Avenal Municipal Code Ch. 2 Radio and Television Antennas

Sections: 8-2.01 Licenses—Required—Fees—Terms—Exceptions. 8-2.02 Permits—Required—Exceptions. 8-2.03 Permits—Applications—Fees. 8-2.04 Permits—Issuance. 8-2.05 Bonds. 8-2.06 Erection requirements. 8-2.07 Erection qualifications. 8-2.08 Inspections.

Title 8 BUILDING REGULATIONS Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 9 8-2.09 Maintenance inspections—Notices of dangerous conditions. 8-2.10 Exemptions. 8-2.01 Licenses—Required—Fees—Terms—Exceptions. (a) Required. Before any person shall engage in the business of erecting outdoor antennas in the City, such person shall first procure from the City a license so to do and, except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section, shall pay the license tax imposed on such business. Such person shall register his name in a book provided for that purpose at the office of the City Clerk, giving his full name, residence, and place of business. In the event he moves his business from one place to another in the City, he shall make the corresponding change in the register accordingly and file therewith his affidavit that such name and place of business as registered are correctly stated. For the purposes of this section, any person who, for a pecuniary or other remuneration, erects or installs two (2) or more outdoor antennas in any one calendar year shall be deemed to be engaged in the business of the erection and installation of outdoor antennas. (b) Fees. Antenna erection licenses shall be issued by the City on the payment of an annual fee of Twenty and no/100ths ($20.00) Dollars or a semiannual fee of Ten and no/100ths ($10.00) Dollars. The fee of a license for a fraction of a year shall be Ten and no/100ths ($10.00) Dollars. (c) Terms. Such license fees shall be for the calendar year or one-half (½) year, or any fraction thereof, and shall be payable in advance to the Finance Director. (d) Exceptions. Persons already paying a business license tax to the City shall not be required to pay an antenna erection license tax in addition thereto; provided, however, such persons shall otherwise comply with the provisions of this chapter, including those requiring registration, the filing ofaffidavits, and the furnishing of bonds. 8-2.02 Permits—Required—Exceptions. It shall be unlawful for any person, either as owner, agent, servant, or employee of the owner, or as an independent contractor for the owner, or otherwise, to install any outdoor antenna system for radio or television receiving apparatus or equipment, or any additions to or substitutions for such system, unless and until a permit for such installation, or for such additions to or substitutions therefor, shall have been first obtained from the Public Works Director; provided, however, no permit shall be required when both of the following conditions exist: (a) The antenna is so located that if it swings or falls, such antenna will not come in contact with electric power lines carrying in excess of seven hundred fifty (750) volts; and (b) The antenna is so located that if pivoted about its base to a horizontal position, no portion of the antenna will extend beyond the property lines of the real property on which such antenna is erected. 8-2.03 Permits—Applications—Fees. Any person desiring to erect, construct, or maintain any outdoor antenna system for radio or television receiving apparatus or equipment, or any additions to or substitutions for such system, shall, unless exempted by the provisions of Section 8-2.02 of this chapter, make a written application for such permit to the Public Works Director upon such forms as may be prescribed by the Public Works Director and pay the fee, as established by the City Council by resolution, for each installation. Such permit fee

Title 8 BUILDING REGULATIONS Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 10 shall entitle the applicant to one inspection without further charge. For each reinspection required, a reinspection fee, as established by the City Council by resolution, shall be paid. (Ord. 91-06 § 26, 1991) 8-2.04 Permits—Issuance. If the Public Works Director finds that the proposed installation or work complies in every respect with the provisions of this chapter, he shall issue the permit required by the provisions of Section 8-2.02 of this chapter to the applicant thereof. 8-2.05 Bonds. It is unlawful for any person engaged in the business of the erection and installation of outdoor antennas to erect or install any such outdoor antenna in the City without first furnishing a bond in the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), which shall be signed by two (2) good and sufficient sureties who shall justify for such amount over and above all their just debts and liabilities and all property owned by such sureties exempt from execution, or which bond shall be executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the State. Such bond shall be approved by the City Attorney and filed with the City Clerk. The condition of each bond shall be that, in the event the principal named in the bond shall faithfully perform his duty in the installation or erection of an outdoor antenna in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, such obligation shall be void, but in the event the principal shall fail to comply with the provisions of this chapter in the erection of any outdoor antenna or shall install an unsafe antenna and refuse or neglect to correct or remove the antenna after notice from the Public Works Director, he may direct such work to be removed or corrected, and the cost and expense of such removal or correction, not exceeding the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), shall be collectible from the principal and the sureties on such bonds. Each such bond shall be for a period of time which shall expire on June 30 of each year. It shall be the duty of the licensee to renew such bond upon the expiration of the term for which it is given, and failure on the part of any such person to renew such bond immediately upon the expiration of such term shall have the same effect as if no bond had been given. For the purposes of this section, any person who, for a pecuniary or other remuneration, erects or installs two (2) or more outdoor antennas in any one calendar year shall be deemed to be engaged in the business of the erection and installation of outdoor antennas. 8-2.06 Erection requirements. Whether or not a permit is required by the provisions of this chapter, outdoor radio and television antennas erected in the City shall be erected in compliance with the applicable regulations of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and the following requirements: (a) The antenna mast or tower shall be secured to a structure strong enough to carry the weight of the installation with necessary allowances for wind and vibration. (b) The mast shall be securely anchored to the structure. (c) Antennas shall not be attached to, or supported by, vent pipes. Mast supports and guy wire anchors shall be secured in such a way that the supporting structure is not damaged or weakened. (d) Radio and television masts, except those of a telescoping type, which extend more than ten (10′) feet above the top of their bases, shall be strengthened with three (3) or more substantial guy wires at intervals of not more than each twenty (20′) feet of height, or fraction thereof.

Title 8 BUILDING REGULATIONS Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 11 (e) The Public Works Director shall require guy attachments at closer intervals than twenty (20′)feet if, in his opinion, such closer spacing is necessary to provide proper support and rigidity for the mast. (f) Telescoping type masts shall have at least three (3) substantial guy wires attached to the top of each section. (g) A lightning arrester, suitable for the frequency for which the television apparatus is designed and approved by the Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., for television leads shall, if available, be provided for each lead-in conductor and shall be located outside the building and as near as practicable to the entrance of the conductor into the building. The arrester shall not be located near combustible material or in a hazardous location. (h) Every metal mast or tower shall be grounded by a conductor of suitable size. The conductor should be bonded to a water pipe if possible. 8-2.07 Erection qualifications. An antenna may be erected in compliance with the provisions of this chapter by anyone, and no requirements as to qualifications are imposed by the provisions of this section. 8-2.08 Inspections. When any installation for which a permit is required by the provisions of this chapter has been completed, the person in whose name such permit has been granted, within seventy-two (72) hours, shall notify the Public Works Director that the work is ready for final inspection. Thereupon, the work shall be promptly inspected by the Public Works Director, and if the work complies in all respects with the provisions of this chapter and with the permit, a certificate of approval shall be given by the Public Works Director to the permittee. In the event the work does not comply in all respects with the provisions of this chapter and with the permit, a certificate of approval shall be withheld until and unless a subsequent inspection discloses compliance. In the further event the antenna, as erected, does not comply with the provisions of this chapter or in other respects does not appear to be erected, supported, and guyed in a reasonably safe manner, the Public Works Director shall instruct the person who erected such antenna to either make corrections so the antenna, as erected, will comply with the provisions of this chapter and reasonable safety, or to remove the antenna. A request for a reinspection shall be accompanied by the payment of the reinspection fee set forth in Section 8-2.03 of this chapter. Except for test purposes, and except for cases not requiring the issuance of a permit, no television or radio antenna shall be placed in use until a certificate of approval is obtained. 8-2.09 Maintenance inspections—Notices of dangerous conditions. Nothing set forth in this chapter, nor the fact that any person has theretofore obtained a certificate of approval, shall be construed to prevent the City, through its duly authorized inspectors under the direction of the Public Works Director, from inspecting any antenna system in use in the City in order to ascertain whether or not such antenna system continues to remain in a safe condition and in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. In the event any condition is found which might result in danger to life or property, the Public Works Director shall give written notice to the owner or operator of such antenna at his last known address, setting forth such condition and requiring the condition of such antenna to be corrected within fifteen (15) days after such notice. If such condition is not corrected within such time, the maintenance thereafter of any such defective installation by the owner or user thereof shall be unlawful.

Title 8 BUILDING REGULATIONS Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 12 8-2.10 Exemptions. (a) Amateur radio operators. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to or control any person who holds a valid Amateur Radio Operator and Station License issued by the Federal Communications Commission while such person is engaged in an activity under the authority of such license. If such person engages in the installation of antennas other than those which pertain to his hobby under such license, the provisions of this chapter shall apply insofar as such installation is concerned. (b) Demonstrators. The provisions of this chapter requiring a permit and certificate of approval shall not be applicable to television antennas installed for demonstration purposes where the duration of their existence shall not exceed three (3) days; provided, however, before any such demonstration antennas are installed, oral approval therefor shall be obtained from the Public Works Director. No fee shall be charged for such oral approval.