Seems there is a lot of us out here, who got more involved than they
ever planned or wanted to be, when erecting a simple radio tower.
When i moved here to Wimberley the town was not incorporated and wide
open, no permit required or needed from any authority at all. Just put
err up and get after it.
Situations change and we sold that property, soon enuff we again decided
to move back finding no where else we liked as much. But in 2000 the
city finally incorporated and in a reflective moment it was in large
part due to the proliferation of cell towers near exclusively. But in
the rush to cut and paste a cobbled up set of ordinances and to assert
this new power/permitting obstical process. A pretty tuff no tower
policy was passed.
I was naive as i read the ordnance, it made exceptions and exclusions,
all of which I was sure i qualified for and would have no problem
getting approved.
Well at every turn i was thwarted, finally i got myself appointed to the
building code committee with the belief i could get it done. later as
the chair it was still not done.
Soon I was appointed to the P&Z commission with real power and
influence, but still at every application i lost the vote, the boards
were set with strong protection activist not wanting the scenic vistas
cluttered with ham towers and the so often scare tactic "our property
values will plummet" no one will ever buy your property next to a ham
tower, dont pass this application.
My wife grew weary of this nonsense and the $$$$ cha ching of out go money.
By 05 i saw this as it was, a contest, I ran for city council, i lost,
but in loosing made inroads and the best was finding Fred Hopengarten
K1VR, Fred cautioned the City Attorney, Jesus was looming into view and
as well I would be in for a big payday, the City Attorney put off her
decision and acknowledging that the city was about to loose this one,
but finally just flat announced it was time to give it up and take this
for the team and move on.
Give him the damn permit, was uttered.
All thru every meeting i had one consistent arch foe, always speaking
out against my application.
Fast forward we each ran for a council seat and won, by 14' we were both
ready for Mayor roles, I lost he won, but during all this we became
better friends, always knowing we had core differing views. I remained a
council member and often thorn, but respected. In 16' I won as mayor and
my now good friend ran again for council and won a year later.
Now we have each hung up our political ambitions and found our niche as
helping behind the scenes. We are the best of friends and often laugh at
how we developed into such a strong relationship, our differences still
exist from national politics down, but it is respectful and he will
often ask where i am in my DX chase for 315 plus. He knows where i live
i am permitted within the city for 6 towers on my 10 acres, he likely
sees at age 73 i just might have built near my last tower and feels safe
in showing interest in my ham radio efforts. And does know i have a new
hdx89 that is going up soon.. Life is good.
It's all because of radio towers and differing views, it was tuff but i
would likely not change any aspect of how we reached this point today we
share.
TT reaching the legal drinking age is good, it serves a host of
purposes that are vital to keeping our hobby active and viable as well a
terrific venue to share knowledge.
Best to all and 73 , mac/mc w5mc
On 6/28/2019 7:04 AM, Dick's wrote:
Just a comment about “Up The Tower” by Steve- I am so glad I bought that book
before my tower installation. Besides all the advice he gave, he also gave the pros and cons
about getting a permit from the local government before construction. I decided to go ahead
and obtain a permit, so no neighbors in my subdivision would have a future valid complaint
about it.
The process of getting the permit took months because I was initially denied the permit. They said that the County
didn’t have any rules concerning ham radio towers (legally known as “antenna support
structures”). I told them that (1) since it wasn’t addressed, they had no right to deny me as I was
not violating any written rule, and that (2) the County was violating both Federal and State guidelines where they
could not unreasonably deny me a permit for a structure less than 90’ high. They still refused to budge.
It was at this time I sought the pro-bono help of a local attorney who had volunteered
through ARRL. It took a couple of additional months, but that attorney convinced the
County’s attorney of how embarrassing it would become if they were taken to
court, just like a recent case he won against an adjacent county.
Bottom line- I was the only ham in my County who ever had applied for a permit
to put up a tower and now it has paved the way for others.
Dick, K0CAT
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|