HUNTINGTON BEACH : Above-Ground Cable Boxes Irk Residents

Some residents who live at the south end of the city are unhappy about the recent installation of above-ground cable boxes placed in front of their homes and in their neighborhoods.

Resident Bonnie Cosgrove said that the “big ugly boxes” are offensive.

“As far as I’m concerned, they clutter up the environment,” Cosgrove said. “I just feel that it’s very unattractive and it affects the value of my property and the looks of my neighborhood.”

Neighbors Gary and Wendy Royes also are upset about the cable boxes that will link homes with a high-tech fiber-optic cable system being installed by Paragon Cable.

Wendy Royes said that a cable box, called a pedestal, installed last week between her home and her neighbor’s blocks access to her side yard.

“It limits the use of our property,” she said. “Our major gripe is there was no public hearing to get our views on what they were doing to our area.”

Gary Royes also said that the cable boxes detract from the neighborhood, which has underground utilities.

He added that because of their concerns, the cable company agreed to install the sidewalk pedestal closer to the curb and street, instead of near the property line.

The neighborhood is bordered by Hamilton Avenue on the south between Magnolia and Bushard streets.

Donald D. Weddle, Paragon Cable’s director of public affairs, said last week that the company has received complaints from other residents as well.

“There are going to be a number of people unhappy,” he said, adding that the company wants to work out homeowners’ concerns.

“We want people to have their input. It’s important,” he said.

Richard Barnard, deputy city administrator, said that at the city’s request, the cable company has agreed to notify residents of the installation and to work with property owners to place pedestals in locations that are least intrusive and do not pose a safety hazard.

Weddle said because of the nature of the system, there is not much leeway on the placement of the cable boxes, which are being installed in utility easements and stand no taller than 30 inches.

“We only have a few feet one way or the other to move them and maintain the integrity of the cable system and make it work optimally,” he said.

Late last year, Irvine residents also complained about the installation of pedestals by Dimension Cable, saying that the boxes were ugly and decreased property values.

Weddle said that the cable company is under a franchise obligation with the cities it serves to rebuild the existing cable system.

The $17-million fiber-optic system will nearly double the current channel capacity from 45 to 80 channels and will improve picture quality and reliability, Weddle said. The equipment must be placed above ground since underground moisture could damage circuit boards.

Work started a couple months ago to link the first 2,000 homes in the southern portion of Huntington Beach.

Weddle said that 5,000 of the pedestals will be placed within neighborhoods in the cities the cable company serves, including Huntington Beach, Stanton, parts of Garden Grove, Fountain Valley and Westminster.

By the end of 1996, Weddle said, Paragon Cable will be able to link an estimated 200,000 households within these cities with the new cable system.