Neighborhood keeps eyes open




 

 

With a growing concern over community crime and the availability of new technology to combat it, the Three Springs Homeowners Association said it would like to install surveillance cameras at the community’s main entrances.

The HOA met recently with the Westlake Village Public Safety Commission to discuss the plan. The city must give its permission before the HOA can install the security cameras.

The HOA is hoping to install surveillance cameras designed by Flock Safety, which provides a wireless system that scans vehicle license plates. The cameras are charged by a solar panel and store information wirelessly. The HOA would have a year-to-year agreement with the company— meaning the cameras could be removed if the neighborhood decides they no longer want them. Each camera costs $1,500 annually, and the HOA is hoping to install at least six.

Flock says its cameras are designed to capture the license plates of vehicles traveling up to 55 mph, day and night

City Councilmember Kelly Honig said the HOA and the city would have to reach an agreement that would absolve the city of responsibility for the cameras, which will record the license plates of cars entering and exiting the upscale 481-home Westlake Village neighborhood.

“(There are) issues of liability and responsibility for the city, which the city is in the process of researching now,” Honig said. “We have taken that request under consideration, and we have referred it to our city attorney. . . . We would require a ‘hold harmless’ and indemnification agreement from the Three Springs HOA, and that would, of course, have to be acceptable to them.”

If the public safety commission and the HOA can reach an agreement on responsibility for the cameras, the request would still have to be approved by the City Council.

An agreement between the city and the HOA could be drafted as early as this month.

James Silverstein, a resident of Three Springs, said he’s in favor of the cameras. A burglar broke into his home earlier this year while his wife and child were home. He said he feels surveillance is a way to curb crime in the community and help solve any crimes that may occur.

Silverstein is on the Three Springs HOA board, but spoke with The Acorn as a private resident of the community.

“Some residents voiced concerns that they did not feel comfortable with HOA members having access to this footage, so the working model right now is that the HOA would not have direct access,” Silverstein said. “Anyone that was requesting footage would need to contact the Lost Hills sheriff, who would then have the ability to access those cameras for the limited purpose of looking into whatever complaints of criminal activity a particular neighbor raised.”

If the city decides to allow the use of surveillance cameras, the HOA will have to agree to whatever terms are offered to protect the city from any legal issues that may arise from the cameras’ presence.

Even if the city approves the cameras, the HOA will not move ahead with installation right away, Silverstein said.

“If the board was desirous of pursuing the system after the city provided its feedback, we would want to, in some way, shape or form, present a thorough analysis to residents,” Silverstein said. “Then they would know exactly what was being proposed, how much it would cost, how it would work, how it would impact them, the technology that was being pursued, so they could at least provide feedback.”

The HOA sent out a survey to Three Springs residents last year asking if they would like the HOA to pursue obtaining surveillance cameras for the neighborhood, Silverstein said.

“We received 137 responses, that’s roughly 25 percent of the neighborhood,” Silverstein said.

“Of the responses, 81 percent indicated a desire for the HOA to pursue a surveillance camera system. There is support for this.”