most anti-aviation city in the nation

some disturbing news was revealed at the last eaa mtg, when one of the
members got up and passed out a copy of the latest city ordinance,
amending what a residential dweller could do and have at their
dwelling. enclosed is a copy of the admendment. the interesting point
is how specifically the homebuilder was targeted, without ever being
mentioned in the doucument. the part about the airboats was just an
oportunity for the council members who have a problem with airboaters,
to jump on board for a free ride. the disturbing issue is how the
whole thing was put togeather with the most obscure notification
imaginable. it was published in a local financial paper that has
minimal circulation in the mainstream populace(the name escapes me at
the moment.), however, it qualifies as public notice media.

now! the ripple effect. joe flyer has been working on his $30k plus
kit for the last however many years and now finds out he has a garage
of illegal junk, that he can never finish, legally, due to the stroke
of a pen. if u read it closely, u realize it includes model planes
also.
so now all the hobby shops can no longer sell model air plane kits to
residents of the city(which btw, includes all the county, since the
city limits is the county line.(makes the police and sheriff depts, one
and the same.) the individual responsible for causing this piece of
trash ordinance, is an eaa chapt member who lives next door to a
busy-body that can't stand to see him working on his project at his
home. due to here relentless resentment of his activites next door, he
has paid numerous fines and court costs for not removing his project
from his property. this new amendment is the final straw to shut him
down. it would be curious to know as to how she found a receptive ear
on the city council, to pen and pass such discriminatory legislation.
fore warned is fore armed. don't let this happen in your town.

Introduced by Council Member Lake Ray and amended on the floor of the
council:

Ordinance 2006-543-e
An ordinance amending chapter 656 (zoning
code), part 4 (supplementary regulations),
subpart b (miscellaneous regulations),
ordinance code, establishing section 656.420
(parking, storage, construction and repair of flying craft
and airboats in residential districts, and
amending part 16 (definitions), section
656.1601 (definitions, ordinance code to
include a definition for flying craft;
providing an effective date.

Whereas, parking or storing flying craft and airboats in unenclosed
spaces, including a carport, is not an operation in keeping with the
character of a residential neighborhood, and
Whereas, repairing, testing, operating, constructing, modifying or
altering flying aircraft and airboats anywhere on a residential lot is
not an operation in keeping with the character of a residential
neighborhood, now thereof.

Be it ordained by the council of the city of Jacksonville:
Section 1. Creation of section 656.420, chapter 656 ordinance code.
Chapter 656 (zoning code), part 4 (supplementary regulations),
ordinance code is amended to create a new section 656.420 (parking,
storage, repair and operation flying craft and airboats in residential
districts) to read as follows:

Chapter 656 zoning code

***
Part 4. Supplementary Regulations

Subpart A. Performance standards and development criteria

***
Sec. 656.420. Parking, storage, repair and operation of flying craft
and airboats in residential districts.

(a) Flying craft and airboats shall not be parked or stored, other
than in completely enclosed buildings, on residentially-zoned property,
including residential PUD districts and properties with a residential
component in a mixed-use PUD district. Airboats may however, be parked
or stored in the water adjacent to, on docking facilities of, or in a
yard fronting a navigable waterbody of, a residential PUD district and
a property in the residential portion of a mixed-use PUD district.

(b) Repairing, testing, operation, constructing, modifying or altering
flying craft and airboats shall be prohibited in all residential
districts, including residential PUD districts and properties with a
residential component in a mixed-use PUD district.

Section 2. Amendment to section 656.1601, Ordinance Code.

Section 656.1601, Ordinance Code, is hereby amended as follows:

Chapter 656 zoning code

***

Part 16. definitions

Sec.656.1601. Definitions.

***

(this does not apply to the aviation issue)Floor area means, except as
specifically indicated in relation to particular districts and uses,
the sum of the gross horizontal area of several floors of a building
measured from the exterior faces of the exterior wall or from the
centerline of the walls separating two buildings, excluding attic areas
with a headroom of less than seven feet, unenclosed stairs or fire
escapes, elevator structures, cooling towers, areas devoted to air
conditioning, ventilating, heating or other building machinery and
equipment, parking structures and basements space where the ceiling is
not more than an average of 48 inches above the general finished and
grade level of the adjacent portion of the lot.

(this does apply to the aviation issue)Flying craft means any vehicle
designed for navigation in the air or through outer space, including
but not limited to airplanes, helicopters and hot air balloons.

***

Section 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective upon
signature by the mayor or upon becoming effective without the mayor's
signature.
Form approved:


/a/ Dylan T. Reingold

Office of General Counsel
Legislation Prepared by: Dylan Reingold

Sounds like someone needs to talk with their city
council to figure out what the real issues are and
try to reach a compromise such that everyone can
be happy. Getting ****ed off and ignoring your
neighbor's concerns doesn't work well.

If they were working in their closed garage and
not making a lot of noise, then no one would even
know what they were doing, and it would not be a
concern.

Now their only choice is to rent a hangar with
some buddies, or move to another town.

Like they say: "you can't fight city hall"

Don W.

greatav8or wrote:
some disturbing news was revealed at the last eaa mtg, when one of the
members got up and passed out a copy of the latest city ordinance,
amending what a residential dweller could do and have at their
dwelling. enclosed is a copy of the admendment. the interesting point
is how specifically the homebuilder was targeted, without ever being
mentioned in the doucument. the part about the airboats was just an
oportunity for the council members who have a problem with airboaters,
to jump on board for a free ride. the disturbing issue is how the
whole thing was put togeather with the most obscure notification
imaginable. it was published in a local financial paper that has
minimal circulation in the mainstream populace(the name escapes me at
the moment.), however, it qualifies as public notice media.

now! the ripple effect. joe flyer has been working on his $30k plus
kit for the last however many years and now finds out he has a garage
of illegal junk, that he can never finish, legally, due to the stroke
of a pen. if u read it closely, u realize it includes model planes
also.
so now all the hobby shops can no longer sell model air plane kits to
residents of the city(which btw, includes all the county, since the
city limits is the county line.(makes the police and sheriff depts, one
and the same.) the individual responsible for causing this piece of
trash ordinance, is an eaa chapt member who lives next door to a
busy-body that can't stand to see him working on his project at his
home. due to here relentless resentment of his activites next door, he
has paid numerous fines and court costs for not removing his project
from his property. this new amendment is the final straw to shut him
down. it would be curious to know as to how she found a receptive ear
on the city council, to pen and pass such discriminatory legislation.
fore warned is fore armed. don't let this happen in your town.

Introduced by Council Member Lake Ray and amended on the floor of the
council:

Ordinance 2006-543-e
An ordinance amending chapter 656 (zoning
code), part 4 (supplementary regulations),
subpart b (miscellaneous regulations),
ordinance code, establishing section 656.420
(parking, storage, construction and repair of flying craft
and airboats in residential districts, and
amending part 16 (definitions), section
656.1601 (definitions, ordinance code to
include a definition for flying craft;
providing an effective date.

Whereas, parking or storing flying craft and airboats in unenclosed
spaces, including a carport, is not an operation in keeping with the
character of a residential neighborhood, and
Whereas, repairing, testing, operating, constructing, modifying or
altering flying aircraft and airboats anywhere on a residential lot is
not an operation in keeping with the character of a residential
neighborhood, now thereof.

Be it ordained by the council of the city of Jacksonville:
Section 1. Creation of section 656.420, chapter 656 ordinance code.
Chapter 656 (zoning code), part 4 (supplementary regulations),
ordinance code is amended to create a new section 656.420 (parking,
storage, repair and operation flying craft and airboats in residential
districts) to read as follows:

Chapter 656 zoning code

***
Part 4. Supplementary Regulations

Subpart A. Performance standards and development criteria

***
Sec. 656.420. Parking, storage, repair and operation of flying craft
and airboats in residential districts.

(a) Flying craft and airboats shall not be parked or stored, other
than in completely enclosed buildings, on residentially-zoned property,
including residential PUD districts and properties with a residential
component in a mixed-use PUD district. Airboats may however, be parked
or stored in the water adjacent to, on docking facilities of, or in a
yard fronting a navigable waterbody of, a residential PUD district and
a property in the residential portion of a mixed-use PUD district.

(b) Repairing, testing, operation, constructing, modifying or altering
flying craft and airboats shall be prohibited in all residential
districts, including residential PUD districts and properties with a
residential component in a mixed-use PUD district.

Section 2. Amendment to section 656.1601, Ordinance Code.

Section 656.1601, Ordinance Code, is hereby amended as follows:

Chapter 656 zoning code

***

Part 16. definitions

Sec.656.1601. Definitions.

***

(this does not apply to the aviation issue)Floor area means, except as
specifically indicated in relation to particular districts and uses,
the sum of the gross horizontal area of several floors of a building
measured from the exterior faces of the exterior wall or from the
centerline of the walls separating two buildings, excluding attic areas
with a headroom of less than seven feet, unenclosed stairs or fire
escapes, elevator structures, cooling towers, areas devoted to air
conditioning, ventilating, heating or other building machinery and
equipment, parking structures and basements space where the ceiling is
not more than an average of 48 inches above the general finished and
grade level of the adjacent portion of the lot.

(this does apply to the aviation issue)Flying craft means any vehicle
designed for navigation in the air or through outer space, including
but not limited to airplanes, helicopters and hot air balloons.

***

Section 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective upon
signature by the mayor or upon becoming effective without the mayor's
signature.
Form approved:


/a/ Dylan T. Reingold

Office of General Counsel
Legislation Prepared by: Dylan Reingold

moving is probably the only option cause there are no hangers in this
town(duval county). everyone who has found a hanger did so in another
county. besides, homebuilt means just that. built at home. who wants
to drive 40 miles to pop a few rivets?
and btw, the individual who was the receipiant of this unneeded law
making, has spent $k or dollars on getting this resolved in court, to
no avail. initially, they tried to ticket him for zoning rules about
vehicles, junk and what ever else they could think of, and he was
doing pretty good at proving them wrong in court, using faa definitions
of what the parts and pieces really were. unfortunately, it worked
against him because after the city council amassed enough of his
information about what he was actually doing, they had the ammunition
to write the amendment to shut him down.

Don W wrote:
Sounds like someone needs to talk with their city
council to figure out what the real issues are and
try to reach a compromise such that everyone can
be happy. Getting ****ed off and ignoring your
neighbor's concerns doesn't work well.

If they were working in their closed garage and
not making a lot of noise, then no one would even
know what they were doing, and it would not be a
concern.

Now their only choice is to rent a hangar with
some buddies, or move to another town.

Like they say: "you can't fight city hall"

Don W.

greatav8or wrote:
some disturbing news was revealed at the last eaa mtg, when one of the
members got up and passed out a copy of the latest city ordinance,
amending what a residential dweller could do and have at their
dwelling. enclosed is a copy of the admendment. the interesting point
is how specifically the homebuilder was targeted, without ever being
mentioned in the doucument. the part about the airboats was just an
oportunity for the council members who have a problem with airboaters,
to jump on board for a free ride. the disturbing issue is how the
whole thing was put togeather with the most obscure notification
imaginable. it was published in a local financial paper that has
minimal circulation in the mainstream populace(the name escapes me at
the moment.), however, it qualifies as public notice media.

now! the ripple effect. joe flyer has been working on his $30k plus
kit for the last however many years and now finds out he has a garage
of illegal junk, that he can never finish, legally, due to the stroke
of a pen. if u read it closely, u realize it includes model planes
also.
so now all the hobby shops can no longer sell model air plane kits to
residents of the city(which btw, includes all the county, since the
city limits is the county line.(makes the police and sheriff depts, one
and the same.) the individual responsible for causing this piece of
trash ordinance, is an eaa chapt member who lives next door to a
busy-body that can't stand to see him working on his project at his
home. due to here relentless resentment of his activites next door, he
has paid numerous fines and court costs for not removing his project
from his property. this new amendment is the final straw to shut him
down. it would be curious to know as to how she found a receptive ear
on the city council, to pen and pass such discriminatory legislation.
fore warned is fore armed. don't let this happen in your town.

Introduced by Council Member Lake Ray and amended on the floor of the
council:

Ordinance 2006-543-e
An ordinance amending chapter 656 (zoning
code), part 4 (supplementary regulations),
subpart b (miscellaneous regulations),
ordinance code, establishing section 656.420
(parking, storage, construction and repair of flying craft
and airboats in residential districts, and
amending part 16 (definitions), section
656.1601 (definitions, ordinance code to
include a definition for flying craft;
providing an effective date.

Whereas, parking or storing flying craft and airboats in unenclosed
spaces, including a carport, is not an operation in keeping with the
character of a residential neighborhood, and
Whereas, repairing, testing, operating, constructing, modifying or
altering flying aircraft and airboats anywhere on a residential lot is
not an operation in keeping with the character of a residential
neighborhood, now thereof.

Be it ordained by the council of the city of Jacksonville:
Section 1. Creation of section 656.420, chapter 656 ordinance code.
Chapter 656 (zoning code), part 4 (supplementary regulations),
ordinance code is amended to create a new section 656.420 (parking,
storage, repair and operation flying craft and airboats in residential
districts) to read as follows:

Chapter 656 zoning code

***
Part 4. Supplementary Regulations

Subpart A. Performance standards and development criteria

***
Sec. 656.420. Parking, storage, repair and operation of flying craft
and airboats in residential districts.

(a) Flying craft and airboats shall not be parked or stored, other
than in completely enclosed buildings, on residentially-zoned property,
including residential PUD districts and properties with a residential
component in a mixed-use PUD district. Airboats may however, be parked
or stored in the water adjacent to, on docking facilities of, or in a
yard fronting a navigable waterbody of, a residential PUD district and
a property in the residential portion of a mixed-use PUD district.

(b) Repairing, testing, operation, constructing, modifying or altering
flying craft and airboats shall be prohibited in all residential
districts, including residential PUD districts and properties with a
residential component in a mixed-use PUD district.

Section 2. Amendment to section 656.1601, Ordinance Code.

Section 656.1601, Ordinance Code, is hereby amended as follows:

Chapter 656 zoning code

***

Part 16. definitions

Sec.656.1601. Definitions.

***

(this does not apply to the aviation issue)Floor area means, except as
specifically indicated in relation to particular districts and uses,
the sum of the gross horizontal area of several floors of a building
measured from the exterior faces of the exterior wall or from the
centerline of the walls separating two buildings, excluding attic areas
with a headroom of less than seven feet, unenclosed stairs or fire
escapes, elevator structures, cooling towers, areas devoted to air
conditioning, ventilating, heating or other building machinery and
equipment, parking structures and basements space where the ceiling is
not more than an average of 48 inches above the general finished and
grade level of the adjacent portion of the lot.

(this does apply to the aviation issue)Flying craft means any vehicle
designed for navigation in the air or through outer space, including
but not limited to airplanes, helicopters and hot air balloons.

***

Section 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective upon
signature by the mayor or upon becoming effective without the mayor's
signature.
Form approved:


/a/ Dylan T. Reingold

Office of General Counsel
Legislation Prepared by: Dylan Reingold

Hi guys,

My name is Wayne McCullough and I am a current EAA chapter president.
My homeowners insurance was cancelled because of a current Kolb project
being worked on at my home....23 acres in Effingham County
Georgia........No runway allowed, no storage of aircraft of any
kind......

And then I read this, and Duval County is Jacksonville,
Florida........Amazing what the politicians can do behind closed
doors.....

Eaa national has not responded to any of my e-mails as of yet.....All
of this I found out last Monday......


Been doing experimentals for 12 years, and I did not know I was not
living in America anymore.

I wonder what the city/county concerns that are
leading to the regulations are. Also, it would be
interesting to hear about your insurance companies
concerns. Was your home insurance canceled
because working on aircraft violated the policy
terms, or because storing the aircraft violated
county zoning law?

I wholeheartedly agree that our city/county
governments are passing ordinances that interfere
with a persons right to "pursuit of happiness" all
the time. Where I live, the local codes are
fairly draconian due to the city starting as a
"retirement" community. We can not even store a
boat in our back yard legally, and the code
enforcement people issue tickets for leaving your
trash cans out at the street too long (more than
24 hours). Still, the city responds to reasonable
requests for variances from the city ordinances,
and we do elect our city councilmen and mayor
every two years.

A resolution to the restriction might start with
contacting your local city/county politician as
follows:

"Jim, it recently came to my attention that the
city has an ordinance prohibiting working on or
storing aircraft at a residential property. I
would like to work on building a small
experimental aircraft in my garage, so do you know
what the city's concerns that led to this
ordinance are?"

Once you understand their concerns, you can work
out something that will most likely get you a
variance, and let you do what you want to.

"If I were to do all of the work inside my garage,
and make sure that the noise didn't disturb my
neighbors do you think I could get a variance for
this project?"

You might even have to purchase and install some
type of acoustic absorber in the garage to bring
the noise down to where the neighbors would
tolerate it.

"I own this property and will do what I damn well
please on it" will not get you very far even in
rural areas.

It sounded like the ordinance that the first
poster was referring to got passed specifically
because a home builder got in a ****ing contest
with a neighbor, and the city sided with the neighbor.

Don W.

blackbird wrote:
Hi guys,

My name is Wayne McCullough and I am a current EAA chapter president.
My homeowners insurance was cancelled because of a current Kolb project
being worked on at my home....23 acres in Effingham County
Georgia........No runway allowed, no storage of aircraft of any
kind......

And then I read this, and Duval County is Jacksonville,
Florida........Amazing what the politicians can do behind closed
doors.....

Eaa national has not responded to any of my e-mails as of yet.....All
of this I found out last Monday......


Been doing experimentals for 12 years, and I did not know I was not
living in America anymore.

Don W wrote:

"I own this property and will do what I damn well please on it" will
not get you very far even in rural areas.

It sounded like the ordinance that the first poster was referring to got
passed specifically because a home builder got in a ****ing contest with
a neighbor, and the city sided with the neighbor.


I was just in my garage...with the door close...quietly installing taxi
and landing lights when I recalled something. 20/20 or one of those
investigative reporting shows did an expose of neighbors getting into
legal battles. It must have been a year or two ago. One of the
contestants was a guy building an airplane (amoung other things) in his
front yard. I do remember that they were somewhere in Florida, and I
believe it was Jacksonville.

In this particular case, I'm not sure I would defend the guy to much.
He had rusting CRAP piled around everywhere. The parts that weren't
rusting were corroding. The rest was being eaten by rats and other
vermin. I'm working from memory here, but he was supposedly building a
Cozy while restoring some sort of jet. I'm wanting to say an Me162, but
not sure. He had all sorts of pieces he had collected strewn about the
yard with the grass and bushes growing up through them. I mean this guy
was a basket case. When asked to clean it up, he just got
stupid...going so far as building a composite 'statue' of a man showing
his butt to the neighbors. I quote 'statue', because an artist he
ain't. Very crude and cartoonish artwork.

He had been told by the city many times to clean it up, but chose to
make an ass of himself instead. The fact that he calls himself building
an airplane just makes us look bad. Personally, I break out in hives if
I see rust on my airframe. I don't know how anyone investing the energy
to build an airplane could let it rot like he was doing.

--
This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."

Don W wrote:
I wonder what the city/county concerns that are leading to the
regulations are....

I wholeheartedly agree that our city/county governments are passing
ordinances that interfere with a persons right to "pursuit of happiness"
all the time.

Y'know, in most places it takes two or three readings to pass an
ordinance, and the idea's supposed to be (folks on the council think
they're doing this) to inform the public and get their input.

It's harder than they think to follow the workings of local government,
but a good pro-active airport manager will go to ALL the meetings,
county and city and township or whatever governing boards control stuff,
and will make it a point to be on good terms with every member and
constantly point out the economic and social value of the airport.

I've known a good airport manager or two, and they consider that part of
their job, just like making sure realtors tell clients that their house
happens to be located next to an airport, and passing on stuff like
zoning plans and potential ordinances to the pilots and owners at the
airport so they can get involved themselves.

If your airport doesn't have a manager that good, can one be found?

wayne, i feel your pain, just like i do for the chapt member involved
with this episode of justice denied. while, it probably won't bring
hombuilding to a total halt in the county, it will just force some of
us to be more discrete in our activites. i work at a commercial
facilitie that could be used for assembly and construction of aircraft
components. i can't help but think that it all revolves around
property value and city taxes collected for that property value. they
want every last penny they can squeeze outta ya so they can pay for
their over zealous city expansion and national football franchise and
stadium upkeep, not to mention interstate highway expansion, while the
intercity traffic becomes longer daily grid-lock. and don't forget, as
a city, we are trying to better dc's record for cut'n and kill'n this
year. thats expensive too, u know. finally, wayne, our chapt pres
lives in a different county, not affected by this ruling, yet! but
since he has a very nice, brand new shop, with an almost completed
midget mustang still needing work, he has concerns that his local gov
might go over the stupid end, also. u just get the feeling u r being
treated like the ultra lite folks that used to operate on the fringe or
outside the legal faa guide lines. i guess i am more concerned that
eaa hd qts did not jump on this one issue immediately and do something
but instead, there has been less than zero response from them. so far,
we have had no problems from the insurance companies about vehicles of
any sort, including aircraft. maybe they too busy worrying about
hurricane damage to let something like aluminum or pop rivets concern
them for the moment. as u know, there r some of us more into the
building than the flying so it strikes a cord when u feel singled out,
for no reason. i been flying since '56 and building since '89 and as
far as i know, it has never hurt anyone.


blackbird wrote:
Hi guys,

My name is Wayne McCullough and I am a current EAA chapter president.
My homeowners insurance was cancelled because of a current Kolb project
being worked on at my home....23 acres in Effingham County
Georgia........No runway allowed, no storage of aircraft of any
kind......

And then I read this, and Duval County is Jacksonville,
Florida........Amazing what the politicians can do behind closed
doors.....

Eaa national has not responded to any of my e-mails as of yet.....All
of this I found out last Monday......


Been doing experimentals for 12 years, and I did not know I was not
living in America anymore.

greatav8or wrote:

components. i can't help but think that it all revolves around
property value and city taxes collected for that property value. they
want every last penny they can squeeze outta ya so they can pay for
their over zealous city expansion and national football franchise and
stadium upkeep, not to mention interstate highway expansion, while the
intercity traffic becomes longer daily grid-lock.

Yeah and tryin to take our Naval Air Station away from us!
John in Virginia Baach (Oceana NA)
;-)

"just jokin!"

blackbird wrote:
Hi guys,

My name is Wayne McCullough and I am a current EAA chapter president.
My homeowners insurance was cancelled because of a current Kolb project
being worked on at my home....23 acres in Effingham County
Georgia........No runway allowed, no storage of aircraft of any
kind......

And then I read this, and Duval County is Jacksonville,
Florida........Amazing what the politicians can do behind closed
doors.....

Eaa national has not responded to any of my e-mails as of yet.....All
of this I found out last Monday......

I've found EAA to be fairly useless in such things. They seem to have
their hands full just trying to save airports.

Been doing experimentals for 12 years, and I did not know I was not
living in America anymore.

We haven't been living in America since GWB was appointed President.


AP