A law that took effect July 2011, allowing videotaping and tape recording open portions of monthly board meeting and meeting of the membership. The law reads as follows;
”Persons attending may tape record or videotape those portions of the meetings of the board of directors and meetings of the members that are open. The board of directors of the association may adopt reasonable rules governing the taping of open portions of the meetings of the board and the membership, but such rules shall not preclude such tape recording or videotaping by those attending.”
Some lawyers are have given examples of reasonable rules that could be put before the membership for approval. Some of these rules are actually very stupid and putting it in writing says that the board has a habit of behaving badly. Some of the rules include advanced warning of an owners intent to videotape or tape record a meeting. The device must run on batteries and be set up on a tripod at the back of the room, the board must be given a copy, and cannot obstruct any attendees view. I'm surprised that an attorney would put this in writing. I could see a rule saying that owners who intend to record the meeting need to show up early as to not cause interruptions.
Granted you don't want any interruptions but, its not like someone is going to ask the board to stop because the battery ran out. But, here is the deal. If the board videotaped the meeting and posted it in it's entirety as the official record of the meeting. None of this would be an issue. It's much easier to videotape the meeting than to have written minutes.
Why would advanced warning be needed? Would it cause them to change the agenda or not bring up certain issues? Is it a vanity thing? They should be dressing in business attire anyway.
However, since many boards don't the owners have to. I don't see there is a need for the board to have a copy of every recording or video made of each meeting. Secondly, video recorders are handheld wireless devices that records on disks or tapes. They aren't huge cameras used by the media or to make movies. Haven't they ever gone to a play at their kids school. Parents use handheld camcorders and if they set up one on a tripod its always at the back of the room. If they are old reel to reel cameras the board surely isn't going to get a copy of it. If the board expects to get a copy it's gotta pay for the owner to purchase a CD burner or a tape to tape recorder (I don't think they make these anymore) or the disks and tapes then they can have one. As an owner we have to pay for the copies of any documents we want. Why should we incur the expense of copies for the board? We shouldn't. Because the board doesn't need a copy they have their own or can make their own.
The one rule I've heard that in my opinion crosses the line is restricting what an owner can do with the recording. The recording isn't the property of the board or the HOA. It's the private property of the person recording it. Just at the taping of your kids play is your private property (even though it was recorded on public property if it's a public school) so is the recording of the meeting. The CC&Rs ONLY gives the authority to create reasonable rules regarding the use of the property or development or land. It cannot however, govern or restrict an owners actions while inside their private residence. Actually, this rule says there are problems within the community. If these behavioral problems get out it could cause the board to breach their duties because their behavior caused a drop in property values.
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