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A GROUP of homeowners have been warned not to walk through their own front yards due to low-hanging wires dangling dangerously overhead.
The cables are so low that some have said they hover just 9.5 feet from the ground.
Residents in Hunters Creek North, a neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, claim to have been left in limbo for years after a project to bury power and communication lines was announced.
CPS Energy began the work in 2022, but a cluster of six homes was left out and face what they call a growing hazard, MySA reported.
“I would not walk underneath that line on that sidewalk,” a Spectrum contractor told Keith Wilson, one of the affected residents.
Neighbors said they have been told by both CPS Energy and Spectrum contractors to avoid going under the drooping cables.
A sidewalk runs directly beneath the cluster of lines, some of which now sag under tree branches.
If that isn’t the worst part, residents have said that none of the lines are even providing them with service.
“These are to feed Hunter’s Creek. We’re in Hunter’s Creek North,” said Michele Saunders, who has lived there since 2017.
Saunders said the work was supposed to be finished by late summer 2022, but her section of the street was left with hanging lines and aging poles.
When she contacted the HOA, she said she was told nothing could be done because her section had never joined the HOA.
“CPS Energy can confirm the undergrounding work scheduled for the Hunters Creek area has been completed,” a CPS Energy spokesperson told MySA.
“In the short term, CPS Energy is evaluating a solution with the telecom provider to raise the lines on our poles in this specific area.”
Neighbors, however, are not convinced.
Saunders believes the issue is being ignored because their homes, built in the 1980s, aren’t part of the newer development.
She also thought Spectrum was to blame for loading up the lines with cable over time.
HOA crackdowns in the US
States across the country are working to restrict the power of HOAs.
- In Minnesota, lawmakers introduced a bill that would require HOA boards to create a schedule of fines and fees and distribute it to homeowners; ensure homeowners can contest an HOA fine; provide reasonable time to correct rule violations; and outlaw the practice of charging homeowners for asking questions.
- In Arizona, lawmakers are cracking down on HOA budgets. Under a newly proposed law, HOA boards would have strict guidelines for how they approve expenses.
- In Florida, a bill was passed that restricts the amount of control HOAs have over tenants’ property. It also stops HOAs from fining homeowners for leaving trash cans out and holiday lights up.
- In Atlanta, bipartisan bills were introduced to reign in overly aggressive HOAs to protect homeowners.
- In California, a new bill requires HOA elections to be monitored and the board to comply with certain homeowner requests.
- In Colorado, new HOA rules require greater transparency between HOA board members and tenants.
- And the Federal Fair Housing Act sets housing standards for all homeowners, tenants, and landlords.
The added weight has caused lines to sag, and the wires now sit dangerously close to where children walk.
Wilson recalled seeing a school bus dropping kids off near the loose cables.
“I watched a kid walk out of the bus directly underneath the line that has those two logs stuck in it, and it just scared me to death,” he said.
He tracked down the child’s mother and warned her.
She now tells her son to walk on the opposite side of the street.
Residents say they have tried reaching out to District 8 leaders for help, but haven’t seen any action.
The district office claimed they facilitated talks between CPS Energy and residents, but neighbors want more.
CPS Energy is publicly owned and partly overseen by the San Antonio City Council.
So far, the only fix suggested includes adding another “temporary” line or making the six homeowners pay $50,000 to bury the existing ones.
“One of the techs said to me, ‘Well, you guys are the customers. We do whatever you want, but you’d have to pay for it,’” Saunders said.
“And our answer to that is … you need to finish what you started,” she added.
“These people should not have to pay for it. And where are they going to raise the money to do that? Bake sales?”
