Significant progress has been made in bringing
legal protections to amateurs living in antenna-restricted private developments
or with deed restrictions that prohibit or severely restrict amateur operation.
The ARRL reports that intensive negotiations with the Community Associations
Institute (CAI), the national organization for homeowners' associations, have
resulted in agreement on revised language for the Amateur Radio Parity Act
(H.R. 1301/S.1685) now pending before Congress. The bill originally sought to
extend to hams living under private land use agreements the same
"reasonable accommodation" protections currently in FCC rules
regarding state laws and local ordinances.
Under the revised language, according to a
posting on the CAI website, the bill would mandate the FCC to implement new
rules to require community associations
to permit an amateur licensee "to install and maintain an effective
outdoor antenna on property under the
exclusive use or control of the licensee," to require that any rules
regarding amateur antennas "constitute the minimum practicable restriction
on (amateur) communications" and to invalidate any deed restriction or
restrictive covenant that "on its face or as applied, precludes
communications in an amateur radio service."
Amateurs would still need to provide advance
notice and receive association approval before installing an outdoor antenna
and associations would retain the right to prohibit the installation of an antenna on
common property that is not under the licensee's "exclusive use or
control."
At press time, the amended language had not yet
been formally introduced and no Congressional action had been scheduled.
However, sources close to the negotiations have told CQ that eliminating CAI's
opposition to the bill should mean that it can be considered as a
"non-controversial" measure and move quickly to a vote in both the
House and Senate. The complete text of the revised bill language, as agreed to
by ARRL and CAI, is on the CAI website at <http://bit.ly/1XWL2sS>.