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SECURITY CAMERAS
QUESTION: Can associations install
surveillance cameras? Doesn't it violate our privacy as owners?
ANSWER:
Yes, associations can install surveillance cameras. However, there are
limitations on where they can be installed. Cameras cannot be installed
in areas where there is an expectation of privacy, such as restrooms and
saunas. In addition, there are limitations on recording conversations
since owners may
have legitimate expectation of privacy regarding their conversations.
SNOOPING DIRECTORS
QUESTION: The board installed
security cameras but won't tell us where they installed the monitors. Can they refuse to give us this information? We are
concerned that snoops on the board are watching us from their own condos.
ANSWER:
Unlike larger associations that have
their cameras monitored by security
personnel, smaller associations with limited budgets turn to volunteers
to monitor the cameras. This creates an unfair burden on the volunteers
and suspicion among owners. Sometimes, directors take their duties too
far and become snoops.
Internet Cameras. To avoid such
problems, more associations are installing security cameras that feed
their signals to a website. This allows all owners to monitor cameras at
any time day or night by simply logging onto the site. The website is
password protected so that only members can review the cameras. This
enhances security and eliminates suspicion about inappropriately aimed
cameras. Owners who see breeches can immediately take appropriate
action. Your association should explore this solution.
ENFORCING VEHICLE CODES
QUESTION: Can associations hire
private security guards to stop vehicles in the community,
enforce speed violations with a radar gun, and ticket for Vehicle Code violations?
ANSWER:
Yes, associations can hire private security officers to patrol the association's
streets and issue tickets. However, boards
should be careful about obligating the association to enforcement of
California's Vehicle Codes.
Security companies are not trained or
equipped to handle the enforcement of state laws. There is more to the Vehicle Code than
speed limits and stop signs. Registration, license
requirements, vehicle safety and a host of driving and safety issues are
included in the obligations assumed by such boards. Telling the
community that the association enforces the Vehicle Code and then
failure to do so could result in liability for the association.
The best policy is to adopt
specific rules to fit the association’s needs. The rules should be
reasonable and connected to the association’s role in maintaining and
governing the common areas. The board can and should adopt rules about
speeding, stop signs, parking, and the like. It is much easier and less
risky for security companies to enforce a limited set of rules than to
enforce the State's Vehicle Code.
RECOMMENDATION.
Boards should consult legal counsel when security issues arise. The
association should also send an
annual notice to the membership
reminding homeowners to take common sense precautions to protect their
own safety and security.
Very truly yours,
Matthew Gardner, Esq.
Adams
Kessler PLC
 THE
CASE OF THE OCEAN
VIEW DECK DENIAL
An Association’s architectural review committee
denied a homeowner’s application to expand their deck because it would impair
their neighbor’s ocean view. The homeowners sued the association, arguing that
their application should have been approved since the neighbor did not have any
right to keep her existing view.
How did the California Court of Appeal rule in
the July 16, 2008 unpublished opinion of Fox v. Corniche Sur Mer Homeowners
Assn? Find out by reading
Kessler's Condo Court. |
