In an exclusive housing development in a community where homes feature premium prices, homeowners are appalled by the installation of Flock cameras. The community is Brentwood where, according to Zillow, homes have an average value just a tick below $795,000, in the Shadow Lake development with its own golf course.
Some residents claim they weren’t told ahead of time about the four cameras installed at the development’s entrances and exits, per ABC 7 Eyewitness News. One resident, The Mercury News reported, said that the cameras felt “pretty invasive.”
The Shadow Lake Homeowners Association (HOA), however, said that several open forums were held prior to installation. They then installed the camera as added security beyond the $300,000 spent annually on twenty-four hour security patrols.
The HOA added that only the development’s management will have access to video captured, kept for thirty days. This statement points to the crux of the debate: can a private organization legally capture data from events occurring on public streets?
Complicated Matters
Although Shadow Lake is a distinct community under the auspices of an HOA, the community is not gated, and there are public-facing streets. Therefore, some residents claim, as a private organization, the HOA has no authority to place Flock cameras on public property.
City officials concur, saying that they did, in fact, approve this system in error. They had mistakenly believed the Shadow Lake application for Flock cameras were part of the program overseen by the Brentwood Police Department.
Next Steps
Once the city revokes Shadow Lake’s usage permit for Flock cameras, a process they’ve begun, acting City Manager Terrance Davis told Mercury News that Flock must remove the impacted equipment.
City officials will also review issued permits more broadly to ensure that similar mistakes were not made elsewhere. To date, they have not found other examples of these cameras on public right of ways being managed privately.
New Issues for HOA Homebuyers
Increasing numbers of communities governed by HOAs are using Flock cameras and similar surveillance technologies, according to the National Association of Realtors. This has led to more questions being asked by buyers as they decide where to purchase a new home.
Because this is a relatively new issue to consider, HOA policies often don’t address the topic. Some buyers may appreciate the extra security while others may not like the reduced levels of privacy in the development.