California ham vows to protect his antenna

A San Bernardino County California ham radio operator is threatening to take the town of Grand Terrace to court if they force him to take down his 32 foot high tower and beam.

Hans Ehlert, AE6TV, was quoted in the September 14th San Bernardino Sun as saying that his antenna is going to stay or he is prepared to take the matter as high as the United States Supreme Court.

Before putting up the antenna Ehlert tells Amateur Radio Newsline that he went to the City and ask about permit requirements for the installation. That was back in March and he was told that he was the first one to ask. Also, that the City has no specific ordinance. He was later contacted and reassured that if the structure was under 35 feet, no permit was needed.

So in May he installed his tower which he kept at a height of only 32 feet. Even so, his neighbors consider the antenna system to be an eyesore petitioned the city to have it removed.

City officials initially ordered Ehlert to take the tower down, but after checking into the situation they concluded that he might have the right to have one after all. Even so, the City came up with another code for "Accessory Structures" with a height limit of 20 feet. They again told AE6TV to take the antenna down and apply for the approval of a Conditional
Use Permit. Ehlert refused to remove the antenna but did apply for the permit and paid a $365 fee.

Then, in a June 3 letter to the city, Ehlert quoted FCC regulations that limit local authority over amateur radio facilities. Under the limited Federal preemption known as PRB, a city cannot ban a ham radio operator from having an antenna and must reasonably accommodate a radio amateurs needs. In addition, a law protecting ham radio antenna installations was unanimously passed by the California state Legislature and signed by then Governor Gray Davis in July 2003. Like PRB-1, it also requires cities and counties to reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio service communications.

Ehlert's lawyer is William Seligmann, WA6UUY, of Pacific Pallisades. On July 20th he also responded in a letter to the city. At that time Seligmann restated that Amateur Radio facilities must be reasonably accommodated and threatening legal action if his client was forced to remove his antenna.

In theory, Ehlert thinks he should be able to put up a 60-foot or 70-foot antenna because the city has no specific ordinance regulating amateur radio structures. But AE6TV says that he is willing to settle for 32 feet if that's what the city will give him. He has also offered to paint the tower
the same color as his house so that it would blend in better.

Its now up to the city. If they force him to take down the antenna or drop it to a height where it wil negatively impact on his ability to communicate, AE6TV says that he is ready to take the matter into the courts.

Source: ARNewsline

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