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The legal article linked below was blogged by an attorney targeting associations (HOAs) and real estate developers claiming:

". . . the use of drones raises novel legal issues that developers and associations should consider and plan for. Developers should consider including certain restrictions in homeowners’ and condominium governing documents, and associations should begin planning for whether they should regulate the use of drones within the association, how they should regulate the use of drones, and how they can minimize potential liability arising from the use of drones."​

Drones Are in the Air and "Should Also Be on Associations' Agendas” - Berger Singerman Law Blog

The article raises some generally good points; and generally "informational"/"public service" pieces like this are a good way for legal professionals to promote their skills and raise potentially important issues. (Which is a kind way of saying: articles like this leverage fear to churn new business by raising red herrings. As such, the content should be considered in the context of an author's agenda.)

My primary reason for starting this thread is to raise awareness. Those who have to live with overly oppressive HOAs and other associations may want to get a head start in heading them off at the pass through education, demonstration, and responsible conduct.

My secondary reason is to suggest to the xPilots site administrators and moderators that they might want to consider creating a sub-section within the forums to raise and discuss legal issues (such as the one raised above) not addressed by FAA Rules & Regs or elsewhere.
 
Why a dedicated forum? It sounds alarmist.
There's ample avenues for such here already.
HOA boards can't govern airspace. Most can't govern use of personal property (lots) or limited common areas use (for take-off/landing) without a community vote. Apathy is usually dominant and makes this difficult. At least that's my experience in the 3 HOAs I've lived in.
Know your rights!!!
 
I believe I used the words "suggest" and "sub-section". I never implied it required its own forum. But I'm not sure that the Rules and Regulations sub-section under General would do the category justice [no pun intended] as it seems to narrowly pertain to FAA issues. But I'm neither a site administrator or moderator, consequently, it's not my call to make.

"Alarmist" is your word and (respectfully) mischaracterizes a general intent to "inform" and discuss potential issues in the face of a raising ground swell of media "noise" in both the press and social media channels, including this site.

FWIW
YMMV
 
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There's been several similar discussions here over the years.

We'll add this to the list.

Ground swell? You read one article and that's a ground swell. Despite all the alarmist fears of drones being regulated out of existence there's more in use every day.

Drones like HOAs are a life-choice and only effect a small portion of society.
 
In many condominium developments, the owners only exclusively own the air space within their units, with all other areas being common areas jointly owned by all. As such, a condo HOA could legally prohibit all take offs from and landings onto the land and buildings within the property, if the condo association adopted such a rule. If you live in a condo, and fly from there or from anywhere on the condo property, this type of HOA rule adoption could directly affect you.
 
There's been several similar discussions here over the years.

We'll add this to the list.

Thank you!

Ground swell? You read one article and that's a ground swell.

On the contrary, I track a number of areas of interest including legislation, legal cases and issues relating to UAVs in commercial/professional, municipal, military, recreational and other uses. The above article is but one that caught my interest. I just finished dealing with clearing title restrictions on some commercial real estate and know how tedious and expensive removing restrictive covenants (especially property use restrictions) can be. In that regard, the above article has potential merit.

There are a number of threads in this and other forums discussing cases; case law; and pending and proposed legislation imposing regulatory restrictions on UAV flight. Some have merit, others are just plain silly. They're scattered all over the place; and in some cases there's more noise, misinformation, and ego being exchanged than good information. My personal opinion is that there's an opportunity to consolidate and educate.

. . . there's more in use every day.

You have an astute grasp of the obvious.
 
In many condominium developments, the owners only exclusively own the air space within their units, with all other areas being common areas jointly owned by all. As such, a condo HOA could legally prohibit all take offs from and landings onto the land and buildings within the property, if the condo association adopted such a rule. If you live in a condo, and fly from there or from anywhere on the condo property, this type of HOA rule adoption could directly affect you.
Precisely my point. Same is applicable to most property developments; apartments, low income housing, commercial/industrial developments, municipal growth projects, recreational use projects, etc. Equally relevant are cases where legislators heavy handedly over-regulate without consideration to broader implications and consequences (like that never happens.)
 
Precisely my point. Same is applicable to most property developments; apartments, low income housing, commercial/industrial developments, municipal growth projects, recreational use projects, etc. Equally relevant are cases where legislators heavy handedly over-regulate without consideration to broader implications and consequences (like that never happens.)
Indeed. They may not be able to regulate the airspace above the property, but they can restrict how you access it, and penalize you in other ways for flying over the property, if they know it is you. A golf course suspended my membership for flying over the course from outside their property! I had to promise to never fly over the golf course again to restore my membership and ability to play golf! :eek:
 
. . . A golf course suspended my membership for flying over the course from outside their property! I had to promise to never fly over the golf course again to restore my membership and ability to play golf! :eek:
That's unreal! (And petty.) They'll assert leverage on a member, yet likely have no authority over non-members who (unless its municipally restricted) can probably fly with impunity. Begs the question of whether you have equity rights (if it's that kind of club; but I digress).

I photo-mapped my cousins property last week. Their home happens to be located in a development that encapsulates a golf course. The golfers were making more noise than my quad (and usually do.) Now waiting for the drone nazis to make an appearance [not].
 
That's unreal! (And petty.) They'll assert leverage on a member, yet likely have no authority over non-members who (unless its municipally restricted) can probably fly with impunity. Begs the question of whether you have equity rights (if it's that kind of club; but I digress).

I photo-mapped my cousins property last week. Their home happens to be located in a development that encapsulates a golf course. The golfers were making more noise than my quad (and usually do.) Now waiting for the drone nazis to make an appearance [not].
Precisely! Were I not a member, they would have had no leverage, since they have no legal jurisdiction! Now I get blamed for every drone seen over the golf course, but they won't ever be able to see me launching or landing like before, since it isn't me! Not worth the risk! :eek: Bummer, too, because I used to fly the drone after every round, and shared the videos with my golf buds! Great place to fly! :(
 
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My secondary reason is to suggest to the xPilots site administrators and moderators that they might want to consider creating a sub-section within the forums to raise and discuss legal issues (such as the one raised above) not addressed by FAA Rules & Regs or elsewhere.

Isn't this already in a dedicated sub-section? Maybe someone else moved it here but it's sitting in Rules & Regulations forum now.
 
Perhaps when and if we cite laws or regulations we should always include the jurisdiction. I live in Canada for example and nowhere within our HOA am I 75 meters or more away from a building to take off and satisfy Canadian law. I am sure other countries have their own little quirks and regulations. Just sayin'....
 

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