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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  00-  1288 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 
 In  the  Matter  of  )  ) 
 Amendment  of  Section  73.202  (b)  )  Table  of  Allotments,  ) 
 FM  Broadcast  Stations  )  (Allegan  and  Otsego,  Michigan)  ) 


 MEMORANDUM  OPINION  AND  ORDER  (Proceeding  Terminated) 
 Adopted:  May  31,  2000  Released:  June  13,  2000 
 By  the  Chief,  Allocations  Branch: 
 1.  The  Allocations  Branch  has  before  it  the  Petition  for  Reconsideration  filed  by  Forum  Communications,  Inc.  (“  Forum”),  directed  to  the  staff  action  returning  its  Petition  for  Rule  Making 
 requesting  the  substitution  of  Channel  265A  for  Channel  222A  at  Allegan,  Michigan,  and  the  substitution  of  Channel  222A  for  Channel  265A  at  Otsego,  Michigan.  For  the  reasons  discussed 
 below,  we  grant  the  Petition  for  Reconsideration  to  the  extent  indicated  and  deny  it  in  all  other  respects 


 2.  Our  action  returning  Forum’s  Petition  for  Rule  Making  was  premised  upon  the  fact  that  Forum’s  proposal  to  reallot  Channel  265A  from  Otsego  to  Allegan  and  to  modify  Station 
 WQXC(  FM)  ’s  license  to  specify  operation  on  Channel  265A  at  Allegan  did  not  comply  with  our  spacing  requirements  for  allotments  set  forth  in  Section  73.207  of  the  Commission’s  Rules  that 
 became  effective  on  October  2,  1989.  Forum’s  Petition  for  Reconsideration  of  the  foregoing  action  explains  that  the  short-  spacing  that  would  exist  as  a  result  of  the  reallotment  of  Channel  265A  to 
 Allegan  had  existed  since  1981  and  was  therefore  “grandfathered”  pursuant  to  Section  73.213(  c)  of  the  Commission’s  Rules.  In  Fremont  and  Holton,  Michigan,  14  FCC  Rcd  17108  (Allocations  Br. 
 1999),  the  Commission  determined  that  it  would  allow  pre-  1989  “grandfathered”  FM  stations  that  were  in  compliance  with  the  Commission’s  spacing  rules  when  authorized,  to  be  afforded  the  same 
 opportunity  to  change  their  communities  of  license  as  other  stations  authorized  in  conformity  with  the  Commission’s  current  Rules,  provided  that  no  additional  or  new  short-  spacing  would  be  created 
 by  granting  the  relevant  request  for  a  change  of  community.  In  light  of  the  facts  in  this  case  and  Fremont  and  Holton,  Michigan,  it  appears  that  the  short-  spacing  that  would  exist  as  a  result  of  the 
 reallotment  of  Channel  265A  from  Otsego  to  Allegan  does  not  present  an  impediment  to  Forum’s  rulemaking  pet  it  ion. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  00-  1288 
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 3.  A  thorough  review  of  Forum’s  Petition  for  Rule  Making  reveals  that  the  proposal  to  substitute  Channel  222  for  Channel  265A  at  Otsego  will  not  result  in  Ot  sego  being  encompassed 
 with  a  70  dBu  signal,  as  required  by  Section  73.315(  a)  of  the  Commission’s  Rules.  In  fact,  the  city  of  license,  Otsego,  Michigan,  is  18.1  kilometers  from  the  transmitter  site  chosen  by  Forum  to  serve 
 Otsego.  The  predicted  distance  for  a  70  dBu  signal  transmitted  by  a  Class  A  FM  station  operating  with  maximum  facilities,  i.  e.,  6  kilowatts  of  effective  radiated  power  and  100  meters  of  antenna 
 height  above  average  terrain  (HAAT),  is  16.2  kilometers.  See  Section  73.333  Figure  1  of  the  Rules.  In  this  light  ,  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  Forum’s  Ot  sego  transmitt  er  sit  e  will  provide  a  70  dBu 
 signal  that  will  encompass  Ot  sego,  as  required  by  Sect  ion  73.  315(  a)  of  the  Commission’s  Rules.  Therefore,  we  must  deny  Forum’s  Petition  for  Reconsideration  of  the  staff  action  returning  Forum’s 
 Petition  for  Rule  Making. 
 4.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED  That  the  aforementioned  Petition  for  Reconsideration  filed  by  Forum  Communications,  Inc.  IS  GRANTED  to  the  extent  indicated  above  and  IS  DENIED 
 in  all  ot  her  respect  s. 
 5.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED  That  this  proceeding  IS  TERMINATED. 
 6.  For  further  information  concerning  this  proceeding,  contact  R.  Barthen  Gorman,  Mass  Media  Bureau,  (202)  418-  2180. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 John  A.  Karousos  Chief,  Allocations  Branch 
 Policy  and  Rules  Division  Mass  Media  Bureau 
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