[TowerTalk] Chicago Tribune: Antenna Stirs Static Among Neigh bors

[Pete Smith]

At 11:29 AM 8/13/03 -0700, Steve Katz wrote:
>The only solution is to land yourself a membership on that same planning
>board, and use your gray matter to influence others.  I see a lot of
>planning boards, zoning boards, etc. are comprised entirely of unpaid
>volunteers, who are worth a bit less than what they're paid.  I attended a
>zoning board hearing in the County of Ventura (CA) several years ago, in
>support of an OT who simply wanted to re-build his house exactly the way it
>had been built before it burned down due to lightning, and the board members
>were pretty much dumber than dirt -- about half seemed to be bored
>housewives who never had any sort of career, so volunteered for county
>service.


Well, you must have known you were going to get some flak on this, 
Steve.  A few years ago I testified in a county Planning Commission hearing 
on a new tower ordinance (aimed at cell towers), and after the dust settled 
(we won) I was asked to be on the Planning Commission.  I did a 2-year 
stint, and there are ALL kinds of folks who serve, from your prototypical 
housewife to PhD statisticians and economists, to architects, developers, 
and farmers, all with more willingness to serve than good sense, to judge 
by the amount of abuse they absorb.

Just because they don't understand about amateur radio doesn't warrant 
blanket condemnation.  It's OUR job to make sure they get it right.

73, Pete N4ZR
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