drones in community association Tag Archives

July 14, 2017

Use of Drones by Homeowner Gets Tempers Soaring at Florida HOA Community

by Roberto C. Blanch

Roberto C. Blanch

The use of drones by owners and residents of units in HOA and condominium communities has created concerns across the country over potential privacy and safety issues for community association managers and their boards of directors. Sales of drones to consumers in the U.S. are expected to grow from 2.5 million in 2016 to 7 million in 2020, according to a report from the FAA. As the popularity of drones continues to soar, associations will need to come to terms with how they wish to address their use within their communities.

At the FishHawk Ranch community in the Tampa area, the use of drones by a homeowner has created such an uproar that it drew the attention of local TV news. The area’s CBS affiliate recently chronicled the battle that is brewing in the community over homeowner Frank Bragg and his collection of a half-dozen drones.

April 5, 2017

Residents of Florida HOA Speak Out Against Association’s Use of Drones

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The residents of the Concord Station community north of Tampa in Land O’Lakes, Fla. recently shared their complaints and confusion with a reporter from one of their local television stations over their HOA’s use of a drone equipped with a camera in their community.

The residents indicate in the station’s report that they received an online notice from their HOA alerting them that it would be flying the drone, which the association confirmed that it operated over the community in addition to a vehicle equipped with a mounted camera.

The residents who expressed their opposition to the HOA’s use of a drone were concerned about the invasion of their privacy, especially if the drone is recording video of their backyards. One of them indicates: “If the drone is flying above my property, I’m going to consider that a trespass to our property and we’re going to take appropriate measures to make sure that we protect our privacy rights.”

The property management company for the association explains in the report that they are using the drone to chronicle all of the physical characteristics of the community in hopes of helping to avoid the possibility of homeowner hassles in the future. The video from the drone is being used for documentation of the state of the community, which is now transitioning from a developer-controlled association to one that is controlled by the unit owners. The company also noted that the aerial images and video could also be used for promotional and marketing purposes in the future.

January 31, 2017

Florida Community Associations Responding to Soaring Popularity of Drones

by Roberto C. Blanch

Roberto C. Blanch

The growing use of drones by consumers across the U.S. is leading to the adoption of new rules and restrictions by the federal government, state governments and community associations. Questions regarding safety, property damage and privacy abound with drones, and associations are responding by establishing clear parameters for their use by unit owners.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration enacted new regulations for the use of unmanned aircraft systems, which are more commonly referred to as drones. For recreational users, the FAA now requires that drones must be properly registered and labeled with the registration number. They must only be flown below 400 feet and always within sight of the operator, and they are banned from use near other aircraft and airports as well as over groups of people, stadiums, sporting events, or emergency response efforts.

Privacy concerns over the use of drones with cameras were addressed by a new Florida law that was enacted last year. The law stipulates that drones with cameras may not be used to record images of privately owned properties or of the owners, tenants or occupants of properties in violation of their reasonable expectations of privacy without their written consent. Reasonable expectations of privacy are presumed if individuals are not observable by others located at ground level in a place where they have a legal right to be, regardless of whether they are observable from the air with the use of a drone.