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NEED HELP!! I live in a condo complex where currenty dishes are not allowed, although in the past they were allowed, so several people already have dishes. The board has appointed a committee to review this policy and I volunteered to research the issue and make recommendations. I think I have an uphill battle though since a couple of people on the committee are very strict "by the book" people and they are against it just because "it's written." (it's almost like the line in Life of Brian... Brian: mum, why aren't women allowed to go to stonings? Mum: It's written, that's why!!!) They also dont' care about satellite and think the dishes are just an eyesore.

Naturally I want them allowed, even though with voom dying I'm switching to cable.

We have about 50 buildings and they are all 2 story with slanted roofs with shingles on them. It's not like a highrise. It's a very large spread out complex, more like what are known as garden apartments rather than large condo buildings.

The main issues they have against them are

1. aesthetics. A lot of people find them ugly. They are also concerned that if they are explicitly allowed, we will suddenly have dishes all over the place and they will make the complex look ugly. Also, they don't like the idea of cables running all over the place.

2. Safety. We're in a hurricane zone and they are concerned about dishes flying all over during a storm. Also, how do insurance companies handle damage done by dishes in a condo/apt building that allows them?

3. Structural damage. Concern over damage done by the install process and the holes left behind once the dishes are removed.

4. Property value. I guess this is a combination of all the above. Does property value suffer if dishes are all over the place?

These are their primary concerns.

As for aesthetics, personally I think that nowadays you see dishes all over the place and they are common. Some people despise anything modern and think they are just ugly contraptions. Unfortunately, these types of people are often the most vocal in meetings and are the only ones that get heard.

As for safety, I was under the impression that if properly installed, dishes are rated at 120mph winds. Can anyone confirm this? Any documentation you can point me to?

As for structural damage and property value, I really don't know.

Given that the FCC legally allows anyone to install a dish on their patio as long as they face the right direction, I think it's unfair to not allow others to also install dishes. I don't think it's right to force those without a southern view to either choose adelphia cable(blech!!) or rabbit ears.

Are there any other options? For example, our complex is very large and has about 50 buildings. Each building has about 15 units. I know there are ways to feed an entire building like this with one or two dishes, but how feasible would it really be? How expensive would it be to install something like this? I personally don't like this idea because it would make the association responsible for installing it. I think we have better things to spend our money on that providing satellite services to some people that might actually prefer cable or nothing at all. I think whoever wants a dish should simply be able to get one, and if they don't want one, fine.

Personally, I think dishes should be allowed as long as they are professionally installed by a certified installer (no do-it-yourself installs unless the person is certified), and the cables are run unobtrusively and the dishes are mounted as unobtrusively and inconspicuously as possible.

Anyways, I need suggestions, opinions and information from anyone willing to give them. I have 3 days to put this together, so any help will be greatly appreciated. If there are any reports anyone knows of concerning these things like property values, insurance, wind speed ratings for dishes, etc... they would be very helpful.