From: pdh@netcom.com (Phil Howard )
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Subject: Re: Deed restriction bans all ham antennas
Date: 23 Jul 92 18:46:50 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

turner@safety.ics.uci.edu (Clark Savage Turner) writes:

>>Why should you be able to fight them??  When you sign the deed, you are
>>agreeing with all the attachments.  You have no grounds to fight them.
>>You have to either have them removed before you buy or look for another
>>piece of property.  The restrictions constitute a contract that you are
>>willingly entering into.  It's not like restrictive ordinances which can
>>be passed after the fact.

>>bill    KB3YV

>A really GOOD point, Bill.  This is what a lot of hams miss when looking
>at property...the bargaining power they might have.  The moral: ALWAYS
>research the deed and review all the restrictions AS WELL AS the local
>ordinances.  The deed restrictions are MUCH HARDER to fight, as they
>are part of the "contract" you agree to when you buy the property (as viewed
>by the Courts).  Our sense of fairness is occasionally offended here in
>So. Calif. (and elsewhere) where there are very few places that do not
>contain deed restrictions.  The whole market becomes one of "take it or
>leave it" respecting deed restrictions.  That is a hard problem, and only
>the market can eventually (hopefully) shake it out.  But the only sure
>bet to protect your ham antenna privileges is to obtain a deed without all
>the restrictions up front.

It is also hard for the seller to remove the restrictions.  There are ways,
but unless the seller is also the one putting them in in the first place,
then it should be just as easy for you to remove them as the seller, and
maybe even easier (you have the time to go through process; the seller
might not).

If the seller is the developer, they are not as likely to listen, as they
probably have a stream of buyers they can at least use as an excuse, even
in these times of lean home sales.

One of the big problems with the deed restrictions is that the developers
and their lawyers are simply trading around the text of the deed restrictions
without considering what they restrict.  The big reason for this is that they
want to be sure they have text that will hold up in court, and whenever some
lawyers text is shown in actual cases "to work", then it gets copied around.
At that point they usually won't want to mess around with the wording since
in their mind it might break it.

What we need is for a good lawyer who is a ham or is ham supportive to write
up a very carefully worded set of restrictions that allow a reasonable and
fair compromise between all the concerned parties.  This won't be easy since
some people just don't like the sight of antennas at all.  Others are just
worried about TVI (they often think the antenna causes it), and given that
the FCC is not addressing legitimate TVI/RFI cases very well, there may not
be much of a good solution.


>WA3JPG, QRP #3526, active on HF, VHF and UHF.
>Admitted to practice law in California, Massachusetts, and New York.

I guess this means you.  Start up the word processor.
-- 
/***********************************************************************\
| Phil Howard  ---  KA9WGN  ---  pdh@netcom.com   |   "The problem with |
| depending on government is that you cannot depend on it" - Tony Brown |
\***********************************************************************/