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I <br /> October 25, 2016 1 Volume 10 1 Issue 20 Zoning Bulletin <br /> Jurisdiction After amateur <br /> radio enthusiast is denied <br /> permit for tall tower, he appeals <br /> to federal court <br /> Federal court analyzes federal preemption <br /> of local zoning laws and weighs whether it <br /> has jurisdiction over the appeal <br /> Citation: DePolo v. Board of Supervisors Tredyffrin Township, 2016 <br /> WL 4525228(3d Cir. 2016) <br /> The Third Circuit has jurisdiction over Delaware, New Jersey, and <br /> Pennsylvania. <br /> THIRD CIRCUIT (PENNSYLVANIA) (08/30/16)—This case in- <br /> volved the question of the federal preemptive effective of a federal rule <br /> on amateur radio towers to local zoning matters.The case addressed the <br /> issue of whether the federal court,in this instance,had jurisdiction over <br /> the matter. <br /> The Background/Facts: Jeffrey DePolo ("DePolo") was a federally <br /> licensed amateur or"ham"radio enthusiast. DePolo owned property in <br /> an R 1/2 Residential Zoning District in Tredyffrin Township (the <br /> "Township"). DePolo sought to construct a 180-foot radio antenna on <br /> his property so that he could"communicate with other ham radio opera- <br /> tors around the world." Since DePolo's property was surrounded by <br /> mountains or hills,DePolo claimed that the 180-foot height of the tower <br /> was necessary for him to reliably communicate with other ham radio <br /> operators. In November 2013, DePolo applied to the Township zoning <br /> officer, requesting a building permit to construct the 180-foot tower on <br /> his property. The zoning officer denied DePolo's application, noting <br /> that the Township's zoning ordinance limited structures in the R 1/2 <br /> Residential Zoning District to 35-feet. Notwithstanding that restriction, <br /> the zoning officer offered DePolo a permit to construct a 65-foot tower. <br /> DePolo rejected that proposal and appealed the denial of his building <br /> permit application to the Township's Zoning Hearing Board of Appeals <br /> ("ZHBA"). His appeal.was accompanied by a variance application, <br /> requesting allowance to erect a tower that exceeded the height restric- <br /> tion in the ordinance. <br /> The ZHBA also denied DePolo permission for a 180-foot tower, but <br /> agreed to a variance for a tower that was 65-feet tall.In so determining, <br /> the ZHBA found that DePolo's proposed 180-foot tower was: "not com- <br /> patible"with the surrounding residential neighborhood;would create an <br /> 6 ©2016 Thomson Reuters <br /> 1 <br />