[TowerTalk] Zoning question - Putnam County Florida

[K0DAN]

If you can find a suitable location on unincorporated land (ie it's "in the
County" but not annexed or incorporated by a town or city) then you will be
subject to the County zoning ordinances. Typically these are less rigorous
than towns and cities, and should the area be annexed or rezoned in the
future, existing properties are typically grandfathered.

As previously suggested, obtain and read all the ordinances, get a legal
opinion from an attorney, and get your requirements written into your
purchase contract. In the future, if the area is annexed or developed, make
sure your requirements are grandfathered (in writing) in the development
agreement and homeowners association bylaws.

Since there is probably no definitions of "ham tower" you may need to (have 
your attorney) clarify some definitions and educate the 
planners/commissioners about what "ham radio" is. They need to perceive that 
ham activities are non-commercial, hobby-oriented, public-safety-oriented, 
and are a good thing for the community. If there is an ARES/RACES group 
already providing amateur support to the community, it would help you to get 
the endorsement of the fire district/sheriff/PD and other emergency 
providers...not just their endorsement, but a letter or public testimony at 
one of the zoning hearings so as to bolster your credibility and good 
intentions towards the community.

Good luck with your new QTH!

73
dan
k0dan

-----Original Message----- 
From: John W
Sent: December 06, 2011 01:07 AM
To: trogo at telegraphy.com ; TowerTalk
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Zoning question - Putnam County Florida


Hi Tony,

Zoning regulations are created by the town, not by the county.
Secondly, anything anyone tells you, through list or otherwise, is not
valid.
Even what the town zoning officer tells you might not necessarily be valid.
The only valid source for this information is the town zoning regulations
themselves.
You should try and find the complete set of regulations online, or go to the
town hall and buy a copy.
You will then need to either spend a significant amount of time reading
them, or else find an attorney experienced in these matters to help you.
Also, I believe there is an reflector similar to this one specifically for
zoning issues, but I can't remember the name off the top of my head.

If you haven't decided on a specific town yet, then when you have narrowed
down your preferences to a few towns, you should check the regulations in
each town and choose the one that is the most conformant to PRB-1.

After reading the regulations, if you can't find anything restricting the
height of non-commercial antenna support structures, then either you missed
seeing the restriction because it was buried somewhere you didn't look, or
else you have been lucky enough to find a town that has no restriction.
(There are still a few such towns left in the USA, although their number is
dwindling. If you find one, buy a house there and put up some antennas!)

Also, you should probably buy the book "Antenna Zoning for the Radio
Amateur" by Fred Hopengarten.
http://www.antennazoning.com/main/page_amateur_radio_antenna_zoning_book.html
It will help you with your permit application if you need to file one, and
chances are that you will need to file one.

73 & GL,

John
W2ID



>>Message: 6
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2011 13:18:51 -0500
From: "Telegraphy.com" <trogo at telegraphy.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Zoning question - Putnam County Florida
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Message-ID: <03cb01ccb11e$d832e0d0$0201a8c0 at yourbe71e130be>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I'm thinking of buying a home in Putnam County Florida - is anyone familiar
with the tower
zoning regulations down there?

73

Tony


Tony Rogozinski
Amateur Radio W4OI - W4AMR - HK1AR - HK1AR/4
LICENSED FOR OVER 54 YEARS
EX-N7BG, K5LMJ, K4KES, WA6BOU,
W6JPC W7HZF, F7BK, VP5AR, VQ9AR,
OJ0/N7BG, CN2BG, 5V7BG, TY5AR
9G5AR, TU/N7BG, ZC4BG, HK3KAV
HK0/HK1AR and many others
I've been to 103 Countries

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