[nrv-hams] Planning commission meeting report

[Kay Craigie]

Last evening I had the opportunity to speak at some length to the Montgomery
County planning commission at a fact-finding and discussion meeting -- not a
formal public hearing -- about the proposed amateur radio tower ordinance
for the county. This does not include the towns of Blacksburg and
Christiansburg, which have their own planning commissions.

Several members of the commission are engineers and several are or were hams
or shortwave listeners. Their attitude was entirely positive towards amateur
radio, and their questions were probing but fair-minded.

I emphasized disaster communications and opportunities for technical
experimentation as the principal virtues of ham radio that are relevant to
Montgomery County.

The draft ordinance is very good. A few minor changes were made during the
session but they were fine and in one case were a distinct improvement. It
is not a blank check to put up any darn thing someone feels like doing but
accurately reflects the terms of the 1998 Virginia so-called PRB-1 statute
and the provisions of the 1985 FCC PRB-1 decision requiring local zoning
authorities to make reasonable accommodation for amateur radio antennas and
support structures. With the commission's consent, I will forward a copy of
the updated language to the ARRL's General Counsel for his review. I spoke
with him on the phone before the meeting to be sure I had all my ducks in a
row, so to speak.

The deal is not done. The planning commission must hold public hearings on
the subject. When the commission has approved the ordinance, as I fully
expect them to do, it then goes to the Board of Supervisors for
consideration and public hearing. One Supervisor was present last night. I
have been invited to speak to the issue at the September 9 meeting of the
Supervisors. At that time I imagine the questions will be less
well-informed, since probably the Supervisors don't have the same sort of
technical background as the planning commission members.

Also attending last night's meeting were Carter N3AO, Bill Davis W9KIC, and
Tom McAlee NI1N. Tom lives in the town of Blacksburg, where the ordinance is
more restrictive than Montgomery County's proposed regulation.

The planning commission's goal in creating an ordinance is to ensure that
amateur radio is not inadvertently harmed by the terms of ordinances
regulating other kinds of communications towers. That's all to the good. Too
many municipalities stubbornly refuse to comprehend the difference between
an amateur radio installation and a cell tower site.

73 - Kay N3KN