Unfortunately my controller is just software on a computer that must have a static IP address. Is there a way I can communicate with APIPA devices from the non-APIPA controller?

I'm not designing the controller device. The controller is just software running on an existing computer, and unfortunately I have no control of the IP settings. If I use link-local addresses for the receivers, wouldn't the controller need to also have a link-local address?

Unfortunately, the IP address of the controller is not in my control, nor is the DHCP server. The only think I can rely on is the receiver devices being on the same physical network.