[FCARC] Fwd: WEAVER'S WORDS -- Special Issue -- Help Urgently Needed

[Craig Szczublewski]

I'm not sure how many of you are on the Ohio Section Mailing List, but this 
might be relevant to you...

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	WEAVER'S WORDS -- Special Issue -- Help Urgently Needed
Date: 	Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:56:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: 	ARRL Members Only Web site <memberlist at www.arrl.org>


[Reply only to k8je at arrl.org]

Please contact me regarding the following request -- Jim, k8je at arrl.or

Do you live in a community that is covered by CC&Rs?  Have you been
prevented from putting up an outdoor antenna (wire, vertical or beam)
whether on HF, VHF or UHF?  Has this inability to put up an antenna
prevented you from participating fully in emergency communications
activities during disasters?  If your answer is yes, ARRL wants to hear
about your experience.  What you encountered and the difficulty it
presented to you in providing public support/emergency communications
service may be the information needed to help amateurs get relief from
overly restrictive CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions&  Restrictions) in home
purchase or lease contracts.

A provision of Public Law 112-96 instructs the FCC, in the context of
Amateur Radio emergency communications capabilities, to conduct a study
to identify, among other things, “impediments to enhanced amateur
radio service communications, such as the effects of unreasonable or
unnecessary private land use restrictions on residential antenna
installations.”  The FCC will be seeking input very soon, but because
time will be short we are asking you to begin thinking about it now.  We
are particularly looking for stories about situations in which you as an
Amateur Radio operator could have provided valuable service through
Amateur Radio but your assistance either was prevented or diminished
because of overly restrictive CC&Rs.  We know situations of this type
have occurred during power outage, snowstorm, tornado, flood,
earthquake and other crisis relief effort.  If you are willing to write
to the FCC about your experience, please let me know.  We are not ready
at this moment to ask for letters, but a request for them will come
very soon.  If you need help in composing your letter, this help will
be given to you.

Please be aware that our request for letters does not relate to actions
taken by a branch of government such as a city, township or county.  The
letters will relate only to limitations placed by home-owners
associations and similar private groups on the installation of outdoor
antennas.

If you or someone you know has had overly restrictive CC&Rs prevent you
from responding to or seriously limited your ability to help during
relief operations, please let me know.  If you are willing, please
include your telephone number so I or another ARRL official can call
you if this proves desirable.

Over the years, many members have asked when ARRL is going get some
relief from overly restrictive CC&Rs.  The answer is that the League
has been trying different approaches to accomplish this.  Now that
Congress has mandated a study of the problem we have an opportunity to
document it.  The study itself will not make the problem go away but
should provide a public policy basis for the relief we need.  The time
is rapidly approaching for you who have experienced the heavy hand of
oppressive CC&Rs to come forward to help transform them into reasonable
guidelines.

Tnx es 73,

Jim

Jim Weaver, K8JE
Director, Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
Tel. 513-459-1661; e-mail K8JE at arrl.org
ARRL:  The reason Amateur Radio Is
Members:  The reason ARRL is

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ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James E Weaver, K8JE
k8je at arrl.org