordinance.
Anyone out there know how change the laws of physics so that an HF
yagi on a 12 foot pole works well :-)
On 6/28/05, ChetMoore <ChetMoore@cox.net> wrote:
> [Stuff Deleted]
>
> All that being said, if San Jose doesn't say it's ILLEGAL and they are
> more or less willing to look the other way, I would begin construction
> today. Forgiveness is almost always easier to get than permission.
>
> 73
>
> Chet N6ZO
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <K7LXC@aol.com>
> To: <towertalk@contesting.com>; <pewing@plxtech.com>
> Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 11:50 PM
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Installing a New Tower - Trylon Titan T200-96'
>
>
> > In a message dated 6/27/2005 4:38:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> > towertalk-request@contesting.com writes:
> >
> >> I went to the City of San Jose Building Permits office on Friday and
> >> asked
> > About the permit process to put up a freestanding 60 ft tower in my back
> > yard. They said "can't do it" They won't issue tower permits. They told me
> > That all the towers I see in San Jose are un-permitted. They had heard of
> > PRB-1 and were in talks with the ARRL.
> >
> >> They implied that I should "do what everyone else does".
> >
> > That's right. Get a copy of the ARRL tower information (I don't know
> > what
> > the nomenclature of it is - sorry). Get a copy of K1VR's incredible book
> > on
> > towers and zoning, permit, etc. issues. Get a copy of the building codes.
> > Contact your ARRL representative.
> >
> > You don't have any real questions or perspective yet. Do your homework
> > with the above and THEN head to the building department.
> >
> > I know that K6KR screwed things up some years ago so there are
> > restrictions but you should be able to do it by jumping thru all the
> > hoops. Also the
> > ham-law reflector is good when you get to the point of having specific
> > questions
> > - that's where are the legal eagles hang out.
> >
> > LXC Prime Building Department Directive: Find one person in the
> > department who is either sympathetic or knowledgeable or both and stick
> > with them. If
> > you talk to 3 different people in the building department you'll wind up
> > with 3
> > different interpretations. Talk to other local hams who have gone thru the
> > process and talk to them - especially if they can give you a name of
> > someone in
> > the building department.
> >
> > Cheers & GL,
> > Steve K7LXC
> > TOWER TECH
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > 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
>
_______________________________________________
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.
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