In our discussions on the Hill, we have been emphasizing reasonable accommodation. In an HOA, that will not be a tower. We have been talking about wire antennas in trees, under eaves, flagpole antennas, small verticals, etc. Antennas that are stealthy and couldn't be seen unless you were truly looking for them.
The biggest fear that these folks have is what they consider to be an unsightly tower in their community. If we push towers, we will never get the support of representatives that have communities with CC&Rs in their district.
I would suggest that these petitions tone down the rhetoric.
What I have been doing is to send an email to each member in my Division, sorted by Congressional District. I use a template that I wrote. I also include the representative's name and the amount of FCC licensed hams in their respective district (a much larger number than ARRL members). They are instructed to go to the representative's website, go to his/her contact link, fill out the online form for access, and cut and paste the template in the appropriate box.
We need to reach out to non-members as well as we only have about 20 percent of the total package. (It is an unfortunate fact, and a discussion for another day.)
I think one way of doing this is to reach out to all clubs and ask them to participate in this email program. They could forward the email to their members and ask them to participate. It would certainly create some goodwill for the League.
Another approach would be a hard copy letter writing in which the letters would be had delivered by our lobbyist to representatives in their offices.
I know that this caught us under-prepared. We do need to get in front of it and control it as best we can. I'll be more than happy to share my template and the email I sent to my Division with anyone who wants it.
73 de Mike N2YBB
Sent from my iPad
Co-sponsor HR.4969, the “Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014”I know we have no say in how these petitions are presented, but I hope the petition designers realize what market they are going for.
If they are going for Amateur Radio Ops, a graphic of a beam is going to get the most powerful positive reaction; but it will probably get a very powerful negative reaction from non-hams. A graphic of amateur radio ops in the field assisting with disaster operations would elicit a much more positive response from non-hams.
To us, a beam is a sign of beauty. To others…..not so much.
Late last year Chris indicated that this bill could act as a “cover” for the FCC to move forward with their own authority. I have not seen this mentioned since the bill came out. Is there any new information on this? The development of our policy in handling the lobbying of this bill will certainly depend on this.
’73 de JIM N2ZZ
From: arrl-odv [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Marty Woll
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2014 2:10 AM
To: 'JRS'; 'arrl-odv'
Subject: [arrl-odv:22945] Re: Fwd: Co-sponsor HR.4969, the “Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014”
A similar petition is being circulated by a member in the Bay area: U.S. House of Representatives: Co-sponsor HR.4969, the “Amateur Radio...
It reached me through multiple sources, so it’s spreading. I’ve asked those sending to me to QRX until the League formulates its talking points and Congressional outreach plan. Unless we act quickly, though, it may be out of our hands.
73,
Marty N6VI
From: arrl-odv [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of JRS
Sent: Friday, July 4, 2014 10:44 PM
To: arrl-odv
Subject: [arrl-odv:22944] Fwd: Co-sponsor HR.4969, the “Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014”
FYI
73
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John Robert Stratton
N5AUS
West Gulf Division
Vice Director
West Gulf Division
Legislative Action Chair
Office telephone: 512-445-6262
Cell: 512-426-2028
PO Box 2232
Austin, Texas 78768-2232
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HR.4969 would require the FCC, within 120 days of the Bill’s passage, to amend the Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply PRB-1coverage to include homeowners’ association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as “covenants, conditions, and restrictions” (CC&Rs). PRB-1 states that local governments cannot preclude Amateur Radio communications; they must “reasonably accommodate” amateur operations, and the state and local regulations must be the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish a legitimate governmental interest. Presently, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. Since PRB-1 was enacted, the FCC has said several times that it would prefer to have some guidance from Congress before extending the policy to private land-use regulations. HR.4969 will provide that guidance, and give PRB-1 the force of Federal law. Radio amateurs, while providing a valuable and necessary service to their communities, are frequently and increasingly precluded from installing necessary equipment (antennas, coax, etc) by unreasonable private land-use restrictions, including restrictive CC&R covenants. The net effect of HR.4969 passage will be to suppress those unreasonable restrictions and allow licensed amateurs to install reasonable equipment for practicing our hobby and having the means to serve our communities. Sign Petition |
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