[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Federal law supercedes community rules. That means the community rules are invalid. This means, from a legal standpoint, that the rule needs to be removed. It -cannot- be complied with, yet new homeowners who don't spend hours reading government websites and the deed restrictions of a 100k+ community aren't likely to know that, nor would it occur to them to even check. It's not a grey area. It's clearcut. The Villages is not, by law, allowed to impose this particular rule on its residency.

This makes one wonder what OTHER rules it's imposing on its residency, that it isn't allowed to impose, that people are following blindly because they a) don't know better or b) don't care. Everyone tells each other right here on this very forum, that if we don't like the rules, either don't move in, or move somewhere else.

Seems no one knew about the antennae part. Why not? Why didn't any of YOU - who already live there - know about this? Why didn't you know it was a rule, AND why did you not know that the rule was not legal to impose? Why did you sign to agree to abide by this rule, that is legally not allowed to exist? What OTHER rules have you agreed to abide by, that isn't legally allowed to exist? Which illegal rules have cause the Community watch group to infract homeowners, who should not have been infracted, because the rules were not legal to exist? How much money in fines have been paid to the Development group as a result of infractions of rules that were illegal to enforce?

I'm not calling for a protest, or mutiny, or rile up the masses. I'm asking why people who live here and say "stop complaining, you knew the rules coming in" don't already know about this stuff? I'm asking them to "know of what ye speak" before coming down on people asking questions here. Yes, I know the rule going in. But thanks to this forum, I also know that one of those rules cannot legally be enforced (the antenna rule). That makes me wonder why the rule was put in, in the first place. Maybe it was put in before federal law decreed otherwise, and the authority of the Villages just never bothered to remove that rule. How many people are paying for cable, when they could have antennae and no cable instead? How many residents would have preferred it that way, but read the rules, saw it was a restricted activity, and just sucked it up and paid for some other method when they didn't have to, because federal law allows it?

And why would anyone here be upset about my pointing it out? ESPECIALLY when I'm just repeating back what Chellybean posted - that federal law supercedes community rules. If it does, then it stands to reason that the community rule is invalid and needs to be removed.