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Trying to Stop Our Drone Flying

tca

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I live in a gated 55+ golf community [ 90% of the 1200 residents are retired ] at this time "we" the home
owners are in the process of buying the two golf courses from the builder....we will also be combing
with our sister development to make "one community." During one of the meetings of the board that is in charger of writing the new rules for the combined communities it came out that one of the
rules which had been on the books since 2015 of the community was this:

"9.J. DRONES. Drones and all forms of unmanned aerial vehicles are not permitted
on, in, or over the Amenity Facilities or District (s) property at any time without the written authorization of the District, except as permitted by law or regulation
of an applicable entity.”


I would say that we have about 15-20 drone pilots in the community and we have all been flying
for a number of years with NO problems....needles to say the drone pilots are really pissed and
don't want things to change. A friend of mine who is on the board that will decide the outcome
has drafted up a letter and now its just wait and see. I am attaching a copy of the letter and looking for any comments/suggestions;




Draft
2.21.2019

REQUEST: Review of reconsideration of policy statement regarding DRONES in proposed
Joint Amenities Policies/Provisions.

BACKGROUND: Since the publication of the last distributed copy of the proposed Joint
Amenity Facilities Policy discussed and consideration at the Joint CDD's meeting on
Tuesday 2.19.2019. I have heard from several Lake Ashton residents who consider
themselves hobbyists flying drones. Each had expressed concern with the statement regarding
drones that appears in the proposed policy that reads:

"9.J. DRONES. Drones and all forms of unmanned aerial vehicles are not permitted
on, in, or over the Amenity Facilities or District (s) property at any time without the
written authorization of the District, except as permitted by law or regulation
of an applicable entity.”

Each drone hobbyist appears concerned that this policy statement as written, may be interpreted
to mean that their personal non-commercial drones may be effectively grounded and that they may not fly their drones over street, lakes, ponds. preserve areas, houses, golf course property, etc.

All I've spoken with appear the be aware and knowledgeable of current FAA registration,
Drone weight; flying height; multiple unit simultaneous flight; sight line; time-of-day; and hazardous materials.

Further, all noted that they share community concerns about resident privacy and security, as well as proper insurance coverage should a drone fall and damage a common area, private property, or harm someone in the community.

The currently proposed statement is taken directly fro the November 2017 Lake Ashton CDD adopted Amenity Facilities Policy. The Lake Ashton II CDD Board - adopted policy in 2016 makes no mention of "drones."

ACTION REQUESTED: Restatement of policy statement to a "permissive" context.

....more to be developed including a proposed policy statement.
 
A problem there . . . while actually on the property they could be able to stop people flying, but with not permitted on, in, or over the Amenity Facilities
you'd have to ask if they would have any authorisation to ban flying over the property.

Without digging into our profile, not sure where you are located, but flying over in airspace should fall under your local air authority like FAA CAA or CASA etc.

That said, it will make life hard for you and the other 15 - 20 residence there to enjoy one of your hobbies, so I would get those pilots together and form a soft of taskforce to draft up a letter in reply to this proposal.
Advise past drone flying in the area safely, how you all enjoy you hobby, and could work with the community to promote the golf course, assist with some footage etc for them to promote any public access etc.

You may have to negotiate an area you can fly, or particular times out of normal hours you can overfly the golf course etc.
Pilots may have to get a little more advanced licensing and / or insurance to satisfy the community all will be safe and accountable.
Better to work with the committee than try and fight this.

Good luck, hopefully you can work it out.
 
It might make them feel better if pilots are required to pass a test that shows knowledge of the current rules. You could be more helpful and write the test for them.

Another idea would be to form a community flying club and require club membership before being allowed to fly. The club would establish the rules and enforce them. By organizing you might even get more participation and establish a positive perception of our sport.

The legalities of either suggestion are questionable but it might work in your favor. I know in the USA the FAA controls the airspace but the takeoff and landing is controlled by whoever owns the land. If you establish the rules and require participation it may make it less likely that some yahoo would be buzzing people and ruin it for everyone.
 
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In the meantime, this past Monday, a child was hit and injured in my HOA by a woman texting while driving, an issue I've raised with them several times at the community meetings. The wording on my association is the exact same as yours and my brother's in Hawaii. This makes me believe they're copying and pasting each other or a lead HOA organization. They rolled the drone policy out without any input from the community.
 
Thank goodness I live in the country. Recently sold a townhouse in a small mixed use community where I was president of the POA for several years and had to “fight” other board members and owners that at times wanted to limit rights of other owners just because it wasn’t something they did / liked - my view was that “less is more” and we had to preserve the rights of owners as much as possible. Shame more don’t share that view
 
Oh, boy. I see where this one is going. Someone will break the rules as set forth and then the security detail will be called. That person will complain about being unduly restricted. Security will call Police. What a headache.

Have you read the story that @Lapeer20m posted about his arrest in Michigan for flying in a park and the park police detained / arrested him?
I was arrested for flying a drone *updated with video*
 
Could you fly a kite there?
Is it a noise issue?
Keep in mind that in some of these HOA's you can't even fly a flag...BUT that rule was in place when you moved in. To "backorder" a no fly rule may not be to the HOA's advantage. I would think at the very least those of you who were there before this issue came up should not be restricted. Once a new regulation is penned it should only apply to the members who were aware of such a restriction before buying and moving in.
Is there any restriction on operating a ultralight aircraft from or over the property?

Also what about the next trend. What if golf carts in a couple of years were possible to hover or fly or operate in some new way they do not do now are they going to forward think this or "backorder" a rule there.
Remote control lawnmowers similar to the house vacs you can buy now. Same concept just a different machine.

At the end of it all this i think is your biggest problem....gated 55+ golf community. Sounds like you live in 1550931788547.png
mikemoose55
 
I can't see the problem here.
It's private property and they are banning all unauthorised drones.
That stops anyone flying in etc or using one eg roof surveys etc without checking in with the ammenity authorities.

I am assuming residents will be given authorisation for their UAVs?
They may require insurance or a competency test but that seems reasonable.

OTOH if they are using it as a blanket way of stopping residents flying that is a bit different.
IF there are 20 or you who fly and I assume others who don't who do not object you should beable to have the proposed rules modified.
 
I would take the position that the “except as permitted by law” clause clearly permits flying within FAA rules. I would be very aggressive about that. And that compliance with the FAA rules guarantees safety. Let them sue you. I think you would win on that.

As far as the you can’t ban me because it’s private property that fails because owners have already agreed to be bound by association rules at the time they bought. You can voluntarily agree to give up your “rights” as long as it’s not unlawful
 
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Asking to be "grandfathered" in to the residents that are exempt as thier rules and regulations did not prohibit UsAS flights at the time you procured your residence might be a good stance.

I remember years ago they banned all 2 Stroke Jetski's from being operated on Lake Tahoe. As they stated they were oil spitters and polluted the lake due to mixing oil within the gas that they combusted.

Thats where the Keep Tahoe Blue stickers came into existence.
1550949881660.png

There was an exemption to that ordinance. All local residents WERE allowed to operate thier 2 Stroke JetSki's and watercrafts. They were "grandfathered" in to the regulation that existed before the new regulation was enacted.

This has allowed Lake Tahoe
water to become 99.994% pure, making it one of the purest large lakes in the world. For comparison, commercially distilled water is 99.998% pure. Tahoe contains roughly 60 parts per million of dissolved matter.
 
I do not know what the exact procedure is, but maybe you can get a AMA airspace waiver.

also you might want to have one of you guys take the part 107 test? I am only throwing out suggestions. at least you will know the rules, for air space around your area. but it still sounds like that there are a lot of other things that you have to concern before you fly your drones.
 
I have decided I want know part of “ HOA’s”.
Those are run by people that don’t think there are enough laws and join forces to make their own. I have had friends that had trouble installing outdoor ham radio antennas or tv antennas because of HOA rules. Even had them tell me an outdoor dog run had to be approved and made with specific decorative materials if it was permitted at all. Stay clear of HOA’s at all costs.
The problem isn’t about your drones, it is mostly the others not wanting the noise and or privacy threat. There are more people in that camp than the drone rights camp. So just find somewhere away from haters to fly.
Or, if you are the type, start a legal war and spend time and money trying to sway or override someone else’s wishes. Even if you win, you lose.
 
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So glad I don’t live in an HOA governed home and I never will.
Good luck and hopefully the flying can continue for you at/in/near/above/on your own property [emoji106]
 
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