HOA say I can not fly

Having had the unfortunate experience of having been an HOA president, all I can say is this. Check your HOA bylaws. Most HOAs do not have any rules against drones, as they have not been around long enough, but that can be easily remedied and they can pass a bylaw soon at a board meeting. What you need to do is be informed and present the city ordinances and educate the board before they meet to propose or pass any bylaw that pertains to drones. It is a much easier battle before they pass it than after.

My second suggestion is to kill them with kindness and educate them. Most people are paranoid and believe they are being imposed upon, very much like some of the conversations in this forum. I am not blaming anyone but my point is that people tend to jump to a conclusion that works against you before they get the facts, and once they have come to a conclusion it becomes much harder to change their minds.

In summary, check your HOA bylaws and then check the city ordinances and make sure you have all of it printed and available to the board to present an informed point of view. I would also check to see if realtors are using drones services for sales purposes to further support your cause.

Good luck with it.
 
Somewhere there a 50 sheet book of all the rules and regulations. Find it and read it I seriously doubt it in there but you need to know. HOA make stuff up ALL THE TIME.

But they are just ONE "the ayes have it" away from PUTTING in that book!
 
I had quite the opposite experience today. I live in a suburban neighborhood without an HOA. As I was flying this afternoon, a neighbor's car driving by pulled over and stopped. The driver leaned out her window and asked "Are you flying a drone?" I groaned inside, expecting a tense conversation. Her response to my answer in the affirmative was "Neat! I've been wanting to get one of those - now I will." You never know how people might react - some are enthusiastic about seeing your drone flying overhead!
 
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I'm a Director on my HOA board. All of us currently on the board work full time and have young kids. In the case of our HOA, we aren't looking to rule the world. I say this just to make the point that not all HOAs are flag pole-banning enemies of personal freedom. Our board exists to take care of common areas, maintain some basic standards, and maintain a sense of community. I recognize that my HOA may not be typical, but not all HOAs are bad. Ours used to be ruled with an iron fist, but by changing the make up of the board we changed the culture. If you don't like how your HOA is being run, volunteer and fix it!

We've never had any resident complaints about 'drones', and if we did we would most likely refer the complainer to the local authorities initially & let them deal with it (or not). We would only consider acting on a complaint if there was a clear pattern of complaints by multiple residents, and plenty of evidence of validity of the complaints. Once a pattern emerged, we would start by asking the operator to modify their flying so as not to disturb neighbors (via our nuisance clause). If the pattern continued, we send a series of letters ultimately resulting in a fine. Adding and amending rules is a pain in the *** & is unnecessary in most cases, and we aren't about to go through all that for flying toys.

I remember the first time I saw someone flying a drone from up close. The creek nearby was flooding and a couple guys launched from the park next to my house to get some footage. This was 2 or 3 years ago and there was no FPV, and they flew within maybe a 500 ft horizontal distance. They probably maxed out at 60 ft AGL and they flew & hovered over my back yard. I was both fascinated and annoyed at the same time. I did, in my gut, feel like my property was being violated. I didn't approach the operators because I didn't want to be 'that guy', but I did decide then & there that I wanted a quad. Had these fellows hovered low over my yard on a regular basis, yes - I would have approached them and engaged in a conversation. Now, present-day me, being a pilot myself I would definitely go say hi as a fellow enthusiast. So you see, perspectives change over time.

I have heard personal anecdotal stories about some other yahoo in town flying slow & low at 3 AM, which did freak some people out... Most of these quads look pretty much the same from the ground, so it is impossible to distinguish that one from mine (especially at night), so I had to explain that it sure as hell wasn't me. This illustrates how easily just one inconsiderate pilot can add to the fear/hype and mess it up for the rest of us. I hope the OP takes that into consideration before intentionally flying near his complaining neighbor's house so he can hear it.

All interactions I've had when flying have been curiosity/fascination. I do try to be mindful of the golden rule when I fly: As another post said, if I am over the neighborhood I keep it high and keep it moving. I also try to avoid passing near the same place too many times in a session unless I'm out in the open. Yes, I have a right to fly however I'm not bent on pushing the boundaries of that right & I try to respect the rights of others as well as their perceived rights.
 
I'm a Director on my HOA board. All of us currently on the board work full time and have young kids. In the case of our HOA, we aren't looking to rule the world. I say this just to make the point that not all HOAs are flag pole-banning enemies of personal freedom. Our board exists to take care of common areas, maintain some basic standards, and maintain a sense of community. I recognize that my HOA may not be typical, but not all HOAs are bad. Ours used to be ruled with an iron fist, but by changing the make up of the board we changed the culture. If you don't like how your HOA is being run, volunteer and fix it!

We've never had any resident complaints about 'drones', and if we did we would most likely refer the complainer to the local authorities initially & let them deal with it (or not). We would only consider acting on a complaint if there was a clear pattern of complaints by multiple residents, and plenty of evidence of validity of the complaints. Once a pattern emerged, we would start by asking the operator to modify their flying so as not to disturb neighbors (via our nuisance clause). If the pattern continued, we send a series of letters ultimately resulting in a fine. Adding and amending rules is a pain in the *** & is unnecessary in most cases, and we aren't about to go through all that for flying toys.

I remember the first time I saw someone flying a drone from up close. The creek nearby was flooding and a couple guys launched from the park next to my house to get some footage. This was 2 or 3 years ago and there was no FPV, and they flew within maybe a 500 ft horizontal distance. They probably maxed out at 60 ft AGL and they flew & hovered over my back yard. I was both fascinated and annoyed at the same time. I did, in my gut, feel like my property was being violated. I didn't approach the operators because I didn't want to be 'that guy', but I did decide then & there that I wanted a quad. Had these fellows hovered low over my yard on a regular basis, yes - I would have approached them and engaged in a conversation. Now, present-day me, being a pilot myself I would definitely go say hi as a fellow enthusiast. So you see, perspectives change over time.

I have heard personal anecdotal stories about some other yahoo in town flying slow & low at 3 AM, which did freak some people out... Most of these quads look pretty much the same from the ground, so it is impossible to distinguish that one from mine (especially at night), so I had to explain that it sure as hell wasn't me. This illustrates how easily just one inconsiderate pilot can add to the fear/hype and mess it up for the rest of us. I hope the OP takes that into consideration before intentionally flying near his complaining neighbor's house so he can hear it.

All interactions I've had when flying have been curiosity/fascination. I do try to be mindful of the golden rule when I fly: As another post said, if I am over the neighborhood I keep it high and keep it moving. I also try to avoid passing near the same place too many times in a session unless I'm out in the open. Yes, I have a right to fly however I'm not bent on pushing the boundaries of that right & I try to respect the rights of others as well as their perceived rights.
Very well put!
 
I'm a Director on my HOA board. All of us currently on the board work full time and have young kids. In the case of our HOA, we aren't looking to rule the world. I say this just to make the point that not all HOAs are flag pole-banning enemies of personal freedom. Our board exists to take care of common areas, maintain some basic standards, and maintain a sense of community. I recognize that my HOA may not be typical, but not all HOAs are bad. Ours used to be ruled with an iron fist, but by changing the make up of the board we changed the culture. If you don't like how your HOA is being run, volunteer and fix it!

We've never had any resident complaints about 'drones', and if we did we would most likely refer the complainer to the local authorities initially & let them deal with it (or not). We would only consider acting on a complaint if there was a clear pattern of complaints by multiple residents, and plenty of evidence of validity of the complaints. Once a pattern emerged, we would start by asking the operator to modify their flying so as not to disturb neighbors (via our nuisance clause). If the pattern continued, we send a series of letters ultimately resulting in a fine. Adding and amending rules is a pain in the *** & is unnecessary in most cases, and we aren't about to go through all that for flying toys.

I remember the first time I saw someone flying a drone from up close. The creek nearby was flooding and a couple guys launched from the park next to my house to get some footage. This was 2 or 3 years ago and there was no FPV, and they flew within maybe a 500 ft horizontal distance. They probably maxed out at 60 ft AGL and they flew & hovered over my back yard. I was both fascinated and annoyed at the same time. I did, in my gut, feel like my property was being violated. I didn't approach the operators because I didn't want to be 'that guy', but I did decide then & there that I wanted a quad. Had these fellows hovered low over my yard on a regular basis, yes - I would have approached them and engaged in a conversation. Now, present-day me, being a pilot myself I would definitely go say hi as a fellow enthusiast. So you see, perspectives change over time.

I have heard personal anecdotal stories about some other yahoo in town flying slow & low at 3 AM, which did freak some people out... Most of these quads look pretty much the same from the ground, so it is impossible to distinguish that one from mine (especially at night), so I had to explain that it sure as hell wasn't me. This illustrates how easily just one inconsiderate pilot can add to the fear/hype and mess it up for the rest of us. I hope the OP takes that into consideration before intentionally flying near his complaining neighbor's house so he can hear it.

All interactions I've had when flying have been curiosity/fascination. I do try to be mindful of the golden rule when I fly: As another post said, if I am over the neighborhood I keep it high and keep it moving. I also try to avoid passing near the same place too many times in a session unless I'm out in the open. Yes, I have a right to fly however I'm not bent on pushing the boundaries of that right & I try to respect the rights of others as well as their perceived rights.

This is how all pilots should fly. I had a fellow neighbor say the neighbor behind them the other day was flying a drone in the backyard and I guess it was hovering for a bit and automtically she assumed they were spying on them. I had to explain how drones work and that camera's on drones don't have zoom lenses and also that the operator maybe was just test flying it because they never saw it again. I told them next time they see it up, just pop over the fence and let them know that you feel uncomfortable about it. The person might be feel bad and not fly there again or they could be d*cks. If any of my neighbors told me they felt uncomfortable, I would absolutely fly elsewhere or not too close to their house.
 
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So here's a copy of the letter they sent me, along with a copy I'm sending back to them from my attorney. Thoughts?
 

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So here's a copy of the letter they sent me, along with a copy I'm sending back to them from my attorney. Thoughts?

My only suggestion is perhaps you substitute the word Drone with Unmanned Ariel System (UAS) since the term drone has such a negative connotation and the term UAS is becoming more common to describe them.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
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I assume you have your own private lot and that this is not a muti-family unit (Townhouse, duplex, etc.).

It looks like you're in the clear for now.

As I stated many posts back the HOA (Directors) has control of the Common Areas not your parcel/lot/etc.
It requires Membership vote to address parcel/lot usage regulations (which they could 'put up' for vote at a duly called meeting at some time in the future).

In the meanwhile note that their [HOA] complaint DOES NOT address any nuisance or privacy concerns or complaints.
 
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I read it as they did a quick google search for drone, came up with the FAA site and figured they were the first to ever discover you're supposed to register them or be careful around planes, and they figured they had a quick easy out - a defense no one could get around. My answer would not have been so polite. Good luck with this!
 
They way over stepped their grounds on that one along with not even caring enough to do a spell check of their unprofessionally written dribble. I would fly and educate your neighbors to help them see a UAV for what it is. As far as for the guy who started this, I would turn up the heat on him with flaming bags of poo daily... lol.
 
I live in a home that is part of an HOA and so far they seem like they are ok. They have not given me any issues about my quadcopter.

We did have a series of meetings last year regarding solar on rooftops. The board said that the HOA still needs to comply with federal laws so they aren't going to (nor can they) outright ban solar but they did write up a draft around the style of solar (has to been the good looking kind that costs a little more, flush on the roof (no angled ones), and on roofs only (no solar farms in your backyard), etc.) but they did say that they would defer to any local and federal laws.

So I would think that in this case, as long as the laws say that you're fine to fly, you should be able to fly...or maybe cry discrimination against pilots?

With that said, I believe that I am the only one who flies in my neighborhood and I always fly really high and keep it moving. I'm guessing that if I were to fly low and hover right at the window of a neighbor they wouldn't take it so kindly.
 
So here's a copy of the letter they sent me, along with a copy I'm sending back to them from my attorney. Thoughts?

There are only a couple things that stand out to me... all in all - the logic of what your Attorney is saying makes perfect sense to me.

#1. Before you send the letter - have you tried explaining exactly what your Attorney said to the HOA? The only reason I suggest this is - once you get an Attorney involved the situation will escalate - and you might be able to solve your situation by just explaining where the HOA is mistaken and see if you can handle with a simple conversation (then you always have the Attorney letter in your back pocket if they don't want to listen).
#2. I don't know why - but the last sentence of the second to last paragraph seems to "poke the bear" at bit... of course they are in the business of defending their clients rights... does that really need to be said? The letter itself makes that clear IMHO. Otherwise, the letter seems to point out where the HOA is in error in their thinking and their authority,

Just my 2 cents - good luck
 
I actually think that entire paragraph about inalienable constitutional rights is unnecessary.

Otherwise I think it's a clear enough response.

Probably a bit of a nit but while you are at it, you can also educate the HOA to tell them that the drone operator is registered with the FAA and that proof of registration is physically attached to the drone per legal requirements.

The HOA doesn't sound like the sharpest tools in the shed so I would over-explain a little bit in the part around the 5 mile radius noting that the drone operator is in compliance by notifying the airport tower his flight plan and times to fly as well as noting that the operator is careful to fly outside of the 5 mile radius as well.
 
Very interesting indeed.
Like I have posted earlier, the cows and the corn out here don't really give a rats a$$ about my quadcopter, I mean drone. But I am interested in how this turns out. I do have neighbors, and I am sure they are wondering what the hell I am doing with that "thing" flying around the field. Sooner or later someone is gonna wanna know. That's when I will try to do some of that edumacating to 'em.

Until then, I will just stay out of the way and way up in the air at my ceiling of 400 feet. Well maybe 300. I kinda like that altitude. Things work good for me at that spot, and fly my drone like a ten year old flying a kite in his back yard..........lol
 
It just doesn't seem feasible to me that the HOA can make any rules when anyone outside the HOA can fly into the same area...
 
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That's very true. Someone from just outside of the HOA could fire up a drone and fly it right through that neighborhood. And the OP will get blamed for it.....
I can see something like that happening for sure. Never thought of that part of it.
 

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