[AMRadio] Ants and HOA's

[w5jo at brightok.net]

I live in an area that was incorporated in the mid 70s  which has CC&Rs. 
Fortunately they cover the bad stuff, too many animals, abandoned cars, 
temporary housing of any kind, goats, pigs, cows, horses, chickens and it is 
designated as residential property.  Problem is some owners have sold direct 
to other people without a Real Estate Agent, so the Covenants do not get 
passed along.  There is no Home Owner's Association as such, but an 
individual can sue any offending party.  That has prevented a lot of 
problems with unsightly lots and acres.

Not only that but the residents here purchase property for sale to keep the 
area neat.  Now the good part!  There are no restrictions against towers or 
antennas of any sort.  I have up a 60 ft. self supporting tower with a 4 
element beam and wire antennas for the lower bands.  When I moved here I 
asked my closest neighbor if he minded the presence of my antenna.  He works 
with the volunteer fire department and said, Hell No, that gives us 
communication possibilities should the need arise.  In return, I put the 
antenna is an area that makes it less noticeable  and decorate it each 
Christmas with flashing lights and a star on top.

However, because of some problems in other areas, I have been involved with 
lawyers over a challenge.  One thing is indisputable, all covenants  must be 
enforced  or all are void.  To make matters worse, many HOAs pay association 
dues which goes into a bank account for enforcing the covenants.  So if you 
have restrictions against antennas the only you can put up are dish antennas 
for TV.  However if you can convince the association to give you a waver, 
you hit pay dirt.  This happened in Lubbock, TX some years back and it 
resulted in new membership on the HOA board, but the guy still has his tower 
up.

Jim
W5JO


-----Original Message----

I'm not speaking in terms of antennas. I'm speaking to the whole concept of 
HOA's. You have to take or reject the entire package. Naturally, I believe 
modest antennas don't create a problem. All I'm saying is that for most 
people, the good outweighs the bad. I do believe it's a shame they're 
necessary, but there are always a couple of jerks that are hell-bent on 
destroying the property valves of everyone around them. It's a cross section 
of America. 10% of the people create 90% of the problems.

Darrell
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