[TowerTalk] Town Code Definition Conundrum

[Mark S. Adams, P.E.]

Hi Gang,

I don't post here often, but have an important question that many of you 
have surely faced.

I asked my town zoning officer for a permit and code info so I can put up a 
new tower on a 3 ac. lot I just bought.  She gave me a nice highlighted 
document and went over the "important" parts with me.  While chatting I 
noticed that it says that the setback for any tower is 750', WHAT!? 
Clearly a problem here. This is a very rural town, but 750'?

Got home and started digging in.  Well, I think that this was written for 
only commercial users.  In the definition section, it reads that a 
"TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY" is:

"Towers and/or antennas and accessory structures, together used in 
connection with the provisions of cellular telephone service, personal 
communications service, digital and /or data communications service, paging 
service, radio and television broadcast services and similar broadcast 
services."

They define personal communications service as PCS in the preceding 
paragraph. She highlighted radio in the last part of the definition, but 
clearly amateurs do not broadcast.

So while I wait for the town attorney to call me on Monday, I sent her a 
lengthy reply noting these observations. Have any of you run into this?  By 
my account, this town DOES NOT REGULATE AMATEUR TOWERS BY ZONING LAWS and I 
offered in my email to her to help the Town Attorney modify this regulation 
to assist hams in being properly accommodated.

FWIW, the town has the standard 30' rule in effect for structures like 
houses. Again, this does not exactly fit this situation.

Comments?  Oh, the town is NEWSTEAD, NY.

Thanks,
Mark K2QO


Mark S. Adams, P.E.
ARRL VCE
Clarence, NY