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                           Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of                 )
                                )
Hill Country Real Estate         )       File Number EB-02-DL-078
Development Corp.                )      NAL/Acct.No. 200232500008
Owner of Antenna Structure       )              FRN #0006-7409-14
#1061297 in Junction, Texas      )
Chevy Chase, Maryland            )




           NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE


                                    Released:  September 30, 2002

By the Enforcement Bureau, Dallas Office:

                        I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   In this  Notice of  Apparent Liability  for  Forfeiture 
(``NAL''),  we  find   Hill  Country   Real  Estate   Development 
Corporation  (``Hill  Country''),  owner  of  antenna   structure 
#1061297, apparently liable  for a  forfeiture in  the amount  of 
thirteen thousand  dollars  ($13,000) for  willful  and  repeated 
violations  of   Sections  17.50,   17.51,  and   17.57  of   the 
Commission's Rules  (``Rules'').1   Specifically,  we  find  Hill 
Country Real Estate Development Corporation apparently liable for 
failure to  repaint  the  structure  as  often  as  necessary  to 
maintain good visibility, failure to exhibit required obstruction 
lighting, and  failure  to notify  the  Commission of  change  in 
ownership information.

                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   On February 15, 2002, Greg Albritton, a  representative 
of Hill  Country, stated  that Hill  Country's antenna  structure 
#1061297 was poorly painted and the lights were not  functioning.  
Furthermore, he stated  that approximately  four months  earlier, 
Hill Country had  attempted to refurbish  the structure, but  had 
mistakenly repainted and replaced lights on an adjacent tower not 
owned  by  Hill  Country.   Reports  from  the  Federal  Aviation 
Administration (``FAA'') to the Commission's Dallas Field  Office 
(``Dallas Office'') showed no evidence  that a report of a  light 
outage for this structure had been made to the FAA.  In addition, 
the  Commission's   Antenna  Structure   Registration   (``ASR'') 
database listed the previous owner, and not Hill Country, as  the 
registered owner of this structure.

     3.   On April 2, 2002, the Dallas Office issued a Notice  of 
Violation to Hill Country Real Estate Development Corporation for 
failure to  notify the  FAA upon  determining that  all  flashing 
obstruction  lights  were  not  operating  on  antenna  structure 
#1061297, failure to repaint the structure as often as  necessary 
to  maintain  good  visibility,  failure  to  replace  or  repair 
structure lights, and failure to  notify the Commission upon  any 
change in ownership information.  Hill Country responded to  this 
Notice of Violation on  April 22, 2002,  stating in part:  ``Upon 
its purchase of the tower, Hill required [the previous owner]  to 
remove the  repeater equipment  within  30 days  of the  date  of 
purchase  agreement.   The  equipment  removal  left  the   tower 
standing 199 feet tall, thus removing the tower from the  purview 
of the Commission's lighting and marking requirements.  A  TOWAIR 
determination performed on  the Commission's  web site  indicates 
this structure,  at  its actual  height  of 199  feet,  does  not 
require registration  [and  thus  did  not  require  painting  or 
lighting or notification to the FAA].  Thus, Hill did not violate 
[the quoted sections of the Commission's Rules].''  This response 
included  a  printout   of  Hill   Country's  referenced   TOWAIR 
Determination  Results   indicating   that   Hill   Country   had 
incorrectly entered the ground elevation above mean sea level  as 
``NaN'' or zero meters above  mean sea level.  In addition,  Hill 
Country stated that  they purchased  the structure  on April  30, 
2001.  A bill  of sale  obtained from the  previous owner  showed 
Hill Country purchased the  tower on March  16, 2001.  The  FCC's 
ASR database showed that Hill Country notified the Commission  of 
the ownership change on March 20, 2002.

     4.   On May  29,  2002,  an agent  from  the  Dallas  Office 
inspected  Hill  Country's  antenna  structure  #  1061297.   The 
structure was rusty orange over  its entire length with no  paint 
banding visible.  At  9:15 PM  CST, the agent  observed that  all 
lights on the tower structure were inoperative.  

     5.   On June 10, 2002, the Dallas Office received a  follow-
up response from Hill Country  stating they had requested an  FAA 
Determination of  ``No Hazard''  and  that an  FAA  Determination 
issued on May 6, 2002 stated that the structure did not present a 
hazard to air  navigation provided that  the structure be  marked 
and/or lighted in accordance with FAA Advisory Circular  70/7460-
1K, Obstruction Marking  and Lighting, Chapter  3 (Marked), 4,  5 
(Red), & 12.  Hill Country stated in this response: ``Pursuant to 
the FAA's Determination, Hill has commenced the process of having 
the Tower marked and  lighted.''  Subsequent correspondence  from 
Hill Country indicated that the tower was properly lit as of June 
28, 2002 and properly marked on or about July 6, 2002.

                        III.  DISCUSSION

     6.   Section 17.50 of the Rules requires antenna  structures 
requiring painting under this part to be cleaned or repainted  as 
often as necessary to maintain good visibility.  Section 17.51 of 
the Rules  requires that  red obstruction  lighting be  exhibited 
from  sunset  to  sunrise.   Hill  Country's  antenna   structure 
#1061297 was required to be painted and lighted as prescribed  in 
the structure's FAA  Determination of ``No  Hazard'' and the  FCC 
Antenna Structure  Registration.2   These  requirements  were  in 
effect prior to Hill Country reducing the structure height.  Hill 
Country claimed that the reduction in the structure height to 199 
feet removed  the  painting  and lighting  requirements  for  the 
structure.  The reduction in the structure height to 199 feet did 
not alter the structure's  painting and lighting requirements  as 
confirmed by the FAA Determination  issued on May 6, 2002.   Even 
after the May 6,  2002, FAA Determination,  Hill Country did  not 
repaint and did not repair the  lights on the structure until  on 
or  about  July  6,  2002,  and  June  28,  2002,   respectively.  
Therefore, from at  least February  15, 2002, until  on or  about 
July 6, 2002, Hill Country failed to maintain good visibility  of 
the structure's  required  obstruction markings.  From  at  least 
February 15, 2002, until on or about June 28, 2002, Hill  Country 
failed to exhibit the required obstruction lights.  In  addition, 
Hill Country failed to report the light outage to the FAA.3

     7.   Section 17.57 of  the Rules  requires the  owner of  an 
antenna structure  for which  an Antenna  Structure  Registration 
Number has  been obtained  to immediately  notify the  Commission 
upon any  change  in  ownership information.  From  the  date  of 
purchase of the  antenna supporting structure  on March 16,  2001 
until March 20, 2002, Hill Country did not notify the  Commission 
of the change in ownership information.

     8.   Based on the evidence before  us, we find Hill  Country 
Real Estate  Development Corporation  repeatedly4 and  willfully5 
violated Sections 17.50, 17.51 and 17.57 of the Rules by  failing 
to repaint the structure as  often as necessary to maintain  good 
visibility, failing to exhibit required obstruction lighting, and 
failing to notify  the Commission  upon any  change in  ownership 
information.

     9.   Pursuant to  Section  1.80(b)(4)  of  the  Commission's 
Rules,6 the base forfeiture amount  for failure to file  required 
forms or information,  such as the  required notification to  the 
FCC of changes in ownership information, is $3,000, and the  base 
forfeiture amount for failure to comply with prescribed  lighting 
and/or marking specifications  is $10,000.  Section  503(b)(2)(D) 
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''), requires 
us to take into account ``... the nature, circumstances,  extent, 
and gravity of the violation,  and with respect to the  violator, 
the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability 
to pay,  and  other  such  matters  as  justice  may  require.''7  
Considering the entire record, and applying the statutory factors 
listed above, this case warrants a $13,000 forfeiture.

                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     10.  Accordingly, IT IS  ORDERED THAT,  pursuant to  Section 
503(b) of the  Act,8 and Sections  0.111, 0.311 and  1.80 of  the 
Rules,9 Hill  Country  Real  Estate  Development  Corporation  is 
hereby NOTIFIED of  this APPARENT LIABILITY  FOR A FORFEITURE  in 
the amount of thirteen thousand dollars ($13,000) for willful and 
repeated violation  of Sections  17.50, 17.51  and 17.57  of  the 
Rules by failing to repaint  the structure as often as  necessary 
to  maintain  good  visibility,   failing  to  exhibit   required 
obstruction lighting, and failing  to notify the Commission  upon 
any change in ownership information. 

     11.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of 
the Commission's Rules, within thirty days of the release date of 
this NAL, Hill Country Real Estate Development Corporation  SHALL 
PAY the full amount  of the proposed forfeiture  or SHALL FILE  a 
written  statement  seeking  reduction  or  cancellation  of  the 
proposed forfeiture.

     12.  Payment of  the forfeiture  may be  made by  mailing  a 
check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the  Federal 
Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection  Section, 
Finance  Branch,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  P.O.  Box 
73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.  The payment should note the 
NAL/Acct. No. and FRN referenced above.  Requests for payment  of 
the full amount of this NAL  under an installment plan should  be 
sent to:  Chief, Revenue  and Receivables  Operations Group,  445 
12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.10

     13.  The  response,  if  any,  must  be  mailed  to  Federal 
Communications Commission,  Office  of the  Secretary,  445  12th 
Street, SW,  Washington,  DC  20554,  Attn:  Enforcement  Bureau-
Technical  &  Public  Safety  Division,  and  MUST  INCLUDE   THE 
NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.

     14.  The Commission will not consider reducing or  canceling 
a forfeiture in response  to a claim of  inability to pay  unless 
the petitioner  submits: (1)  federal tax  returns for  the  most 
recent  three-year  period;  (2)  financial  statements  prepared 
according to generally accepted accounting practices  (``GAAP''); 
or (3)  some  other  reliable and  objective  documentation  that 
accurately reflects  the petitioner's  current financial  status.  
Any claim  of inability  to pay  must specifically  identify  the 
basis for the claim by  reference to the financial  documentation 
submitted.  

     15.                                                IT IS 
FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL shall be sent by regular 
mail and Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Hill Country 
Real Estate Development Corporation, 5454 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 
720, Chevy Chase, MD  20815. 


                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                         

                              James D. Wells
                              District Director, Dallas Office
                              Enforcement Bureau
_________________________

1 47 C.F.R. §§ 17.50, 17.51, & 17.57.
2 The FAA's painting and lighting recommendations set forth on 
the structure's FAA determination of ``no hazard'' are mandatory.  
See 47 C.F.R. § 17.23.
3 See 47 C.F.R. § 17.57.
4 Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2), which 
applies equally to Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that 
``[t]he term `repeated,' when used with reference to the 
commission or omission of any act, means the commission or 
omission of such act more than once or, if such commission or 
omission is continuous, for more than one day.''
5 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which 
applies equally to Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that 
``[t]he term `willful,' when used with reference to the 
commission or omission of any act, means the conscious and 
deliberate commission or omission of such act, irrespective of 
any intent to violate any provision of this Act ....''  See 
Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387 (1991).
6 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
7 47 U.S.C. § 503 (b)(2)(D).
8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.