08-24-87 Zoning & Vacation - Laserfiche WebLink

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Zoning and Vacation Committee Minutes/August 24, 1987 Page 2 equal protection rights. In this way, persons who were either in favor or against a variance could have a public forum at which to present their information. Councilman Serge questioned what would happen with regard to those satellite dishes which were currently placed in front yards. It was noted that so long as they were in place prior to the effective date of this ordinance, if passed , those situations would be grandfathered. Councilman Puzzello also questioned grandfathering, and it was noted that if a satellite dish remained in a front yard prior to the effective date of this ordinance , it would continue to be a legal non-conforming use even with the change of ownership. The Council Attorney noted, however , that there would not be a "personal" grandfather clause which was sought by several of the remonstrators. The grandfathering would not allow a person who had a modern accouterment in their front yard to then move to a totally different lot and install that modern accouterment within the new front yard. However , if a change of ownership occurred where there was a satellite dish in a front yard prior to the passage of this ordinance, the new owner of that property could continue to use that dish as a legal non-conforming use . Dorothy Jaffe of 1105 North Ironwood stated that she was married to a ham operator. She noted that ham operators are the "unsung heroes" in many emergency situations. She indicated that their service was invaluable during the Special Olympics and stated that , in her opinion , passage of the ordinance would interfere with three (3) frequencies utilized by the Civil Defense and Red Cross . She was also concerned about extra costs involved . Mr. Brian Strout noted that he is an officer in two (2) of the clubs for ham operators. He showed examples of several types of wiring used throughout the City. He voiced concern with regard to what would happen if a wire utilized by a ham operator was broken during a storm and whether repair and/or maintenance would be allowed or whether that individual would be required to appear before the Board of Zoning Appeals. He estimated that there were approximately 375 amateur ham radio operators within the city. He also questioned whether there were height restrictions in effect. Mr. Wayne Werntz voiced concern with regard to signage and specifically cited language from a 1985 FCC order which he believed pre-empted local officials from legislating in this area. He estimated that there are approximately 2 ,000,000 satellite dishes nationally and approximately 500,000 amateur ham radio operators.