[Towertalk] deed restrictions restrict not only antennas

[W4ZW]

My last CCR home had a clause not only forbidding antennas but strictly
forbidding "amateur and CB radio operation of any type within the gated
area."

I ignored it, put up a R-7 on a hinge mounted on my roof with a rope
pulley that I used to pull it up at dusk.  It collapsed onto the roof
behind the house so it was not visible from the street.  I had a wooden
saddle it rested in when horizontal to protect the capacity hats.   It
also worked in the horizontal mode with my FT-1000D tuner.  I also
strung up a wire Windom that was virtually invisible from the street
into the trees.

Had one neighbor who took me to task for having antennas, but I simply
told them I had a Federal License for my radio and antenna and that
over-ruled any local HOA rules.   Bluff worked for the seven years I
owned the place, but after having homes in three CCR developments, swore
never to buy into that mess again.

Even though the homeowners rules are meant to protect and maintain the
ambience of the development, there is always one or more individuals who
pervert them because they want to dictate to everyone else.  We had one
lady who had her application for a garden plot rejected by the
Architectural Review Board.  Having nothing else to do, she marched
through the development each day with her clip board writing up every
infraction she could find and then demanded the management company write
the owner.  Of particular insult was her writing up brown patches in our
yards while we had sprinkler rationing in place.  She demanded that each
homeowner have the offending area resodded.  Also, several driveways had
iron stains due to the mineral content of the well system water.  She
required that every such drive be bleached white or replaced per the HOA
rules restricting stains in the driveways. 

 Our management costs went up, everyone hated the rules they had so
blithely signed when buying their house, and a move was underway to
rewrite them.

In Florida it is difficult to find any area that doesn't have either
building deed restrictions, or land deed restrictions restricting
outdoor antennas unless you want to live in the boondocks.

Normally we can simply exercise our choice as to where we buy and what
restrictions we buy into, but what about the new ham?  I'm active in
recruiting and training school kids into becoming ham radio operators.
They are always let down when they learn from their parents that they
can't have an antenna outside.  Seems to me the CCR's are not only
restricting our right to enjoy our hobby, but are severely obstructing
our recruitment of new hams.

My 2 cents, FWIW.

Jon Hamlet,  W4ZW
Casey Key Island, FL

"A little bit of Paradise in the Gulf of Mexico"