From: Steve Henry N7GN" Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2002 1:31 PM Subject: Need your voice heard: Presentation at NCARC club meeting today Hi folks, We need your help on a matter which will take about 15-20 minutes. Today at the NCARC meeting we had an excellent presentation by Mark Baker KG0PA (ARRL government state laision at KG0PA@arrl.net) on a key issue we're currently facing in Colorado: Hams that move into new homes frequently can't install outdoor antennas. Most homeowner's associations have covenances that do not permit ham radio antennas to be installed outside, or significantly curtail their use. Some agreements evidently even will enable legal action to be taken even if "stealth" antennas Even though the FCC PRB-1 regulation exists that requires "reasonable accomodations be made", it doesn't apply to private land-use regulators. Mark indicated that there are over 300 acres of new housing development PER WEEK being built in Colorado today. Mark reminded us that "Hams are not second class citizens and have a right to buy a new home". He also reminded us that we perform a very valuable public service -- whether it be in tinkering on new technology ideas, strengthening our ability to communicate, teaching others, volunteering in emergencies, or helping groups raise funds. Many of us have personally participated in helping with flood situations, bike races, etc. where having a beam antenna to hit the repeater is important. There are undoubtedly many of us who help with HF traffic nets and other services where outdoor antennas are critical. There are two areas of activty to help change this situation: Putting in place a Colorado PRB-1 law and strengthening the current PRB-1 regulation to cover private organizations. Putting in place a Colorado PRB-1 will be a big effort, but already 14 states have done this, including Wyoming and New Mexico. See http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/03/06/1/ as an example of a great success story at doing ths. Ted N0RQV will be adding information to our club website at www.ncarc.net with more information. A key step will be for us to personally contact our local state representatives. Stay tuned for more information about this. Strengthening PRB-1 at the federal level is also a critical effort. You can help right now in this activity. This legislation is known as house bill HR-4720. a) Contact both of our Colorado Senators. Although you can't ask them to co-sponsor anything yet, you can ask them to consider SPONSORING legislation to help strengthen PRB-1. You can also refer to similar legislation, HR-4720, in house committee. See the sample letter below for the senators. b) If you are outside of Colorado district 4 (Weld and Larimer are in district 4, Jackson is in district 3, see http://wwwa.house.gov/schaffer/4th_district_map.html), contact your representative. If you are in district 4, contact as many of our Colorado House Representatives as you have time with a letter (except for Representative Schaffer who has already co-sponsored this legislation). It is ok to contact Representatives even if you aren't in their district (which will be true for most of us in NCARC since we are in House District 4). It probably won't be as effective but it is worth the effort. Ask the to co-sponsor house legislation HR-4720 (see sample letter for representatives below). If you go to http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/05/14/102/ there is an excellent article and information on where to write and a sample letter here as well. The same sample letter is also listed below. You can send this letter as is (just changing the signature, etc.) or better yet, write it in your own terms using this letter as a guide. Any personal anecdotes or stories about your personal involvement in ham radio can really help. From my own experience at meeting with representatives and lobbyists and staff members, a typed or hand-written letter mailed to the representative is much more effective than an email. However, if you only have time for an email, listed below are both the addresses and links. Addresses and links: For emailing representatives, go to http://www.house.gov/writerep/ For postal mailing (preferred), here is the info: Diana DeGette (1st district) The Honorable Diana DeGette 1530 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515-0601 Joel Heffley (5th district) The Honorable Joel Hefley 2230 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515-0605 Scott McInnus (3rd district) The Honorable Scott McInnis 320 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515-0603 Bob Schaffer (4th district) (maybe thank him for co-sponsoring this legislation) The Honorable Bob Schaffer 212 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515-0604 Tom Tancredo (6th district) The Honorable Thomas G. Tancredo 418 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515-0606 Mark Udall (2nd district) The Honorable Mark Udall 115 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515-0602 The Honorable Wayne Allard 525 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 http://allard.senate.gov/contactme/ The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell 380 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 http://campbell.senate.gov/email.htm If you can, also please send out to the NCARC email list, a copy of your letter as a sample for others to use. Thanks much and 73! Steve Henry, N7GN steveh@webaccess.net NCARC club secretary N7GN --------------------------------------------------------------- Sample letter for Senator: Senator _______________ United States Senate Washington, DC 20515 Dear Senator _____________, I'd like to encourage you to sponsor or author legislation similar to H.R. 4720, the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act," sponsored by Rep. Steve Israel currently in the House of Represenatives. This legislation would alleviate a problem facing many federally licensed Amateur Radio operators living within development communities who are subject to unreasonable restrictions or outright prohibitions regarding the installation of external antennas. Under current law, the FCC applies a policy that instructs states and localities that they must reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio antenna. The policy, however, fails to address situations affecting private land-use groups. Rep. Israel's bill would ensure consistent application of these regulations. This legislation seeks to insure that Amateur Radio operators are available for emergency communications in all sections of the country, regardless of whether they live in a development, such as a retirement community, or townhouse subdivision. Restrictions against antennas render Amateur Radio operators unable to utilize their licenses, which in turn may ultimately hinder their emergency communication role during times of disaster or national crisis. Amateur radio provides a vital public safety communications service to the public at no cost to taxpayers. Would you consider authoring or sponsoring similar legislation in the senate? I look forward to hearing from you as you consider this important matter. Sincerely, --------------------------------------------------------------- Sample letter for representative: Rep. _______________ United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Rep. _____________, I urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 4720, the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act," sponsored by Rep. Steve Israel. The bill would alleviate a problem facing many federally licensed Amateur Radio operators living within development communities who are subject to unreasonable restrictions or outright prohibitions regarding the installation of external antennas. Under current law, the FCC applies a policy that instructs states and localities that they must reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio antenna. The policy, however, fails to address situations affecting private land-use groups. Rep. Israel's bill would ensure consistent application of these regulations. This legislation seeks to insure that Amateur Radio operators are available for emergency communications in all sections of the country, regardless of whether they live in a development, such as a retirement community, or townhouse subdivision. Restrictions against antennas render Amateur Radio operators unable to utilize their licenses, which in turn may ultimately hinder their emergency communication role during times of disaster or national crisis. Amateur radio provides a vital public safety communications service to the public at no cost to taxpayers. I hope you will join Rep. Israel in co-sponsoring his bill. I look forward to hearing from you as you consider this important legislation. Sincerely, --------------------------------------------------------------- Letter-Writing Tips You can write a letter in 90 seconds! Just follow this simple outline: Be personal: A mailed handwritten letter receives much greater attention than a preprinted letter or card, or an e-mail. Include your postal address on both your envelope and letter so you can receive a reply. Be concise: Express clearly and briefly what action you would like. One or two paragraphs should be enough. Request specific action: See the above sample letters. Put the situation in concrete terms, add any personal connection to the issue: "I personally volunteered in the Fort Collins flood in disaster relief for the Red Cross. Use of my home antenna was critical to stay in contact with the local radio repeater. Without this connection I wouldn't have been able to volunteer to help as effectively or for as many hours." Sign and print your name and address: Whether you're sending a handwritten note or an email: It's very important that your member of Congress knows this letter is from a constituent in his or her state or district. ---------------------------------------------------------------