Brentwood’s acting City Manager Terrance Davis has begun revoking an encroachment permit that mistakenly allowed a homeowners association to install automated license plate readers on public streets.
The reversal affects the Shadow Lakes development, a nearly 800-home community in the posh Northern California city where four Flock cameras now monitor vehicles entering and exiting the neighborhood. Davis told the Mercury News that Flock Safety must remove the devices and restore affected areas once the permit is formally pulled.
The cameras capture vehicle plates, make, model and color, according to Flock Safety, which states its technology does not use facial recognition. The company says captured data is retained for 30 days. The Shadow Lakes HOA, which operates the system, told ABC7 that “management” serves as the sole administrator with access.
Nathan Fruth, who lives on a street outside the homeowners association, called the situation a “massive breach of privacy.”
“This is not a gated community. It’s a public street, and the people driving on it aren’t all members of the HOA,” Fruth told Mercury News. “If the city wants cameras on public streets, that’s a decision that should be made by the city with public oversight. It shouldn’t be something a private organization can decide on its own.”
Tali Hoffman, whose home directly faces one of the cameras, told the same outlet the setup feels “pretty invasive.”
“I have to keep out of view, not because I am doing anything wrong, but it’s right there. I don’t feel comfortable, and it’s a little creepy.”
Several residents said they had no idea the privately operated system had been installed until the devices appeared. The HOA, however, maintains that residents were informed through multiple communications and that the cameras were discussed at open forum meetings held between November 2025 and June 2026.
“While the Association made multiple efforts to communicate the project, we recognize that individual homeowners may not have seen or opened every communication that was distributed,” the association explained to ABC7.
The HOA said it installed the technology amid ongoing concerns about crime and property theft in Shadow Lakes. Before adding Flock, the association was spending approximately $300,000 annually on round-the-clock roving security patrols. The cameras photograph license plates of vehicles entering and leaving the community and are not intended to provide continuous surveillance of residents or their homes, the association added.
Brentwood officials acknowledged the city issued the encroachment permit under the “mistaken understanding” the cameras were part of the Brentwood Police Department’s existing surveillance network. The department already operates 62 Flock license plate readers, which are reportedly used in accordance with applicable law enforcement rules.
The mistaken approval has sparked broader questions about privately controlled surveillance on public streets. City officials plan to discuss potential regulations governing privately owned Flock cameras at a future City Council meeting.
