When I lived near Jamul, CA, I went to the planning (and permit) department
in San Diego for a 100 foot Rohn 25 guyed tower. They issue permits for San
Diego County. They wanted a set of drawing of your plot plan WITH the
structure located on it, a set of calculations signed by a Professional
Engineer, and a set of drawings for the tower installation also signed by a
PE. I gave them a complete set of drawings and calculations ranging from 30
to 150 feet with several different walk under and ground based and rock
based guy anchors. They charged me a small fee based on the estimated cost
of the tower, sent two inspectors out to check the installation and signed
off on it. I did not live in any city, but they permit towers anywhere in
the state of California. I left the plans and calculations with the San
Diego DX Club so others could use them without the expense of preparing
them. This was ONLY for Rohn 25 tower. Jim Forgione lives in La Mesa and
has a full stacked set of all band monobanders on a rotatable monopole tower
and there are many hams around the Poway and Escondido area that you can
contact. The guy that used to run the local HRO in San Diego is K6NA (I
think Tom still works there).
California is interesting in that the Uniform Building Code is applied to
all cities and counties and rural areas alike. Don't even consider putting
up a tower without a permit. California defines any antenna structure as a
structure under the UBC IF it is not installed and supported 100% on a roof
(tv or small antenna). California even requires a permit to put up a fence!
I now live in a rural area of Texas and they don't require code for Houses
much less antennas outside of city limits.
I am sure the reason they required the tower to be nested during non
operation is that the tower is not capable of taking Santa Anna Winds (100+
mph) when cranked up. The dish ordnance is only that - an ordinance
affecting only DISH antennas and not amateur towers.
Don't ever overlook the problems you can walk into when a group of neighbors
decide to litigate your rights. You will win (maybe) but years will pass
and you may run out of money. Your strategy should be to keep everything
low key, try to locate the tower so it is not blocking a neighbors view (or
in view for that matter) stay out of the newspapers, put up the tower with a
permit at the lowest possible height with the smallest antenna you can
operate with (or put a 2 meter antenna on it for a while). Crank it up
after dark and down before dawn. In a few months (years) everyone will
forget about it. It is NOT a good idea to have a crank up that is higher
than your lot would accommodate if something went wrong and it fell.
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-admin@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-admin@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Bob Farkalyent:
Thursday, May 16, 2002 1:24 PM
To: Towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [Towertalk] Poway (CA) Building Permit Strategy
I'm getting ready to petition the city of Poway (CA) for a permit to
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