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Platinum Member Username: PlymouthCanada Post Number: 13836 Registered: Jan-08 | City imposing low-voltage permit fees A little-known fee that quietly received City Council approval Tuesday will add to the cost of installing many things most folks likely take for granted. Contractors installing what the City considers low-voltage electrical work -- 77 volts or less -- are required to obtain a permit for that work. Tom Goldsbury, chief of the City's Building Inspection Division, estimated the fees will generate about $20,000 annually, but stressed that's a rough estimate. The permits apply to several areas including security alarm systems, central vacuum systems, irrigation systems, low-voltage lighting and even stereo/surround sound systems. That permit is also required of contractors installing satellite TV systems, something that doesn't sit well with that industry. In a March 30 letter to Goldsbury that was copied to the mayor's office and other City officials, a representative of two national satellite TV providers said the permits are illegal under a Federal Communications Commission rule. "We represent DISH Network and DIRECTV, the two national satellite television providers, and the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, the national trade association for the satellite broadcast industry and herein express the objections of our clients to this permit requirement as it pertains to the installation of satellite dish antennas," said the representative. The representative said satellite dishes are exempt under the FCC ruling for several reasons including cost and the potential for the permit to delay satellite dish installation. They cited Florida Statute 553.803 and Florida Building Code 102.2.5. "Any action by the City of Jacksonville, as it relates to the installation of satellite antennas, should be to explicitly exempt such installations from a permit requirement," the letter to Goldsbury states. "If the City of Jacksonville were to apply this permit requirement to satellite antenna installations, it would be in direct violation of federal law. The Federal Communications Commission has expressly prohibited local municipalities from enacting any law, regulation, or restriction that 'unreasonably increases the cost of installation, maintenance or use' of a satellite TV antenna." Goldsbury said the City has started collecting the fees. However, anyone who already has a satellite dish, irrigation system or any other system within the legislation is "grandfathered" and won't be affected. Only permits for new work will be required. Goldsbury also disagrees with the assertion the fee is illegal. In a March 24 bulletin to all permit applicants, Goldsbury cited a statement from the Department of Community Affairs that he says confirms the requirement to permit low-voltage work. "That type of work always required a license, but not a permit," said Goldsbury, adding it has been several years since the City raised some of its permit fees and touted the current fees as some of the lowest in the state. Goldsbury said the contractor doing the work will be required to obtain the permit. That cost may or may not be passed on to the customer. He said the legislation also affects Comcast -- the only cable TV provider in Jacksonville. "The satellite dish networks believe they have a federal law that exempts them," he said. The representative of the satellite networks said they believe the law is on the side of the satellite industry and cited the Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule (OTARD). "The $30 cost for miscellaneous residential electrical permits violates OTARD by unreasonably increasing the cost of satellite antenna installation," the representative continued in the letter to the City. "If the City of Jacksonville attempts to apply this permit requirement to satellite installations in violation of OTARD, we will have no choice but to initiate legal proceedings to challenge this enforcement. Upon doing so, the City of Jacksonville will be forced to suspend all attempts to enforce the permit requirement pending the resolution of the dispute. Moreover, the City of Jacksonville will have the burden of demonstrating that its permit complies with federal law -- which as I have demonstrated above, it cannot do." Goldsbury disagrees with that assessment, also. "To me, it's not an unreasonable cost," he said, adding the permits can be obtained on-line in less than a day. Source: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=530877 |