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- Submitted by:
- George L. Thurston W4MLE
- 2116 Gibbs Drive
- Tallahassee FL 32303
- Phone 904-385-1637
-
- Florida Amateurs, who often had to fight city hall's zoning
- restrictions to put up a good antenna, now have the protection of
- state law, in addition to PRB-1. By unanimous vote i n both houses,
- the Florida Legislature embedded the federal regulation into a new
- state law designated 91-28 (Chapters 125.0185 and 166.0435,
- Fla. Statutes). It's the first such statute in the country and could
- set an example for other states to follow. The new law, which became
- effective April 27, contains the essence of the FCC's antenna
- regulation PRB-1. Final passage of the bill was unanimous in both the
- House and the Senate. PRB-1 is the FCC regulation that says that local
- governments may not enforc e laws or ordinances that unreasonably
- limit the size or height of Amateur Radio antenna support
- structures. Although it over-rules any state or local law to the
- contrary, city and county attorneys are usually not aware of it. Local
- governing boards often go ahead and write restrictive zoning codes
- anyhow, forcing hams to beat city hall in court -- often at great
- expense. Now, theoretically at least, it should only be necessary for
- a threatened Florida Amateur to cite the law to the city (or county)
- atto rney.But PRB-1 has limitations. For one thing, it allows local
- government boards to apply the test of esthetics, so long as esthetic
- limitations don'tinterfere unduly with communications efficiency. And
- if you moved into a house with a lease or with a re strictive
- covenant, PRB-1 and Florida Statute 91-28 won't help a bit! The lease
- or covenant is a contract between the seller and you, the buyer. If
- you signed that property transaction, you agreed to abide by the
- covenant restrictions. And if the covenant restricts antennas, you're
- stuck. The solution is to buy a house without such a covenant hidden
- in the agate type. Statute 91-28 sailed through the legislature with
- virtually no trouble for several reasons. First, it didn't change
- anything. The cities an d counties lost nothing to 91-28 that they
- hadn't already lost to PRB-1. The bill had the support of powerful
- legislators in both the House and the Senate. Rep. Hurley Rudd,
- Tallahassee, who introduced the House bill, lives a few doors down the
- street fro m ARRL State Government Liaison (SGL) John Hills KC4N, and
- sits on the general government subcommittee of the House
- Appropriations Committee. Supporters included House Speaker
- T. K. Wetherell. Senator Pat Thomas, Quincy, a prominent supporter of
- the bill, is chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. Senator Richard
- Crotty, Orlando, who introduced the companion bill in the Senate, sits
- on both the Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Community
- Affairs.Just as importantly, perhaps, was the enthusiast ic support of
- the Florida Amateur community, organized and encouraged by Northern
- Florida SM Rudy Hubbard WA4PUP. The legislators and the Governor's
- office reported "anunusual number of phone calls" from around the
- state favoring the bill. Support for the bill had been widely promoted
- on virtually all Florida traffic nets, at hamfests and club
- meetings. The only opposition -- rather half-hearted at that -- came
- from the Florida League of Cities, but at the end, the League of
- Cities and the Florida Associa tion of County Commissioners openly
- supported the bill. That's how unanimous votes get generated.-0-NOTE:
- W4MLE covered the Florida legislature for nearly 20 years as a
- television news bureau chief in Tallahassee.
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