This is not about ordinances - unless that is your real goal – its about
obtaining a building permit.
If there is literally no discussion about ham radio towers – then the likely
issue is only auxiliary structures and set back for your permit. Commercial
ordinances do not apply to your personal use structure. Simply do not.
If they try and apply the commercial use ordinance – I would push for the
town or county attorney to review the application of that ordinance to a
personal use. It will hopefully be seen as “does not apply” - sending a
copy to the attorney of PRB-1 usually gets their attention if they are
unaware – most are by now.
If you are already at that point then the official will likely try and just
apply the typical set back and height restrictions of an auxiliary structure
for personal use. This is correct in principle but PRB-1 trumps that if
there is no accommodation in the current regs for amateur towers. Typically
that means ignoring a height restriction. Other items can apply if they
don’t directly hinder the proposed tower (which the lawyers like to call an
antenna support structure).
One key is to actually make the application. If you don’t, they can change
the rules on you. But if you have applied, then its too late for your
application (that’s the next guys issue to deal with).
If you are in a rural area and the tower visibility is fairly low, you
shouldn’t have too much of an issue in many cases. If you are in a dense
area on a ¼ acre lot without a lot of tress, you better buckle in for a
prolonged fight.
Ed N1UR
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