[TowerTalk] Zoning approval
Brian Smithson
brian_smithson@vds.com
Tue, 13 Apr 1999 15:51:57 -0400
Great strategy!
I did something similar here in York Co SC. I used a
copy of my mortgage survey to indicate my site plan
and fall radius. I had a bit of a problem when the
chief building inspector mistook my application for a
COMMERCIAL tower. Turns out local hams had done all
the legwork for me in years past because a recent
zoning change excluded the need for a permit AT ALL
for amateur radio structures less than 100'! I got
a permit all secured before I found this out. Also,
before I learned about the commercial misunderstanding
I hired a PE for the foundation work only.
The C31XR on top of my 72' Titan is AWESOME!
73!
-Brian
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
> [mailto:owner-towertalk@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Jeffrey R Davis
> Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 9:51 AM
> To: towertalk@contesting.com; dlleikis@deseretonline.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Zoning approval
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >I am seeking to get zoning approval/building permits for erecting a
> >self-supporting tower. Is there a site or a reference that someone can
> >point me to so that I can study up for this?
>
> Hi Dave,
>
> I recently went through this and can tell you what I did, which
> resulted in
> a permit received within 2 weeks, no issues raised. I had heard all kinds
> of horror stories from the local hams, including one who had a building
> permit still hung up after 9 months!
>
> Before I ever spent a nickel on a tower or antenna, I first made a trip to
> the Zoning and Planning office, and just inquired about the permits
> required and the paper necessary. I talked to people from both the zoning
> commission and the building commission, basically trying to find out what
> their issues & hot points were. In my area, the issues were essentially
> that these folks don't know anything about towers and they don't want one
> falling down and killing someone. Secondarily, if it does fall, it should
> stay on my property! The folks at the office were, to my initial surprise,
> very helpful and answered all my questions.
>
> Then I went away and drew up the plans to install a 72' Trylon
> Titan, rated
> by Trylon at 22 sq ft at 85 mph. The problem with Trylon is that there's
> essentially no engineering data available to back their rating up and they
> won't provide it if asked. In other words, there's no way you'll get
> anything like an EIA/TIA-222 certification from them.
> Furthermore, I didn't
> want to pay a PE to come up with the specs, nor establish a precedent that
> you needed one to get a ham tower approved. So I was really
> concerned about
> the acceptability to the building department, even though from the Tower
> Talk archives I was pretty convinced that the tower was sound, if perhaps
> aggressively specified.
>
> I tried to do a neat job of a site plan with a computer drawing package,
> showing all the features they requested. I even put a dotted circle
> labelled "maximum fall radius" on the drawing for their reference. It was
> not coincidental that the house, power lines, and property lines were all
> outside that radius. I built up a brief spreadsheet showing how the
> antennas planned for the tower would not exceed the
> manufacturer's specs in
> an 80 mph wind (the Basic Wind Speed for Linn County, Iowa). In
> fact, I was
> a little conservative, showing that I had less than the max area specified
> at 85 mph, which is what the manufacturer rated the tower for. [You might
> want to take a look at a nice article by Stu Bonney in the latest QEX,
> which covers wind loading calculations in detail. It sure helped me.]
>
> I had determined that the primary areas of ambiguity were at the Building
> Commission, as the acceptance criteria at Zoning were very clear and I fit
> well within them. So I made an appointment with the chief building
> inspector to discuss my plans personally. I brought with me a copy of the
> property plat, my site plan, printouts from the spreadsheets, the
> foundation and assembly drawings from Trylon, and a Trylon advertising
> brochure. When we met, I concentrated on (1) establishing personal
> credibility as someone who had thought through the issues and was
> concerned
> about safety, and (2) helping him understand why the tower as proposed was
> safe, in that it would be installed per the manufacturer's specs
> and loaded
> within their rated maximums.
>
> Two weeks later, I had the permit!! It had been personally approved by the
> chief building inspector, which was something of a surprise that he hadn't
> delegated it to someone on his staff.
>
> Sorry to be so lengthy. Hope this helps.
>
> 73,
>
> Jeff - N0DY
>
> P.S. Poured 9 yards of concrete last Wednesday!!!
>
>
>
>
>
> David Leikis <dlleikis@deseretonline.com> on 04/11/99 11:32:45 PM
>
> Please respond to dlleikis@deseretonline.com
>
> To: towertalk <towertalk@contesting.com>
> cc:
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Zoning approval
>
>
>
>
>
> Hello,
>
> I am seeking to get zoning approval/building permits for erecting a
> self-supporting tower. Is there a site or a reference that someone can
> point me to so that I can study up for this?
>
> I don't know if I may get a "fight" or not, but would like to also be
> prepared in case I do. I have read many stories of fights, some won and
> some lost, but need to know what my "real rights" may be. Direct
> references to Utah or federal law, if applicable, would be helpful.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Dave KG7EW
>
>
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