Home cinema - HD Antenna and Home owners association issues

"varioust" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi everyone,

This is my first post to the group so I apologize if this is
not the
correct place to post. I have been enjoying the threads in
this group
and I decided I would post to see if anyone has an idea of
what I
should do in this situation. I apologize in advance if I
should be
posting to another group.

I have been having issues with my HOA who disparately desires
me to
relocate my antenna from the highest point on my roof (where I
receive
line-of-sight with transmitters) to a more suitable location
(attic,
or where it is not visible from the street). Obviously, I know
that
"technically" they can't tell me to do this because of the FCC
ruling
in 1996...however, they used what I call the "good neighbor"
approach
on me. Listed below is a portion of the e-mail from my HOA
president
(and it is long):

""
The Board of Directors is currently discussing the heart of
the rule
governing the prohibition of the placement of an antenna in or
on a
member's lot or dwelling; that being the true aesthetics
involved in a
member using this sort of equipment for their receptive needs.
We are
discussing and seeking consultation as to the Board's
responsibility
to oversee the requirements or restrictions of placement of
such
antennas to stay in keeping with the spirit of rule #18 in our
covenants. But with all "restrictions" we must carefully weigh
the
individual member's rights to what is legally allowed against
the
other member's rights to a clear and unobstructed view. We
will be
discussing the manner in which a member would be conscientious
of
their neighbor's property as they would their own and ask each
member
that decides to follow this FCC ruling to place their antenna
where it
is not visibly seen by the surrounding homes or passersby.
After
saying this, in the spirit of neighborliness and citizenship,
we are
asking that you consider relocating your antenna. Several
other
members have installed similar antennas in their attic crawl
spaces.
If the reception there is unacceptable or your attic isn't
large
enough to accommodate then we are asking you, for the time
being; to
relocate the antenna to the north side of your home's
ridgeline to at
least reduce the amount of visibility. The reason we are
requesting
this from you is the very reason this was brought to the
Board's
attention. It is displeasing to your neighbors. Please
consider this
request until the Board can make a final decision as to how it
will
regulate the placement of the equipment that our covenants
still
conclude as being unsightly.
""

My only response is: WOW! Can anyone give me a good idea of
how to
respond to this. Or recommendations on what I should do.
Should I cave
in to the "good guy" response, or should I fight this? I
don't want
to upset people, but I also think people should be aware that
I am
within my rights to have my antenna where it is...so it comes
down to
a matter of principle. Any advice would be helpful. Thank
you in
advance!

Thanks,

Tyler

Before I moved into a "closed" community I asked for a copy of
the CCRs. I found nothing among them which was objectionable.
Over the years here I have learned that here there are three
sets of rules:

Rumored rules - that which residents spread among themselves as
being the rules;

Cited Board rules - the way in which individual board members
interpret the actual written rules;

The written rules - those which would be contested or used as a
defense in court.

The first two often bear little or no resemblance to the latter.
Yet, they do represent possible "community" reaction to their
being "broken."

In my community the written rule has been modified, from time to
time, by board action, resident vote, or by state or federal
law.

One example of CCR amendment was that the (1960's)
builder-installed, attic TV antennae were largely inadequate for
good OTA reception. As these are multiple dwelling buildings,
the roofs are not resident "exclusive" zones and even before the
FCC got into the act, the CCRs were modified to permit roof
antennae of a reasonable, and therefore almost uniform, size and
height. The one-time total restriction against satellite dishes
too was modified to permit the presently predominant small dish.
Sadly, when cable arrived here and the vast majority of
residents subscribed, few removed the roof antennae.

An example of state law superceding CCRs is the few-year-old
California law striking down "no pet" covenants in communities
such as ours. A number of residents and a majority of the board
members voted to construct "new rules," posing as covenants, and
making it near impossible for our elderly residents to have
dogs. Principal among this retaliation was "no walking of
animals" on community grounds. Of course this never would have
stood a court test and was stricken eventually, but it's
illustrative of the knee-jerk reaction that some administrations
have to a perceived loss of control - not unlike regionally and
nationally elected administrations;-0)

We here have no term limits for elected officials on the board -
de facto, as it's rare that anyone else wants the job - and
sadly that sometimes requires ad hoc committees which may end up
in court to persuade the board toward a new way of thinking.
Never-the-less, in a gated community of 7,000 dwellings, the
need for rules and a board to handle them and a rather large
cash flow, is obvious.

Ideally residents would refer to rules and community actions by
"we" or "our" rather than "they" or "their." Even in this
somewhat Eden of CCR controlled communities, I hear many of my
neighbors using "they." Not unlike citizens referring to our
government, eh?

As a member of a community I accept my share of the financial
burden of any action against the community. However I believe I
would feel somewhat uncharitable toward another member of the
very same community who would cause me and our fellow residents
to bear the financial burden of his no longer agreeing to the
covenants he accepted when buying in, particularly so when the
dispute could have been resolved beforehand by making known to
the board his intended action and flexibilities.

Winning is neither everything nor the only thing.

Sample before-the-fact letter to the board:

Dear sirs, since the FCC has ruled that covenants regarding
antennae are generally unenforceable, we'd like to place an
antenna for the reception of local and fringe TV transmission on
our roof. As we may be the first in the community to do so,
we've spoken with our immediate neighbors and finding among them
no objection to our plan we'd like to seek your counsel as well.
We're planning to acquire the materials and labor for the
project in about two weeks. Your early reply will be
appreciated. If you'd care to stop by or call, we're generally
home between . . .