February 26, 2004 - (click
on link) I received this violation notice. It is important to note
that there was still snow and ice frozen on my roof, and the
violation notice gives me 10 days to comply with the request, which
is hand written in the space provided on the violation notice. I
called the Clinton Township inspector Skip Anderson, who issued the
violation notice. I asked him if he was aware of the condition of my
roof when he sent me the violation, and I questioned the wisdom of
sending such a notice, with the demand that I put my personal safety
at extreme risk to rectify the situation within 10 days. I think
there would be "liability issues" if I was injured in the process of
working on those antennas at the behest of the Township. Mr.
Anderson agreed to extend the deadline 60 days.
March 9, 2004 - (click on
link) In an attempt to find out the true nature of the complaint, as
any HAM would do (RFI or visual impact) I used the Freedom of
Information Act to get this scant piece of incomplete information,
designed purposely to be vague and ambiguous. Also, it's important
to note that Clinton Township has NO ordinance restricting "How
Many" antennas may be placed on a homeowners roof! Further attempts
to use FOIA act for the complete records were
ignored by Clinton Township, an
effort to thwart my investigation? (a bad sign, an unwillingness to
recognize and follow the rule of law, while demanding that I do so).
March 31, 2004 - (click on
link) Realizing that I've had to deal with a string of trivial
complaints since the "Great Midwest power blackout of 2003" (such as
my dog barking, when he is only let out to do his business, and a
classic car in my backyard considered junk) I conclude that one of
my neighbors has decided to harass me using the Clinton Township
ordinance complaints as a vehicle to do "their dirty work" while
they relax in privacy, anonymous and in protected comfort, never
consulting me personally once about any grievances with my property.
So, I embark on a letter writing campaign of my own, and prepare
this PRB-1 presentation, sending it out with the letters.
April 2004 -
Kimberly Meltzer, a Clinton Township Board Trustee stopped by on a
Sunday to discuss my situation. Apparently she had seen the
presentation, and wanted to check further into the situation I was
in. She asked me how I knew to contact them, and I said from looking
at their webpage! I advised here that I was confused about the
notice, there was no ordinance limiting how many antennas I could
place on my roof. I explained my other concerns with her too, like
the steady stream of complaints or violations I was receiving. I
told her then I thought that a neighbor had it out for me. I could
not even determine who the complaining party was, and that nobody
had ever said anything about it to me personally, or I would have
responded to it. She was very nice, and after about 20 minutes left,
saying that she would investigate this matter.
June 2004 - There were
several telephone conversations with Skip Anderson, and I advised
him that the matter was under investigation. From my standpoint, the
Township has acknowledged PRB-1, and since Mr. Anderson has no
authority to make decisions to circumvent the complaint, the matter
was kicked up to Robert Nader, a supervisor in the Building
Department.
July 12, 2004 - My discussions
with Mr. Nader were rather uncomfortable, as he seemed to place me
in the context of a violator getting away with something, rather
than a citizen of the community trying his best to rectify a messy
situation. I passed all my information on to him so he could
research and verify the laws I have quoted to him.
August 24, 2004 - (click on
link) another "enforcement letter" from the Clinton Township
Building Department. It also contained
some correspondence from the Clinton Township attorney,
recommending that I file a variance request, which I subsequently
did. The cost was $75.00 (non refundable of course) to apply for the
variance. The total cost of this endeavor are starting to mount now,
I've spent about $400.00 to create the presentation, research it,
buy the raw materials, produce it, package it, and mail it. I surely
hope that I get a positive result! The request for variance blocked
any enforcement proceeding or action by Clinton Township until the
matter is resolved anyway. Fortunately, now that the groundwork has
been laid, research complete, the cost to produce each presentation
on disk is only about 8 dollars per copy!
A copy of the variance request form,
detailing the information that must be correctly submitted to the
Appeals Board. Also a scale drawing of
the antennas in question, and the height of each antenna.
October 20, 2004 - (click on
link) A report I compiled on the Clinton Township Board of Appeals
meeting, was well attended by approximately 30 fellow HAM radio
operators, and began promptly at 6:30 PM. I was the second case
called, and I was read two complaint letters, the names and
addresses of the complainants, and brother let me tell you, it was
obvious to everybody that the context of the complaint had nothing
to do with amateur radio, it was just another, in the long stream of
complaints, from two nearby neighbors who have been using the
Township Ordinance complaint system as a vehicle to harass me! I had
been saying this all along! It's too bad there are no "Checks and
Balances" in the Clinton Township complaint system to thwart this
type of defective behavior on the behalf of "disgruntled neighbors".
This is the first good outcome though, the Appeals Board moved to
kick this over too the Ordinance Review Committee, giving us a
chance to work with them on a reasonable accommodation for ALL
Amateurs in Clinton Township!
