Ham Radio Wars - the battle rages on

On Thursday, we carried an item about ham radio operator Craig Thompson, who has some residents in Peoria County up in arms over his plan to erect a series of towers on his property.

A news item, just published in the Journal Star, would suggest that a ceasefire in this battle may yet be some way off.

Denied a chance to officially and publicly sound off against a proposed cluster of ham radio towers on private property in rural Trivoli Township, opponents of the towers are now searching for ways to slow or stop construction that already is under way, Scott Hilyard of the Journal Star reports.

His article continues: It's probably too late. Peoria County Planning and Zoning approved the permit request by Craig Thompson in July for 11 towers that range in height from 30 feet to 195 feet on property he owns at 18905 W. McDonald Road. Construction began last week.

"I'm not sure there's anything we can do to stop the 11 towers at this point," said John Martin, the nearest neighbor of the property that's situated among the rolling farm fields and woodlands south of Trivoli.

"What we are trying to do is get a grassroots organization going to let the national ham radio organization (American Radio Relay League) know what's going on here and get them to agree that what Mr. Thompson plans to do is excessive. Maybe we can convince that group to show him that it is in his best interest to scale back his plans," Martin said.

Thompson applied for a permit with the county to erect up to 19 towers on the property in late 2009. County planners initially treated the application as a zoning variation that would require a public hearing. More than 40 local residents signed a petition in opposition to the plan. Two public hearings were scheduled, one in February another in April; both were continued. Thompson withdrew the application before a hearing was held.

Thompson's attorney, Fred Hopengarten of Massachusetts, a legal expert in telecommunications law, helped convince the county state's attorney office that the county zoning law was trumped by Federal Communications Commission law that allowed for construction of ham radio towers.

Related URLs

Trivoli neighbors against ham radio towers
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/november2010/ham_radio_towers.htm

Peoria Area Residents Cry Foul Over Amateur Radio
http://shortwaveamerica.blogspot.com/2010/11/
peoria-area-residents-cry-foul-over.html

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