The Joys of Condo Associations (II)

June 14, 2005
. . . Homeowners Association Board
Dear Board Members:
This week I noticed that the television dish antenna that had been on our roof was gone. Our understanding is that Debby, the former owner of Unit #[XX], had installed the dish without proper permission from the Association and that the former owner of our unit had shared her hookup. Despite the unapproved installation, the dish had apparently been allowed to remain for some years. We had planned to start service using the dish in the near future. When I asked yesterday about the missing dish, Karen informed me that John [the handyman] had recently removed the dish. I asked her if the the problem had been simply that it had been installed without permission or if it had been installed incorrectly. She said the cables had been allowed to lie on the roof and that this was the problem. I pointed out that although the dish had been removed, the cables continue to lie across the roof. The dish was also removed without advising anyone in the building that this would happen. The removal of the correctly installed dish exposed wood beneath it that had not been painted at the last repainting, attesting both to the age of the installation and to the negative aesthetic effect of removing the dish at this time.
We fully understand the dish antenna policy that has been approved by the Board and the reasons that rigorous Association control is necessary. We would simply like to object to the capricious and illogical manner in which enforcement was carried out in this case. Why not, for example, simply ask someone in the building to rectify the cabling issue if they wish to continue to use the dish?
We would also like to propose that the Board consider an amendment to the dish antenna policy. Since the Association has apparently already received advice on how, where, and how many dish antennas should be installed on each of the buildings of the Project, a detailed description of these installation requirements should be composed and circulated. Residents who contract their own vendors to install dish antennas should be bound to consult with and coordinate with building neighbors, notify the Association in advance of the installation date, and to comply fully with the published guidelines. Those who fail to do so should be immediately fined and charged with the costs of removal. Residents can then show the requirements to such private vendors as they wish to contract to hold them responsible, in turn, for following the guidelines. We strenuously object to having to pay a high, non-competitive price to a single individual with a monopoly on dish installations.
Your truly,