[BC] Re: No-code Amateur license

[Phil Alexander]

On 25 Jul 2005 at 11:21, Cowboy wrote:
 
>  I remember a HUGE court battle, started by a certain "radio personality"
>  in an cleveland suburb.
> 
>  His point was that the junk yard in the sky looked so bad, it depressed
>  property values, and he was right.
>  It looked SO bad, when it hit the TV news, it was embarrasing to almost
>  every amateur that new about it.
> 
>  He lost the case, though, on Federal pre-emption.
>  Precident exists to argue that localities can not restrict amateur antennae !
> 
>  Methinks that should one wish to push it, the subdivision would lose.

I wish it were so, but I doubt it for this reason. The federal laws prevent
municipalities from passing zoning laws that prohibit some antennas giving 
you a right under federal law. However, if you bargain away a right to get
something else, namely a house in a restrictive subdivision, that right is
gone. IOW you contracted to give up money and some rights you might otherwise
enjoy in exchange for a property in a binding contract. The property owners
association for the subdivision can sue in civil court to enforce the contract
and I doubt you will have any recourse when the court finds the covenant valid.
I've seen places where you had to paint your mail box to a particular spec.,
and others where you could not build a fence on adjoining property lines.

If the covenant violates civil rights laws, equal home ownership opportunity
etc. a court might find that the covenant was illegal and throw it out, but
I doubt you would get that consideration for an antenna. IANAL, and I could 
be wrong, but that's my best guess. ;-)


Phil Alexander, CSRE, AMD
Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology 
(a Div. of Advanced Parts Corporation) 
Ph. (317) 335-2065   FAX (317) 335-9037





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