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35618 Rutherford
Clinton Township, MI 48035
RE: Local ordinance violation notice # 25751 “Total height of house, including antennas, not to exceed 35 feet” (Remove or shorten them).
Paul Gielegherm
Representative District 31
N0795 House Office Building
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
Dear Paul Gielegherm:
Subject: Follow up on Ordinance problems and PRB-1 package
I have not heard from you or your office in regard to the PRB-1 package I sent to you, or how you could possibly help me with a problem I am having with Clinton Township. I am updating the situation, and respectfully request your attention and assistance in this matter. I am also having some problems with the records and the information I have requested from Clinton Township.
This is the violation notice:
It’s dated 2-19-04 and cites Clinton Township Ordinance violations of 1299.01C, and 1292.01. The violation states: “Total height of house including antennas not to exceed 35 ft remove or shorten antennas to meet zoning code”. In my discussions with the inspector, Skip Anderson he said that 1299.01C should have been written 1299.01 (o) C.
1299.01 is the Clinton Township Area, Height and Use Exception. The part (o) specifically is referring too “Satellite Dish Antennas”, and part C of (o) states that roof or pole mounted antennas shall not exceed the height requirements of the district in which they are located. The problem is, the Township has miss-identified two of my amateur antennas for “satellite dish antennas”, I do not have, nor do I subscribe too any satellite TV service, none of my antennas.
I have been living here in Clinton Township for about 8 years. I married and moved in with my wife, Mary. Clinton Township is a nice place to live. I have been working for SBC 16 years, and my wife has retired from there.
We have both been FCC (Federal Communications Commission) “General Class” licensed hams, operating our amateur radio station for 7 years now. We are both active in the community, and we both hold positions on the Board of Directors of the USECA (Utica Shelby Emergency Communications Association) amateur radio club. We are both also members of the ARRL, a national organization representing all amateur radio operators.
Recently, we received a notice of ordinance violation. My amateur radio station antennas, which are mounted in tripods and guyed to the roof, exceed the maximum height allowed (35 feet) by the ordinance. In fact, this ordinance limits the heights of any structure on the property, even if it were a separate tower structure.
The FCC is the regulating body for the amateur radio service and the rules and regulations (Part 97) and it states this:
§97.15 Station antenna structures
(a) Owners of certain antenna structures more than 60.96 meters (200 feet) above ground level at the site or located near or at a public use airport must notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register with the Commission as required by Part 17 of this chapter.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein, a station antenna structure may be erected at heights and dimensions sufficient to accommodate amateur service communications. [State and local regulation of a station antenna structure must not preclude amateur service communications. Rather, it must reasonably accommodate such communications and must constitute the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish the state or local authority's legitimate purpose. See PRB-1, 101 FCC 2d 952 (1985) for details.]Basically, PRB-1 is the Federal Pre-emption of State and Local governments regulation of my station antenna. The entire 11- page document is included on the CD presentation, along with “Antenna Height and Communications Effectiveness, A Guide for City Planners and Amateur Radio Operators” included on the PRB-1 Presentation that will help in the understanding of this matter.
I am wondering if this ordinance can be fully applicable to my amateur radio station antennas, as reducing the antenna height to 35 feet would compromise their useful purpose. I would consider 75 feet to be a reasonable accommodation.
Also, Ordinance 1299.01 Area Height and Use Exceptions, part of it was given to me with the violation notice, and it appears to be referring almost exclusively to (Large) 10 - foot diameter satellite dish antenna installations, it mentions “a mesh design”. Does that also apply to amateur antenna installations, or the other smaller dish satellite antennas such as the direct TV types?
Our amateur antennas have been in use here since 1996. Since that time there have been numerous visits by Township inspectors, required for the installation of new windows, a new roof, siding, among other reasons. In all this time, the antennas were never questioned or mentioned as a problem before. Driving through my local neighborhood, I see several types of antenna structures. There are enough questionable installations that I must ask, “Why am I being singled out”? Could it be that some disgruntled neighbor is concerned about interference from my station? I may never know because Clinton Township will take complaints signed “a concerned citizen” protecting their name, and giving me no chance to work with the person to resolve any RFI issues.
This behavior also seems to sidestep the purpose of the Freedom of Information Act. Any person can register a complaint, which will be investigated, without having to sign his name, the person complaining does not have to be accountable for his true intentions, or even prove his residence here. Any disgruntled individual would certainly take advantage of it.
I do not want to appear rude or disrespectful, and I want to cooperate with my local government. But I am getting very weary of responding to the endless stream Clinton Township Ordinance violations. One requires that I put air in my tire. This is really some example of “micro managing” the affairs of a citizen. This abuse of the complaint system has been going on now for too long. It must be stopped. I am being required to expend considerable time and resources dealing with some person who is disgruntled with the way I live.
I do want to point out that my amateur station and antenna have been an asset to Clinton Township, providing for communications during the recent power black outs of 2003, running my equipment on batteries and operating nets to pass information, as one example.
For more examples and information, I have included a PRB-1 multimedia presentation for you on CD ROM that tells more about what we amateurs do. Just insert it into your CD drive and it will launch. It works just like a web site.
Any advice or suggestions on how best to proceed would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time!
Respectfully yours,
David Cunningham
