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<br />JOHN B. BELLOWS, JR. <br />ATTORNEY AT LAW <br /> <br />600 CAPITAL CENTRE <br />386 WABASHA STREET NORTH <br />SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA 55102 <br /> <br />(612) 227-8751 <br /> <br />July 11, 1996 <br /> <br />Mr. Steven Sarkozy <br />City Manager <br />City of Roseville <br />2660 Civic Center Drive <br />Roseville, MN 55113 <br /> <br />Re: Amended Antenna Ordinance <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Sarkozy: <br /> <br />Several amateur radio operators who are a residents of Roseville have asked that I <br />write you about their concerns as to the impact of the new tower ordinance on amateur <br />radio communications. They first became aware the ordinance limiting antennas to a <br />height not exceeding 20 feet above the principal structure when the ordinance appeared <br />in the June 13, 1996 copy of Focus News. Though most of these amateur radio <br />operators have a tower and antenna which would be "grand-fathered" under the existing <br />ordinance they are concerned about the limitations imposed in the event of a major <br />change in their systems, or a move to a different residence in Roseville. <br /> <br />Neither the ordinance nor the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process make any <br />distinction between amateur towers and antennas and commercial towers and <br />antennas. While the ordinance provides for an exception by way of a Conditional Use <br />Permit, the requirements of the CUP process are burdensome. Based upon this <br />information and a review of the ordinance it appears that it was adopted without <br />consideration of In Re: Federal Preemption of State and Local Reaulations Pertainina to <br />Amateur Radio Facilities, 101 FCC 2d 92, F. Fed. Register 38,813 (1985) at 47 CFR <br />Sec. 97.15(E) (1992), (hereinafter PRB-1) and therefore, does not reflect the impact of <br />this federal ruling on local zoning ordinances. <br /> <br />The purpose of PRB-1 is to provide preemption of local zoning ordinances as respects <br />their impact on amateur radio towers and antenna. The preemption of PRB-1 is absolute <br />in certain circumstances and more limited in others. The extent of the preemption is <br />determined by the extent to which a state or local law stands as an obstacle to the <br />accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives articulated in PRB-1. <br /> <br />The Federal Communications Commission issued this ruling after weighing state and <br />local interests in regulating local zoning matters against the interest of the federal <br />government in maintaining the amateur radio service as a voluntary, non-commercial <br />communications service which provides a reservoir of trained operators, technicians, <br />emergency communications and numerous other benefits to the federal and local <br />