A motorist driving a small Toyota hatchback turned into the Laurel Oak neighborhood off Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota County on an afternoon in late February.
As the driver made his way through the community entrance, a camera inside the private subdivision captured the car going 39 mph. The speed limit was only 25 mph. Within a month, an unusual citation arrived in the mail demanding $125 — issued not from police or the sheriff’s office, but from the neighborhood HOA that controls the street.
The Laurel Oak Estates and Country Club homeowners' association has begun issuing speeding fines using automated license-plate readers and speed-capturing cameras, penalizing not only residents but anyone who drives through the neighborhood.
This HOA’s practice — part of a growing national trend encouraged by private technology companies like Flock and Traffic Logix — raises questions about privacy, the delegation of law enforcement powers to private entities and the broader implications of surveillance technology in everyday life.
For years, law enforcement has turned to the technology to monitor speeds in school zones, check motorist plates for outstanding warrants and catch others breaking the law. Officials have even used the cameras to aid in immigration crackdowns.
Now private HOAs are getting in on the action, installing these same cameras in their neighborhoods to catch infractions on tape — shifting what were long considered police functions into the hands of private citizens and blurring the lines between public and private responsibilities.
Under Florida Statute 720.305, homeowner association fines “may not exceed $100 per violation against any member or any member’s tenant, guest or invitee.” The statute also allows for a maximum fine of $1,000 for “a continuing violation.”
The fees imposed by Laurel Oak rise to $200 for captured speeds of 41 mph or greater, the infraction letter states.
Like a speeding ticket from authorities, fines from HOA cameras require a 14-day notice and a hearing before a neutral committee, in this case a homeowner’s board, which must decide by majority vote if the fine is justified and notify the driver within seven days.
But unlike a ticket from official government authorities, failing to pay the fine does not deduct points off a motorist's license, jeopardize their legal ability to drive in any way or impact or insurance rates.
Instead, it only may “result in further (HOA) board action,” a copy of a ticket provided to Suncoast Searchlight notes. This could go only as far as the HOA prohibiting a certain vehicle from re-entering their subdivision — or liens on property if the violator lives there, authorities said.
Laurel Oak is not the only area HOA sending tickets. The Landings in Sarasota and Rosedale in East Manatee County have similar programs, joining a growing trend in neighborhoods across the state.
Experts who track technology in policing say the increasing use of these cameras — and their spread to homeowner groups or other private buyers — has created a “Wild West” situation with no oversight of private personal data.
“When you know where a person’s been, you know all about them,” said Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Whether they’ve been to a movie or a protest. These have been used to track who goes to a gun show. And all of this is in the hands of governments and corporate entities that can sell it.”
Representatives from the Laurel Oak HOA declined to comment for this story.
Area law enforcement confirmed to Suncoast Searchlight that the practice is legal — and insisted that because these are private streets, it is out of their hands.
“These are civil matters between the vehicle owner and the HOA,” Sarasota Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Dana Judge wrote in an email to Suncoast Searchlight.
With local policing largely absent on these private — and often gated — roads, some area HOA attorneys pointed to the need for speed enforcement with the resources available to these neighborhoods.
“A lot of it comes down to liability,” Sarasota HOA attorney Scott Petersen said. “What happens if a car is going too fast and hits somebody? The HOA would be liable. To show they’re taking steps and doing something, a lot are turning to this technology.”But even Petersen said that, while it may be legal, it might not always be justified for the drivers. He especially understands the growing privacy concerns — and cited how his own HOA where he lives uses a license plate reader to track everyone who is coming and going.
“I share some of those concerns,” he said. “Where does this information go? It’s a private company. So I have a lot of sympathy with folks who have privacy concerns. None of us really understand how far and wide the data is shared."
Flock and Traffic Logix: A growth industry of surveillance
Already a growing staple of law enforcement, companies like Flock Safety and Traffic Logix are now marketing their license plate readers and speed cameras specifically to HOAs and private communities as crime prevention and public safety solutions.
On its website, Traffic Logix posts an eight-step guide laying out the process on how gated communities and HOAs like Laurel Oak can use the technology on their private roads. A 5-minute promotional video features HOA testimonials from different clients who said the cameras were more effective than signage alone.
Marketing material on the company website touts that community speeds can be reduced by as much as 91% in three months. It also notes that these speeding tickets “can be used to generate revenue to fund other HOA programs.”
The company even encourages residents in these communities to prepare presentations to pitch these cameras to their HOA boards and city officials.
The exact number of HOAs using technology from companies like Traffic Logix or Flock are not publicly available.
But Flock Safety reports that more than 5,000 communities use its cameras across the country. A significant portion of that business — over 40% as of 2021 — comes from HOAs and other private neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, more than 400 HOAs around the country use Guardian speed cameras from Traffic Logix, according to the company website. Traffic Logix advertises 3-year terms to lease a speed camera for “under $400 a month.”
It’s a controversial model catching on statewide. The Country Club Harbour HOA near Panama City installed two similar traffic cameras in its subdivision in 2022.
Off the other coast in St. Augustine, the Gran Lake HOA took similar steps the following year after vandals targeted Christmas decorations, now scanning the plates of every car driving in and out of the neighborhood.
Representatives from Flock and Traffic Logix did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Police leave enforcement to HOAs on private roads
One of the early upscale subdivisions to rise east of Interstate 75 — where tennis legend Monica Seles once lived — the 406-home Laurel Oak neighborhood is considered picturesque Sarasota.
Rows of palms and towering oaks flank a winding 18-hole golf course that snakes through ponds and manicured lawns. Estates in the neighborhood routinely top $1.5 million.
It’s also a community with no tolerance for speeding.
The Laurel Oak HOA uses Traffic Logix Leddar speed cameras, which use advanced Leddar technology to detect vehicle speeds then capture images of violator plates for enforcement, which are then mailed out to the drivers. Tickets in the subdivision range from $75 to $200.
“The Laurel Oak Community Association Inc. instituted a traffic calming and enforcement program to better control and eliminate speeding, running stop signs and careless driving within Laurel Oak,” the fine letter states. “The Association believes solving these problems is fundamental to keeping the neighborhood safe as such actions endanger the driver of the vehicle, our children, other residents, guests, golfers, walkers, runners, bicyclists and wildlife.”
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said the HOA never contacted the agency about the legality of the fines. The agency has not spoken to Laurel Oak, and the HOA did not seek any guidance from the SCSO traffic unit regarding their speed camera.
The agency added that it has “heard that The Landings subdivision does this, as well. There may be others, but we are not aware of them.” Suncoast Searchlight confirmed the camera in The Landings.
“We are not concerned about these HOAs using speed cameras,” Judge, the agency’s spokesperson, said in an email. “They have nothing to do with law enforcement.”
Judge added the agency was not aware of any circumstance where these cameras have interfered with any law enforcement operations. If needed, the Sheriff’s Office does have access to any data collected by anyone using these private camera systems, Judge noted.
In Manatee County, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Randy Warren said that “to his knowledge” the agency also has not received complaints or been made aware of residents being fined for speeding by their HOAs.
But at least one person who spoke with Suncoast Searchlight said they received a similar speeding fine in the Rosedale Golf and Country Club in East Manatee. MCSO did not dispute the legality from them doing so.
“As long as the roads are private, not public roadways, committees often impose rules for parking, etc…and maybe, in some cases, for speed,” Warren said in an email.
HOA speed cameras raise privacy worries for some
Across the country, civil liberties groups have raised questions about the growth of these privately operated surveillance tools, including concerns over how data is collected, stored and shared.
They worry these cameras and license plate readers could be used beyond basic speeding enforcement — like tracking resident whereabouts, monitoring visitors coming and going and feeding into larger databases accessible by law enforcement.
This location-based information collected over time can reveal intimate details of a person’s life, such as where they work and live, where they pray, where they seek medical treatment and even their personal connections, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Experts pointed to a lack of oversight on how personal data collected and stored from these devices are redistributed. They question if much serious crime is really being solved by the cameras.
“These license plate readers have been with us for going on two decades — but it’s exploding in popularity now,” said Schwartz, with the EFF. “They are popping up in more communities, on more corners, and it’s a growing threat.”
Kevin Edwards is a Sarasota attorney who represents more than 100 HOAs in the region. When reached by Suncoast Searchlight, he was surprised to learn that Laurel Oak was using a digital license plate reader for citations.
“I have not heard of that,” he said. “If it’s coming from the HOA, it’s usually on private roads, and they know by the car whose vehicle it is.”
He said that, while HOAs can issue these fines, most in the area do not use this technology and only pursue such infractions when they know the violator — like a troubled resident who constantly breaks rules despite warnings.
But he sees no privacy concerns with the growing practice, even if controversial license plate readers are deployed.
“I don’t see any privacy issues with it,” Edwards said. “As long as they’re given an opportunity to go before the (HOA) committee, they have their due process and can present their case.”
Representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida could not be reached for this story. But in past public statements, the ACLU has blasted the practice as an invasion of privacy rights. Like EFF, the organization recommends that interested HOAs beware of the unintended consequences.
“The growth of license plate readers is creating a world where nobody can go anywhere without being tracked,” the ACLU of Florida said in one statement. “The tracking of people’s location constitutes a significant invasion of privacy.
“Members of homeowners associations and other private parties should think twice about contributing to a nationwide surveillance system that can be abused in so many ways — including by their own neighbors.”
This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
