HUNTLEY – Some residents with satellite cable providers were left with questions after recently receiving non-compliance letters from the Sun City Community Association.
Those receiving the letter were notified their satellite dishes were in violation of rules in the Design Guidelines of Sun City, Huntley.
Neighborhood 11 resident Ed Pierce received a letter stating his satellite dishes are in violation of Sun City design guidelines and must be moved. Here he explains that the two dishes are positioned for optimal reception. Pierce questions why it’s taken the association so long to inform him that his dishes were in violation of the guidelines. He’s had the dish in the foreground on his roof for nine years. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
The Design Guidelines state: “Antennas, satellite dishes, or other devices for the transmission/reception of television or computer signals should be installed in the rear half of the house, under the eaves.”
Residents were told they had until February 20 to move the dishes to a preferred location. Within 10 days of moving the dish, they were asked to send a form back to the association for further inspection.
Though the instructions are clear, some residents wonder what purpose the satellite placement rules serve.
A representative from the association said these guidelines are in place partly to maintain the appearance of the community, but also largely to protect the structural integrity of the home, particularly the roof.
Members of the association were not able to speak in-depth about the matter before press time, but an interview has been scheduled and a follow-up story with answers from the association will be printed in the next edition of the Sun Day.
Ron Adrian, a technician with Colorvision Services in Pingree Grove, explained the satellite installation and removal by certified technicians should never leave damage or cause leakage.
Others wonder why the association did not act on these violations years ago. Though the Design Guildeines have been up for some time, the rules on dishes have not been enforced for years.
“Why did they send a letter in winter? It’s not right,” Susie Goldsmith, N.11, said.
Goldsmith, whose dish was in violation, was not willing to put up a fight with the association, so she had her dish removed altogether.
Ed Pierce’s, N. 11, dish is also in violation. Pierce explained he’s had a dish for nine years and wonders why he is just hearing about it now.
“Tomorrow I plan on contacting the cable company or the satellite company, having them come out and determine, by moving my antenna, what the quality of my picture is going to be and what the cost is going to be,” he said.
Pierce is willing to comply with the letter’s other requirement: allowing no more than four feet of visible wiring from the base of the mounting on the home.
As for moving the dish, he has another idea.
“As far as I’m concerned, the association can pick up the tab and move the antenna wherever they like, as long as I have the same quality picture and they pay for it because I’ve already paid to have that antenna put up,” Pierce said.
According to Adrian, following the association’s guidelines and receiving a satellite signal is not always possible.
“They want them mounted on the eaves, but the way some of the houses are constructed, they can’t be placed there at all. And the reason for it is because of the construction of the home – the eaves being too weak or there’s aluminum siding or [there are] rain gutters in the way, and you can’t bolt the dish bracket to the eave if there’s a rain gutter running through,” he said.
Of the three or four inspections Adrian said he has done in Sun City in response to the letters, he said one or two were able to be moved and work properly, but the others were not able to receive a signal when moved.
The letter states that residents must follow the guidelines unless the installer “can provide sufficient proof” that “reception will be compromised.”
At this time, it is uncertain how the association will work with those who can prove that the Design Guidelines interfere with their signal reception.
2 Comments
Dear Sun Day,
To the best of my knowledge FCC mandates that antennas will be mounted where they get the best reception……….period. No association rule will ever override the FCC mandate.
To those people who are being intimidated by the board should sue for reimbursement of any charges made to relocate antennas and for the inconvenience of bad reception due to those moves.
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Home / Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule
Guide
Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule
Preemption of Restrictions on Placement of Direct Broadcast Satellite, Broadband Radio Service, and Television Broadcast Antennas.
Quick Links to Document Sections Below
Questions and Answers
Links to Relevant Orders and the Rule
Guidance on Filing a Petition
Where to Call for More Information
As directed by Congress in Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission adopted the Over-the-Air Reception Devices (“OTARD”) rule concerning governmental and nongovernmental restrictions on viewers’ ability to receive video programming signals from direct broadcast satellites (“DBS”), broadband radio service providers (formerly multichannel multipoint distribution service or MMDS), and television broadcast stations (“TVBS”).
The rule (47 C.F.R. Section 1.4000) has been in effect since October 1996, and it prohibits restrictions that impair the installation, maintenance or use of antennas used to receive video programming. The rule applies to video antennas including direct-to-home satellite dishes that are less than one meter (39.37″) in diameter (or of any size in Alaska), TV antennas, and wireless cable antennas. The rule prohibits most restrictions that: (1) unreasonably delay or prevent installation, maintenance or use; (2) unreasonably increase the cost of installation, maintenance or use; or (3) preclude reception of an acceptable quality signal.
Effective January 22, 1999, the Commission amended the rule so that it also applies to rental property where the renter has an exclusive use area, such as a balcony or patio.
On October 25, 2000, the Commission further amended the rule so that it applies to customer-end antennas that receive and transmit fixed wireless signals. This amendment became effective on May 25, 2001.
The rule applies to individuals who place antennas that meet size limitations on property that they own or rent and that is within their exclusive use or control, including condominium owners and cooperative owners, and tenants who have an area where they have exclusive use, such as a balcony or patio, in which to install the antenna. The rule applies to townhomes and manufactured homes, as well as to single family homes.
The rule allows local governments, community associations and landlords to enforce restrictions that do not impair the installation, maintenance or use of the types of antennas described above, as well as restrictions needed for safety or historic preservation. Under some circumstances where a central or common antenna is available, a community association or landlord may restrict the installation of individual antennas. The rule does not apply to common areas that are owned by a landlord, a community association, or jointly by condominium or cooperative owners where the antenna user does not have an exclusive use area. Such common areas may include the roof or exterior wall of a multiple dwelling unit. Therefore, restrictions on antennas installed in or on such common areas are enforceable.
This Information Sheet provides general answers to questions concerning implementation of the rule, but is not a substitute for the actual rule. For further information or a copy of the rule, contact the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-CALL FCC (1-888-225-5322), which is a toll-free number, or 202-418-2120. The rule is also available via the Internet by going to links to relevant Orders and the rule.
Seems strange that this enforcement comes right after the election of some new board members. Someone has a “feather” stuck somewhere. Enforcement of anything occurs the moment it is placed wrong…not nine years later. I have driven the neighborhoods and have not paid any attention to someone’s satellite dish. Someone just has nothing else to complain about, so decides to dig into the rules to see where they can make trouble for people. I still say this comes shortly after the elections, and we need to find out who is the troublemaker, root them out and get rid of them.