[TowerTalk] Fwd: Advice on tower restrictions possible new install

[Tom W1ALZ Nicholson]

Hans,

     We (Ham Club) are headed to court here in Florida. Can you site me 
the case on the ham with the $18,000 settlement? It would be a great 
asset for us to use, as we are in Florida.

     Thanks for your assistance.

73, Tom W1ALZ


On 2/7/2017 1:15 PM, Hans Hammarquist via TowerTalk wrote:
> My town (in Vermont) has 40 feet as the local hight restriction and accept an other 12 feet "sticking up" above present structure. The zoning board was not against me putting up an 85 foot tower but required a hearing as I needed a variance. My problem was the neighbor that didn't want "the horizon of nature be disturbed by technology. Due to an administrative mess-up the hearing got delayed for a year. When I finally got my permit it was autumn and I had to wait for the spring to get my tower up. I missed the peak of the solar spot cycle. Well, more will come.
>
> ARRL was able get me in touch with an attorney that help me for free. He was very helpful. There are also several court cases available on line. The favorite is a case from Florida where the judge ordered the town to pay for the ham's legal fee (~$18.000). I had that case with a few other in my application to "soften up" the zoning board. It is always good to indicate that they may up getting additional expenses if they decide to "fight". Most towns don't like extra expenses.
>
> A fun note: My neighbor tried to stop the permit by claiming I was going to use it "to eavesdrop on telephone conversations" as my son had demonstrated for them how he was able to listen to a phone conversation "from northern Vermont" which is about 130 miles from our house located on the southern tip of Vermont. They also highlighted the possibility of "radioactive radiation" from the tower. Don't you love these people?
>
> Hans - N2JFS
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ed Sawyer <sawyered at earthlink.net>
> To: towertalk <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Sent: Tue, Feb 7, 2017 1:31 am
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Advice on tower restrictions possible new install
>
>
> K6OK stated -
>
> "Wouldn't you want the opposite? If a county has a blanket height
>
> restriction on all types of structures, and that height limit is
>
> lower than my planned towers, then I would avoid that county
>
> unless it had a ham tower exemption. If a county has cell phone
>
> tower regulations (which are common), I would avoid that county
>
> unless they exempt ham towers from those rules.
>
>
>
> But if you can't change counties, having these restrictions is not
>
> necessarily a deal-killer. You might have to apply for a use permit
>
> or a variance, requiring more time, money and anguish.
>
> Unfortunately there's no guarantee they will approve your application."
>
>
>
> I am not a lawyer certainly. K1VR and the ARRL support services are a good
> way to get proper advice. That
>
> Being said, you never want to ask for a "variance" against a law that
> doesn't apply to you. You want to state
>
> That your request is not restricted by the current regulations. Its NOT a
> commercial permit for a tower, its
>
> A personal use auxiliary structure. So any clerk telling you otherwise
> should not prevent you from doing what you
>
> Want to do.
>
>
>
> Its also a protected use under Federal Pre-emption - PRB-1. The fact that
> the state or county/city/town has not
>
> Enacted language in their law to accommodate the pre-emption, should not
> dissuade you from exercising your federally granted rights.
>
>
>
> I think the question is to decide what the response is after sizing up the
> situation. Has the state enacted PRB1 language? If so, what does it say
> about your plans and what are you up against. Do the local regulations
> mention the case of personal antenna supports or not.
>
>
>
> Certain local groups are up for a fight and certain ones don't want a legal
> battle especially if no neighbor is complaining. Here in rural Vermont -
> they were "thankful" for the guidance and glad to hear they weren't going to
> be 200 ft tall.
>
>
>
> Note that none of the above deals with HOAs which is a horse of a different
> color.
>
>
>
> Ed N1UR
>
>
>
>
>
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