[TowerTalk] Town Code Definition Conundrum

Alan C. Zack k7acz at cox.net
Fri Apr 16 22:56:06 EDT 2004


Mark,
You being a PE you will know a lot more about this than I do.  But I can pass on my personal experience.  I wanted to put up a simple light weight 40 ft tower but my bldg dept said it had
to pass 90 MPH wind calcs per section 3108 of IBC-2000 (UBC-97 certs are NOT accepted).  They tell me most bldg depts now require IBC-2000 certs.  I would take the section 3108, IBC-2000
requirements to the bldg dept and ask why do they require more than the IBC?  I have been told that ham towers do not come under the same rules as PCS towers.

I have been having a monster time trying to find a tower to pass the 90 MPH wind calcs.  I had been dealing with US Towers for months whose tower certs are all UBC-97 specs.  Now US Towers
tell me only their extra heavy duty 38 ft tower at 600 lbs can pass 90 MPH wind calcs under IBC-2000.  At 600 lbs for a 38 ft tower really seems like overkill so now I am looking at a
Heights tower.

You wouldn't happen to have a Nevada PE stamp would you?  I doubt it, but if so, you will have a friend for life here.....
GL & 73

"Mark S. Adams, P.E." wrote:

> 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
>

--
__________________________________________________________________________
 Alan Zack
 Amateur Radio Station K7ACZ
 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
 Quality Engineer, The Boeing Company, Retired
 Aviation Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Coast Guard, Retired
 U.S. Coast Guard, Always Ready, Always There
 Every hour, Every day, Around the Clock and Around the World
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 http://www.gocoastguard.com/




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