Placentia : City Acts to Regulate Satellite Dish Antennas

To regulate what City Administrator Roger Kemp called “those big things that look like something from out of space landed in someone’s backyard,” officials have given preliminary approval to an ordinance regarding satellite dish antennas.

The new law would require a business permit and would regulate the size of the antennas used to receive television programs from orbiting satellites.

City Council members agreed last week that the 25 to 30 antennas already existing in the city will not be affected by the proposed ordinance.

If granted final approval, the ordinance would mandate a building permit for antennas with a diameter greater than four feet, according to Joyce Rosenthal, development services director.

The price of the permit varies. A $3,000 antenna would cost an applicant $49.50 for a permit and $32.05 for a site check, a Building Department official said. The applicant also would be subject to a state fee--50 cents for a $3,000 antenna--and an electrical fee if electrical work is involved, she added.

The proposed ordinance limits the diameter of a ground-mounted antenna to 10 feet in diameter and 15 feet in height, Rosenthal said. An antenna mounted on a roof would be restricted to six feet in diameter and six feet above the highest point of the roof.

About 25 to 30 calls in the past few months about satellite dish antennas prompted the staff to take a look at the issue, Rosenthal said. Already approved by the Planning Commission, the ordinance was opposed by one resident during Tuesday’s public hearing, Kemp said.