Not over, or out: Ham operators hope to amend Troy ordinance

December 11, 2003

BY JEWEL GOPWANI
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Murray Scott has a 50-foot antenna lying beside his house.

It's been there for three years, ever since the amateur radio enthusiast moved
to Troy and the city rejected his request to put the antenna up beside his
home because it violates an ordinance that limits antennas to 25 feet.

While Scott's collection of microphones and transceivers collects dust in his
house, he's been using a ham radio with a weaker signal in his 2002 Ford
Windstar.

But that might not be the case for long.

On Monday,the Troy City Council will review an ordinance change that would
allow amateur,or ham, radio operators as they're called, to put up antennas as
high as 75feet-- giving themstronger, clearer signals that will allow them to
contact more distant radio enthusiasts.

Shorter towers can interfere with signals coming from televisions and radios
in other homes, Scott said.

"I'll be able to come home and enjoy what I enjoy doing and be more active
again," he said.

Despite e-mail, instant messaging and the Internet, ham radio chat rooms still
draw thousands.

There are 685,308 licensed ham radio operators across the country, according
to the American Radio Relay League, a national amateur radio organization.
The Newington, Conn.-based group has about 160,000 members, said John
Hennessee, the league's regulatory information specialist.

The Federal Communications Commission allows communities to create antenna
zoning ordinances for height, safety and aesthetics, but it requires local
governments
to reasonably accommodate amateur radio operators.

Some of the estimated 180 ham radio enthusiasts in Troy didn't feel the city
was complying with FCC regulations and in August asked the Troy City Council
to have the city's Planning Commission review the ordinance that limits
antenna height.

The Planning Commission recommended that the ordinance stay the same but give
more leeway to the Zoning Board of Appeals to grant requests on a per case
basis for higher antennas.

"Every case is different," said Planning Commission Chairman Larry Littman.
"Every case affects neighbors differently."

Despite the recommendation, the City Council voted unanimously last month to
have city staff draft an amendment to the ordinance.

"It's a property owner rights issue," said Councilman Martin Howrylak.

That decision came as a surprise to Tammy Duszynski, president of the Council
of Troy Homeowners, who expected the City Council to go along with the
Planning
Commission's recommendation.

"If I'm looking out of my house, I do not want to see poles that are 75 feet
tall here and there," she said. "My gut is saying that people are not going
to like it."

Homeowner association bylaws could be an obstacle for radio operators, said
Dick Minnick, president of the Westwood Park Homeowners Association.

In that subdivision, residents must receive approval from the association's
board of directors before putting up any outdoor antenna, said Minnick, who
also used to be a ham radio operator and supports the change.

Approving an antenna could be a tough decision, he said.

"Some of them can be very unsightly," he said.

How to be a ham

The estimated 180 ham radio operators in Troy are just some of thousands
across the country who connect with old friends and make new ones through the
airwaves.

Instant messaging and e-mail are great, hams say, but during an emergency that
overloads those systems, ham radio is a reliable alternative.

Taller antennas mean more reliable radio communication in emergencies like the
August blackout, in which hams helped identify which local hospitals were
evacuated and needed supplies.

The equipment: The transceiver, which transmits and receives messages, is the
most basic unit an amateur radio operator needs. Hams also need an antenna
(the taller the better), a speaker and a microphone.

Source: Philip Ode, president of the Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club