35618 Rutherford
Clinton Township, MI 48035
In reply to: Local ordinance violation notice # 25751 “Total height of house, including antennas, not to exceed 35 feet” (Remove or shorten them).
Phillip Mannino
Clinton Township Assistant Superintendent
40700 Romeo Plank Road
Clinton Township, MI 48038
Dear Phillip Mannino
Subject: Federal pre-emption of amateur radio antennas subject to local ordinance restrictions.
It is my understanding that you are the person to contact with these concerns. 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. According to FCC procedures I should be working with this person to resolve issues, along with the FCC. If this matter concerns RFI, I should be able to work with the complainant to identify the source. (Possibility of other sources of interference may also exist)
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. Another example would be the communications assistance we provide to the March of Dimes Walk-America event at Metropolitan Beach.
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. Also, this presentation is also available from a website: http://www.radio.useca.org to view from any web browser, or if you don’t have a CD ROM drive.
Any advice or suggestions on how best to proceed would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time!
Respectfully yours,
David Cunningham