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ARLB009 Tower victory in court
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 9  ARLB009
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  January 19, 1994
To all radio amateurs

Tower victory in court

A federal appeals court in Minnesota has found in favor of an
amateur and against a local municipality, the latest round in a
three-year battle.

Sylvia Pentel, N0MRW, applied in January 1991 for a zoning variance
for a 68-foot crank-up tower from the city of Mendota Heights.  At
the time, she was using a roof-mounted vertical which, she was
unaware, violated the city's zoning rules.  The city denied her
application for a tower but granted a special-use permit to allow
her to keep the vertical.

Pentel sued the city in US district court, saying that its ordinance
was preempted by federal law PRB-1, which recognizes the needs of
both municipalities and amateurs, and which requires a "reasonable
accommodation" of the needs of amateurs.  The district court found
in favor of the city, and Pentel appealed.

The US Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit said that the FCC in
PRB-1 "was attempting to strike a balance" between the interests of
municipalities and amateurs, and exhorted the parties to the suit to
work together to "arrive at a satisfactory solution."

The court of appeals said that its decision does not mean that the
city must necessarily grant Pentel's application for a tower as it
stands, but rather that the city must make a reasonable
accommodation for her interests.  The court said that granting a
special-use permit for Pentel's vertical was not an accommodation.

Pentel's lawyer was John B. Bellows Jr, K0QBE, with assistance from
ARRL General Counsel Christopher Imlay, N3AKD.
/EX