Item 5.1 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL posted 2/13/14ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Sheila Cobian
To: City Council Agenda
Subject: FW: Item 5.1 on Feb 18 agenda, workshop on HAM Antenna
From: Bob Manis
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 6:24 PM
To: 'Joe St. Lucas'; Tina White
Cc: Jason Martin
Subject: RE: Item 5.1 on Feb 18 agenda, workshop on HAM Antenna
Joe -
Please note that the DRAFT Ordinance in the agenda report was prepared by the local ham radio community. This is
what they are proposing but City staff is not in agreement with many of the items in that draft. The table that starts on
page 29 of 30 summarizes the City staff proposal and compares it to what the ham radio.community is proposing.
Regardless of what height an antenna support structure is, a building permit will be required for the construction. This
will include inspections by the City Building Division. Once it is finaled, it is the responsibility of the property owner to
keep in in proper condition. No subsequent insections would occur unless a building permit is obtained to modify it.
Temporary antennas are exempt in the City staff proposal as well. We have not proposed a time limit but that would
have to be determined and included in the final Ordinance.
I can't Comment on the intent of the section G of the Ham radio community draft. It does say to place antennas to
minimize the visibility "to the closest public street and , when possible, from adjacent property owners ". Adjacent
usually means common property lines or immediately across the street.
I hope this helps. Item 5.1 is a workshop so we expect to get feedback on these and other issues so that we can return
with a City ordinance that reflects City Council direction.
:r,
From: Joe St. Lucas [mailto:jstlucas gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 5:35 PM
To: Tina White; Bob Manis
Subject: Item 5.1 on Feb 18 agenda, workshop on HAM Antenna
A lot of the proposal is in DRAFT form with blanks to be filled in, probably at the meeting. I have a couple of
questions about this.
I have no real opinion about the max height of the antenna and supporting structure, but am wondering about
the liability of a tall antenna falling on a neighboring property. A 65 ft. (or higher) antenna, set close to a
property line, could easily hit a neighboring house if it fell for any reason in that direction. While one could
argue that the person who put the antenna up is responsible for damages, is there any liability on the City's part
for allowing a tall structure like this? Since the DRAFT (Item C p 8 of 30) calls for a building permit for a
support structure up to 65 ft, and a MDRA for heights over this, this might not be a problem since the
permitting process might reveal any defects in the structural integrity of the structure.
Section HA talks about "Temporary Antenna" being exempt from the ordinance. (p 9 of 30).
1 of 2 February 18, 2014, Item #5.1
Is this saying that if I. put a wire onto a tree, it's "temporary" and exempt from the ordinance? How long can this
"temporary" antenna be left there? I'm also thinking in terms of mounting a 10 or 20 ft tall pole into two
buckets of concrete, stringing a long wire between them, and because the buckets can be moved, they're not
permanent so they're exempt.
Last, G.2, p 9 of 30, talks about minimizing visual impacts to adjacent property owners. I'm guessing that this
means only those whose property lines touch the HAM antenna property. I don't know that this is sufficient for
65 -100 ft antennas that can be seen for blocks and blocks away, or those on hills that can be seen throughout the
City.
Thanks,
Joe St. Lucas
2 of 2 1 February 18, 2014, Item #5.1