Westlake Village Woman Defies Restrictions : Satellite Dish Creating Static for Its Owner

Stephanie Maltz has discovered that satellite dish reception is lousy in Westlake Village--even though her backyard television receiver pulls in 150 channels with clarity.

Neighbors have taken a dim view of the 10-foot-wide dish Maltz has erected behind her home, and they seem to have the law on their side. Outdoor antennas are illegal in the 17,000-home Westlake Village.

The dispute has spilled over into two cities and set the stage for what could become the most rigorous test yet of tough deed restrictions that have made Westlake Village a model among the country’s new planned communities.

Maltz lives in the section of Westlake Village that is in Ventura County and is part of the city of Thousand Oaks.

Residents Reported Her

Residents angered by her defiance of community rules have reported her to that city’s officials for not having a proper city permit for the dish. Planning commissioners have scheduled a hearing on the matter for Monday.

In the part of Westlake Village that is in Los Angeles County, and is incorporated as the City of Westlake Village, the controversy has prompted City Council members to schedule their own review of satellite-dish restrictions for next Thursday.

In the meantime, Maltz’s own neighborhood homeowner’s association is gearing up for a court fight to force her to remove her dish in the event that Thousand Oaks issues her a permit. And Maltz said she is ready to fight back.

“My dish is no more intrusive than a swing set or a patio umbrella,” Maltz said. “You can’t see it from the street. Only one of our neighbors can see it. I’m not going to give up my rights as an American. We’re talking about the First Amendment here.”

But Jim Maurer talks about section 3.02-C of the Foxmoor Hills Homeowners Assn.’s covenants, conditions and restrictions when he is asked about Maltz’s dish. Maurer is president of the association, whose covenant states that “no antenna . . . shall be erected, used or maintained outdoors.”

“I feel certain the CC&Rs; contribute to the environment we have out here. I think a good percentage of the people here appreciate it,” Maurer said Wednesday.

Maurer said his organization occasionally sends out letters reminding residents of the 295-house Foxmoor Hills area to keep their homes painted and their lawns mowed. “We haven’t had to go to court yet but we’ve talked about it,” he said. “We have some reserves we can spend if we have to.”

Crosby Fentress, president of the Westlake Joint Board, a coalition of the 34 Westlake Village homeowner associations from both sides of the Los Angeles-Ventura county line, said each association’s deed restrictions are similarly worded to prohibit external antennas.

“It’s extremely important in maintaining the profile that Westlake has,” Fentress said. “Being a carefully planned community, both in space and appearance, is what’s made this place so attractive and brought so many people out here. It’s what maintains our property values.”

Dish Is ‘Following Me’

Cyndy Comeau, who lives next door to Maltz on Bucksglen Court, said she sometimes thinks the dish is “following me” as it automatically aims itself at overhead satellites.

“We sit out on the back patio every night and eat dinner and there it is,” she said. “People who visit us and see it always say they thought dishes were not supposed to be in Westlake.”

Michael Martello, an assistant Thousand Oaks city attorney, said Wednesday that his city generally issues permits for satellite dishes if the antennas are unobtrusive.

“But whether that permit can be utilized depends on what the applicant has a right to do on his property,” Martello said. “Westlake has very extensive CC&Rs; and people there do want them enforced. I think you will see energetic enforcement over there.”

Martin Rosenberg, Maltz’s attorney, said he plans to argue that the deed restrictions do not apply to satellite dishes because the devices had not been invented when Westlake’s rules were written 25 years ago.

FCC Proposal Pending

“The CC&Rs; talk about antennas, things that extend above roof lines and impinge on the whole neighborhood. They do not talk about satellite dishes that are not visible from the street,” he said.

Rosenberg said he hopes to delay action against Maltz until the Federal Communications Commission votes on a proposed policy that would “preempt” state and local zoning laws that restrict satellite dishes.

The FCC has proposed overriding local restrictions that unreasonably discriminate against satellite receive-only antennas. The FCC said it will take into account aesthetic objectives of local regulations, but that it would want a showing that the rules are the least restrictive method to accomplish that objective.

That proposed policy, which is expected to be extended to cover deed restrictions as well as zoning, is likely to be voted on by the end of the year, FCC lawyer Rosalee Gorman said Wednesday.

In Westlake Village, the issue clearly has raised emotions.

Maltz said she has begun receiving harassing phone calls about her dish. One caller threatened Monday to “blow it up,” she said.

Her husband, Bruce, predicted that satellite dishes will pop up like mushrooms in Westlake Village if they win their battle. “Satellite TV has become an essential part of our lives. Once you get one, you don’t want to have anything else,” he said.