Woo Hoo! Love permits!

[N4NYY]

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1428447220/Opposition-to-radio-tower-farm-pushes-on

[KA5N]

The opposition forgot to mention that any children born after the towers were installed would have
three eyes and cloven hooves.

Actually the neighbors plasma TV's will probably cause more interference to the ham than the ham will  cause to their electronics.  I particularly enjoy the reference to the interference to  pacemakers.
I and many other hams have pacemakers and I have never heard of a single case of ham radio causing a problem.  Sure doesn't bother mine.  When I got it I asked the factory rep.  about
their imunity to RF and he said they were immune to just about anything.  Since the doctor or technician communicates with the pacemaker with an inductive pickup, I am more concerned about
strong magnetic fields and large electric motors.
The way the average person looks at ham radio, they wouldn't be happy even if we all buried our antennas.
Allen

[KF7CG]

The environmentalists wouldn't like that; killing all the worms don'cha know )P

If you want to get a little warm, read the notes on Shelby, N.C. (not civilized)  All Amateur Radio Towers must have a special use permit to be installed anywhere. The application for the permit makes it harder to put up a 6BTV vertical than to put up a cell tower. 65 feet of tower with CB or TV doesn't have to go that route.

I suggest that every Amateur examine all their business dealings to see if the company is out of Cleveland county, NC. If so, let your conscience be your guide and let the head of the business very politely (no need to use hard words, lack of $$ speaks better when done softly but firmly) why things have changed.

Due to the extreme hardship on Amateurs and the expense and labor involved in maintaining reasonable communications facilities, all Amateurs and all Amateur Clubs should carefully evaluate and participation and volunteering with any community activities in Cleveland County. Business entities in this county would also be well advised to examine their operations and investments in light of the capricious and draconian rulings of county agencies.




KF7CG

[KE4DRN]

"Eleven towers is overkill," said Brad Harding, the county board member whose district includes Trivoli. "The law enables a person to construct a ham radio tower, but a tower farm takes it to the extreme."

I don't  think so!

[N4NYY]

It gets better!

http://www.centralillinoisnewscenter.com/news/local/tower-106923434.html

For once, I can enjoy watching the neighbors squirm, instead of the ham op who has to fight to put up the towers.

Did I mention that I love permits?

LOL

[N2EY]

What I find most interesting is that I don't see any mention of how big the property is.

11 towers on one acre might be excessive. 11 towers on 11 acres is a completely different thing. But nowhere is the size of the property mentioned, nor are there any useful drawings or pictures.

What's really sad is the level of ignorance displayed by the folks opposing the ham:

- They think that "the towers will cause interference" which is simply not the case.

- They want "small government" and "freedom" and "low taxes" but also want The Government to stop a person from doing something that's perfectly legal and as safe as regulations require.

- They want to live in a techno-society with abundant, cheap energy, cell phones, internet, TV, and all the other gadgetry of the modern era, 24/7. But they don't want to see any of what makes it possible. Nor do they want to understand it, even at a basic level.

- They don't understand that the more you limit what others can do on purely "I don't like how it looks" grounds, the more they can do the same to *you*. And you may not like what they decide.

73 de Jim, N2EY

[N4NYY]

Jim N2EY,

It is 17 acres. The thing that gets me is that he said that there are laws to protect the beauty of the land. There are also laws to protect the ham op.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What might be beautiful to the neighbors, might not be beautiful to him. I find it funny on how they want to appeal to the ARRL. LOL

[KF7CG]

How about lot size doesn't matter and proffessionally done traffic surveys for a 6BTV; Shellby, Cleveland County, North Carolina

KF7CG

[N2EY]

It is 17 acres.

So that's more than 1.5 acres per tower.

Seems like a pretty good scale to me. It's not like he was trying to squeeze them into too small a space.

The thing that gets me is that he said that there are laws to protect the beauty of the land. There are also laws to protect the ham op.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What might be beautiful to the neighbors, might not be beautiful to him.

Exactly.

The big question is whose esthetics do we go by? Personally, I don't like stucco all that much. Should my neighbors not be allowed to have stucco on their houses because I'm not a big fan of it? 

How about utility poles? How many of them are in the neighborhood?

Or consider this:

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/8293749-lg.jpg

Is it beautiful or ugly?

I find it funny on how they want to appeal to the ARRL. LOL

I think it's great! They'll get a quick education on PRB=1 and other facts.

---

I suspect that in coming years we're going to see a real culture clash over this sort of thing. Not from hams, though.

What I think we're going to see is a gradual but growing revolution in energy sources. As energy prices go up and alternative energy technologies mature, more and more people will want to put up wind turbines, solar collectors, and similar installations to offset rising energy costs.

And they will run headlong into CC&Rs, HOAs, overly restrictive ordinances and the like. Something as simple as replacing old uninsulated doors and windows will become a major issue because the HOA rules don't allow it. Solar collectors on the roof? A wind generator on a tower? Cutting down trees that block the sun or wind? Geothermal wells, large high-efficiency AC units, CFL and LED outdoor lighting that requires new fixtures - the list just keeps getting longer.

In some places the battles have already begun - just check out the long drawn out struggle to put an offshore wind farm off New England.

What will be really interesting is when the very people who fought to keep hams from having antennas try to do things to their very own homes in an attempt to contain the rising price of energy, and find they cannot, because of the very rules they supported!

I can't wait.
 
73 es HT de Jim, N2EY

[KA5N]

I think that in the future more people will bootleg all kinds of instalations be they ham towers, solor panels, wind turbines etc.  City and State governments are all going broke and while there may be
lawsuits galore the courts won't be able to afford to try the cases. 
With all the trouble in the real estate market, many of the CCR's and other regulations will be swept aside in order to make home sales.  And on and on.
In the end it will be a big snarl, you know, sort of like it is now only different.
Allen

[KE4DRN]

hi,

I google map the area, looks like farm land as
far as the eye can see, even in google earth,
just flat.

With 17 acre property, the towers will be almost
invisible to the neighbors at the distance they live.

73 james

[N2EY]

I think that in the future more people will bootleg all kinds of instalations be they ham towers, solor panels, wind turbines etc.  City and State governments are all going broke and while there may be
lawsuits galore the courts won't be able to afford to try the cases. 

Maybe. That's certainly one possible outcome.

OTOH they may see the cases as a way to boost the bottom line by making violators pay fines and court costs.

Or they may change the rules so that you can put up all those things if you get a building permit - which costs $$. (Permit fees pay the costs so it's a revenue source).

With all the trouble in the real estate market, many of the CCR's and other regulations will be swept aside in order to make home sales.

I hope so.

But you have to remember that CC&Rs and ordinances are very different things. All it takes to change, repeal or variance an ordinance is for the governing body to make it so. If the political winds blow that way, the changes will happen. All it takes is a majority vote.

But deed restrictions, covenants, HOA rules, etc. are private contracts that are almost always designed to be virtually impossible to change. For example, a change in HOA rules may require every owner and resident in the development to approve it, not just a simple majority. Try getting 100% to agree to anything!

Of course it might be as simple as everyone simply looking the other way when it comes to things that really don't matter.

73 de Jim, N2EY

[K4XZ]

You have to remember that we are dealing with City and County government . We used to say "If It makes sense then it won't work here". Now this Shelby Ordinance is almost certainly headed for litigation. Because more people that vote don't want towers than people that do. The government will have no problem in wasting your tax money on a lawsuit that they will almost certainly lose. In places where the ordinances are not as strict you can usually find some way to get it done. If you purchase property in an area that has HOA's, CC&R,S, or DEED RESTRICTIONS then you are most likely screwed. All I can say is if you want to erect a amateur radio support structure. Then do all the research you can, find an Engineer, and DO NOT go to the Building or P&Z Department yourself. Find a General contractor who is local and pay him to move the plans thru the city/county from plans to permit.Get the guy that everyone knows down there and you will have a much easier time obtaining your permit. I'm not saying It's right just that It works a lot better this way. Again JMHO

73 Joe Patrick K4XZ

[KE4DRN]

Hi,

Here is video of the 190' tower being erected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUWI38ocVTM

in this video the local TV station runs the story
of the neighbor objecting to the tower farm.
Notice the cell towers in the segment!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmgwdgZfM3M&feature=related

73 james

[N2EY]

Hi,

Here is video of the 190' tower being erected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUWI38ocVTM

in this video the local TV station runs the story
of the neighbor objecting to the tower farm.
Notice the cell towers in the segment!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmgwdgZfM3M&feature=related

Thanks for the links!

Yes, they showed *only* cell towers! So much for fair and balanced...

But what struck me the most was the talk about the neighbors' "right to a traditional rural landscape".

Who gets to say what constitutes a "traditional rural landscape"?

Until a few decades ago, many rural areas didn't have electricity. Many rural roads weren't paved. Barns and houses were stone or wood, not metal. Windmills - on towers - were common.

I could see if it were on a small lot. But it's 17 acres!

73 de Jim, N2EY