Council attempts to use CEQA against radio ham

According to one of the links, he did not get local permits before putting in the tower.... That, unfortunately, may ultimately prove to be his undoing

(I understand about FCC language etc but I am willing to bet this case will be won or lost based on technicalities. I really hope I'm wrong and the courts ultimately do the right thing and tell the busybody neighbor to go do you-know-what in their hat and that this guy gets to keep his tower).

That's Bill Engvall, not Jeff Foxworthy...

 

Hmmmm you know his attitude because??? You talked to him?
You know that "cops" have an sense of "anything goes" because of what research?
You are an structural engineer so you know the stress failure of his tower?

If he did in fact fail to obtain what is required by the local oridinances, then yes shame on him, on this I grant you

We hope this amateur operator is successful in his legal struggle to maintain his tower, provided he met the installation criteria.

Have a good day OM...................

 

where is the LIKE button? Never again will I buy in a HOA

 

HOAs are the death of civil liberties.

 

Originally Posted by KJ6ZOL

" So basically you have a situation where you have this beautiful Victorian neighborhood and then a 55 foot antenna towering over it and intruding like a stuck car horn. I don't blame the neighbors for being angry. I think there's a real issue where a historic neighborhood suddenly has a massive antenna looming over it."


Talk about exaggeration, the way you describe it you would think that the guy put up a 300ft cell tower in his back yard! A 55ft Ham antenna tower is hardly massive!

 

Holy cow. With this ham on your side who needs an enemy!

 

I read several things about the permit but according to what I read he had a contractor install the tower. I don't know the laws there but in the state of Kentucky the contractor is responsible for complying with the laws of the state and city. If he has a contract I don't think this is his problem it falls back on the contractor. I hope is does not cost him a lot of money. I agree we need to let our neighbors know what we are doing to a point but I feel federal laws are on the ham operators side. I guess time will tell. From the picture the tower looks safe to me. I seen a 50 foot tower that was put up by a cb operator that was just stuck in the ground about 3 foot and cover wit dirt, it was bolted to the side of a building with two straps. The guide wires were not installed correctly either. All I can say is she better be glad she don't live next to this guy!!!!

 

Here's the property in question in Google Street View: link

I think it's quite lovely, especially with the neighbors' TV antennas bookending the view from the street, but I can see where someone who is less appreciative of the aesthetic of towers and antennas might find it a bit excessive for that property.

 

When I look at that Google street view, I find all of the telephone poles & electric wires far more distracting than the Ham's so called massive & looming tower! You only see about 2 sections of the tower & the beam antenna, the rest of the tower is hidden behind his house.

 

Well, I for one think CA has many loony tunes who run to nature as an excuse to keep Luddites in charge. These same people will insist on personhood for earthworms...

73
Chip W1YW

 

Probably dislike him because he is a cop

 

So he needs to put up a replica (historically correct of course) of a turn of the century Marconi Radio Tower. Then he could say he considered the historical theme of the neighborhood and built his tower to be 'historically correct.'

If he is not able to put up a historically correct tower then I would be looking to sell the house. Perhaps the next owners won't be so desirable.

 

IMHO the tower actually improves the look of the neighborhood.
It even makes the mannish woman in the news photo look more attractive.

On a serious note, these neighbors need to step back and appreciate what they have.
What I see is a Cop next door who keeps his property immaculate and adds security
to those who live around his home. Some people can't see the forest for the trees.
Or should I say towers...

 

We don't know the status of permits - he may have them, though they were obtained after the fact, and yes, the contractor should have been responsible for obtaining the permits prior to the work, but it's not uncommon to skirt around those laws. The article does say that the antenna received the blessing of the Historical Preservation Committee before the neighbors decided to use this as a way of attacking it. I think the ham should have abide by the agreement to lower the crankup tower when not in use. The tribander won't work as well at 30' as at 55', but it will still work. Spend the money to motorize the thing so it's easier to do, instead of spending it on lawyers. Some California cities don't require a permit if the tower is under 30'.

 

Well, the tower IS clearly visible from the street. The old TV antennas on the neighbors' houses aren't really that bad, but I can see where some people might think that the tower is a little much, especially if they're not familiar with amateur radio. This case reminds me of the guy in Georgia who had THREE big towers at his QTH, including a 140 foot tower built without permits, then when his city went after him he started whining to the local newspaper. Tower height restrictions are there for a REASON, guys. I know of a county in Nevada where towers-for anything, including wind turbines and ham radio-are restricted to 35 ft. Keep in mind that the county in question is mostly desert scrubland with a ramshackle small town as the county seat. I doubt a 60 ft tower would be as intrusive there as it is in the middle of Napa, but the rules exist, follow them or wind up in court. I know that the first impulse among many is to side with the ham, but he didn't get permits, AND the tower violates the rules. From the street view it looks as if a 35 ft tower would be less intrusive-it looks as if the tower sticks up visibly for about 20-25 ft.