By Robert Holloway
It was only a few months later that I got my first taste of life in an association, or as the common jargon has it, in an HOA. We decided to try satellite television and I put the small dish on the right front side of my roof, not thinking that anyone would object to it. Soon a letter came from the "community manager" a woman representing the company that "managed" the community on behalf of the board of directors. [Notice I do not say on behalf of the Association because I soon learned that management company viewed their role as acting on behalf of the board and not on behalf of homeowners. The board may or may not represent the interests of the homeowners and usually does not represent the homeowners if my experience is any guide.] The letter stated that I had failed to get prior approval for the installation of the satellite dish and suggested that I should move it to the rear or face the possibility of a fine. I wrote a letter of protest but to no avail. I pointed out that dishes had shrunk in recent years and mine was very small. But the manager would have none of that and insisted that I move the dish. So I moved the dish to the rear of the roof and at cost of $200. But then I noticed that there were two dishes across the street from mine on the very top of the roof. I contacted the community manager and asked if the owners of the other dishes had obtained prior approval and also mentioned that their dishes were just as obvious as mine. To make a long story short, there was no answer. My letter was ignored. I then called and talked to the community manager. She still didn't have an answer but said she would look into it. The property management company was Colonial Property Management.
A couple of months passed and there was still no response. I wrote again and this time was answered by a new manager, Jan Labbe. She was the new community manager but her answer was no different from the first manager. I pointed out to her that the other dishes across the street were apparently just as much out of compliance as my original dish and yet I was the only one pressured to move my dish. By that time, I was aware that state law requires that any rule be equally enforced or cannot be enforced at all. The response of the community manager to this line of reasoning, which seemed so logical to me, was simply double talk. Blah, blah, blah. I demanded that the Association refund the $200 cost of relocating my dish because they had not enforced the rules equally. The board and the community manager refused to do that.
I decided to bring the matter of unequal enforcement to the attention of the Ombudmans Office of the State Real Estate Division, that has jurisdiction over homeowners associations. I made a written complaint and some weeks later received a favorable ruling that pointed out to the Association that they had failed to equally enforce the rules. Shortly after receiving the favorable ruling from the state, I found on the Internet that several years previously, the Federal Communications Commission had ruled that homeowner associations could not require prior approval for the installation of satellite dishes. The FCC had been given a mandate by Congress to void any restrictions that created delays in the installation of satellite dishes. My one year contract with the satellite provider was running out and I decided to sign a contract with a new provider so that my wife could receive satellite television in her native language of Russian. The required orientation was to the southwest which meant that the dish would have to be visible from the front of the house and from the street. Therefore I decided to place the dish in the exact location that was frowned upon by the board of directors. Within 3 days of the installation of the dish, a letter came from the community manager threatening fines because I had not asked for prior approval from the board. I replied by letter stating the FCC had prohibited the requirement for prior approval several years previously. This was unconvincing to the community manager who continued to press for a fine and prior approval of the installation. Remember that this was in spite of the fact that the community manager had received a warning letter from the state just a few weeks previously on the matter of unequal enforcement.
I contacted the FCC and simultaneously filed for arbitration. The FCC in short order called the community manager, Jan Labbe, and told her to stop trying to enforce the illegal rules. The FCC followed up with a letter which required the association to amend the rules so as not to require prior approval. To date, the FCC letter has been ignored by the board of directors. In reviewing the documents sent by Colonial Management to the state prior to arbitration, there is a document that shows the community manager was aware of at least some degree of FCC involvement in the regulation of satellite dishes but she kept that information confidential while at the same time trying to enforce rules that were contrary to FCC mandates.
Eventually the dispute was heard by an arbitrator who ruled that the Association was in error in not enforcing the rules equally. The approximate cost of the arbitration and related matters for both sides was $3,000 which was paid by the Association according to the terms of the arbitration findings. Shortly afterwards, the board replaced Colonial Property Management with Taylor Property Management. Unfortunately the quality of the management and the knowledge of the community manager did not improve with the change.
One might think that the board would have learned something from this controversy but apparently they are slow learners. In hopes of trying to sway community opinion, I decided to circulate a newsletter within the small community. After circulating a few issues, I received a letter from the board suggesting that I should not circulate a newsletter and suggesting that it was improper to "name names" in the newsletter. Apparently my criticism of the board had struck a nerve. I naturally disregarded the letter. I was however, extremely disgusted by the fact that in a country known for freedom of the press, six people had unanimously decided that they would try to suppress my newsletter and squelch any viewpoints that differed from their own. In particular this does not speak favorably of the eduction and training received by community managers. The community manager in this case was Laury Phelps, an employee of Taylor Property Association Management. The board that approved the attempted censorship consisted of Joe Ervin, Jolene Taylor, Joe Dorsey and John Smithey. I have included my response to that suppression attempt in another part of this site.