City ponders tall problem

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- In a city where residents value a view of the sea as

much as their homes, officials are not sure what to do about a 70-foot

antenna in a residential neighborhood.

The assistant city attorney is looking into a complaint by a neighbor

of James Day, a Westcliff area resident who has an expanding antenna

stretching from his backyard.

The neighbor, who has reportedly complained about the antenna off and

on since it first went up in 1984, last month lodged a gripe with

Councilman Gary Adams when Day made the antenna bigger and added a motor

to raise and lower it.

“It’s awfully big,” Adams said. “It looks pretty bad, especially in

your next-door neighbor’s yard.”

The upset neighbor declined to comment.

Day said he obtained proper approval for his antenna, which feeds his

40-year amateur radio habit.

“It’s been up since 1984,” Day said. “I went through this harangue with

the city attorney and City Council in 1988 and was allowed 75 feet.”

The sky-scraping device provides an emergency communication facility for

the city, Day said. He is the city’s official radio officer in case of

disasters.

“If the telephone system goes down, radio is the last remaining

[communication],” he said.

Because of this service and the fact that Day is staying within height

restrictions, City Manager Homer Bludau said that there probably isn’t

anything the city can do. According to Federal Communication Commission

regulations, every city must have access to an emergency radio

communications system.

Still, Assistant City Attorney Robin Clauson has been asked to look into

the matter. Clauson will examine whether the city can prevent other

residents from putting up such antennas in the future.

“I asked [her] to look into what we can do to limit them,” Adams said. “I

don’t think there’s any danger of them popping up in every other

yard.”When Day went through the City Council 12 years ago, he was told to

bring the height down to 24 feet. But with his roof only two feet taller,

he said it would be impossible to effectively receive transmissions. He

said the minimum height is 68 feet to work.

Day started his hobby as a kid, curious about communicating with people

across the country and around the world.

“It’s just a multifaceted hobby,” he said.