WELCOME TO BLACKSTONE

THE SAFEST

COMMUNITY IN AMERICA

So safe, apparently, that dozens of surveillance cameras are going up across our neighborhood, recording continuous high-resolution video and running AI analytics that can search for a person by appearance, all managed through a cloud platform.

WE ARE A NEIGHBORHOOD, NOT A NETWORK

This is about what kind of community we want to live in and — and who gets to decide.

COMMUNITY > CAMERAS


UPDATE May 12, 2026

It's not Flock. It's a different system entirely.

The new devices are Verkada CR63-E Remote cameras — AI-powered 4K surveillance cameras that continuously record people, faces, packages, visitors, children, garages, front doors, mailboxes, sidewalks, and common areas 24/7.

According to Verkada's own materials:

  • 4K continuous recording

  • AI person and vehicle analytics

  • Search people by appearance across the network

  • 30-day cloud backup with long-term archive storage

  • LTE-connected, sending footage directly to Verkada's cloud

The Verkada cameras going in now are a fundamentally different product from the older license-plate readers. These run continuous high-resolution video with AI analytics, not just plate capture, and the deployment is far larger. The Board has never released an official camera count or a location map to members. The only visual ever circulated was an unlabeled map in a newsletter, and an owner's count off that map came to roughly 65. That residents have to guess at the number is part of the problem.

Verkada was the subject of a 2024 FTC enforcement action after a hacker accessed 150,000 of its live customer cameras, including feeds in psychiatric hospitals and women's health clinics.

Residents were never clearly informed this system was being installed. They were never shown the governing policy. They were never given the membership vote required under the Bylaws for a project of this scale.

This is not a gate security upgrade. It is a neighborhood-wide AI surveillance system.


UPDATE May 21, 2026

The Board just released the proposed Camera Policy. It's worse than the silence. Members have until June 5 to submit written comments.

We read the policy. Among the problems:

  • The "no real-time monitoring" promise can be overridden by the Board itself

  • The pool deck — where children change in and out of swimwear — is not excluded from camera coverage

  • Residents cannot view footage of themselves except by court order

  • The Board can release stills publicly to identify "persons of interest" for any rule violation, including parking and pet violations

Click here →to read the full policy analysis.

WHAT THIS ACTUALLY MEANS

Young girl riding a bicycle on a paved road during sunset

24/7 recording of every common space and most streets in the community. Pointed at garages, front doors, mailboxes, sidewalks, and the pool.

Not passive. The system:

  • Maps the routine of every household — when you leave, when you return, who comes to your door

  • Logs every visitor, every delivery, every guest at the pool

  • Builds a searchable record of daily life, queryable by appearance, by vehicle, by time

  • Stores it all in Verkada's cloud, accessible to whoever holds the management login

This is not traditional security. This is persistent surveillance of the people who live here.

WHAT’S MISSING

A community-wide surveillance system was installed without the process the Bylaws require.

  • No member vote, despite a capital expenditure that almost certainly exceeds the 5% threshold under Section 2.9.2.

  • No disclosure of the contract terms, total system cost, or vendor selection process.

  • No final, distributed Camera Policy at the time installation began.

The Bylaws exist to require a process for exactly this kind of decision. The process didn't happen.

COMMON QUESTIONS

THIS ISN’T ABOUT BEING “ANTI-SAFETY”

Everyone here wants a safer neighborhood. That is not the question.

The question is whether a community-wide AI surveillance system gets installed without ever asking the people who live here and pay for it.

The Bylaws require member approval for a project of this scale, and the Board won't even disclose the contracts or the cost.

The Board acted as if the rules don't apply. Sign the petition because the rules matter, not because cameras do or don't.

WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR

Four things, all grounded in the Bylaws the Board agreed to follow when it took office:

  • Pause further installation until the Board meets its disclosure and approval obligations under the Bylaws. Fifteen cameras are in. Fifty more are planned. Stop the count where it is until the process catches up.

  • Full disclosure under Section 6.5 of the contracts and total system cost — including the Verkada Command subscription term and termination rights, all hardware and installation expenditures across budget categories, and the status of the cancelled Flock contract.

  • A formal homeowner vote under Section 2.9.2, which requires member approval for capital improvements exceeding 5% of the Association's annual budgeted expenses — roughly $144,000 against the 2025 budget.

  • An audit of access and usage logs for the surveillance systems, with results disclosed to members before the system expands further.

SIGN THE PETITION

SIGN THE PETITION

Add your name. At 35 verified signatures — 5% of our 687 lots — the Board is required to call a special meeting under Section 4.2.6.

A brick sign with the word "Blackstone" written in cursive, surrounded by trees and greenery.