dm_johnson@manana.DEC (09/19/85)
Associated Press Wed 18-SEP-1985 19:47 Ham Radio
Limits Zoning Restrictions on Ham Radio Towers
By BILL McCLOSKEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Local governments must be reasonable when they
attempt to force ham radio operators to use lower antenna towers or
screen them from view, the Federal Communications Commission said
Wednesday.
The commission declared a limited pre-emption of state and local
regulations concerning amateur radio facilities, saying there is a
strong federal interest in promoting ham radio communications.
Hams often provide battery-powered emergency radio contact
during disasters when other communications lines are wiped out.
The American Radio Relay League asked for the ruling, arguing
that some municipalities go too far when they used their zoning
power to put restrictions on antenna towers, limits which often has
the effect of restricting reception ranges to 2,500 miles.
``An amateur monitoring the airwaves simply will not be able to
respond to a distress call beyond that limit,'' the league argued
in its petition to the commission last July.
In Cerritos, Calif., the city limits the height and the number
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Associated Press Wed 18-SEP-1985 19:47 Ham Radio (cont'd)
of antennas, including television antennas, to three per property
and also limits the type and dimensions of the antennas, the
petition said.
``These cases are legion,'' the Relay League said. ``They
consistently pit licensees against the very communities they seek
to serve with public service and emergency communications.''
The FCC pre-emption limits local zoning restrictions on
placement, screening or height of antennas based on health, safety
of aesthetic considerations to those which ``reasonably accomodate
amateur communications and represent the minimum practicable
regulation to accomplish the purpose of the local authority.''
A similar preemption of local zoning restrictions on satellite
dishes is pending at the commission and could see a vote this fall.
In a separate action, the FCC eliminated the 30-day waiting
period before an applicant who flunked an amateur examination can
retake the same or higher examination element.