San Bernardino Municipal Code Ch. 9.58 Private Surveillance Equipment

This chapter is intended to prohibit intrusion upon the privacy of citizens in the use of residential property, without impairing the rights of other citizens to protect their own property through the use of private surveillance equipment.

As used in this chapter, private surveillance equipment includes any device used by a private party that enables the user to observe or record the activities of, or hear or intercept the communications of, other persons.

No private surveillance equipment, as defined in § 9.58.020, shall be located on any property that the owner of the equipment does not own or have the legal right to possess.

(A) No private surveillance equipment shall be positioned in such a way as to intrude upon the privacy of the occupier(s) of any residential property other than the user’s property.

(B) Circumstances in which such an intrusion shall be deemed to occur are any one or more of the following:

(1) The equipment is positioned so as to enable the user to observe, or to receive or capture a visual image of any part of the other property that is not readily visible from the public right-of-way;

(2) The equipment is positioned so as to enable the user to hear or intercept communications occurring on the other property that is not readily audible from outside the property without artificial amplification;

(3) The equipment is positioned so as to maintain under continual surveillance any part of the other property, whether or not that part of the property is visible from the public right-of-way. As used in this provision, CONTINUAL SURVEILLANCE means any surveillance that lasts for more than 30 seconds at a time;

(4) The equipment is positioned in such a way that the surveillance it provides is primarily surveillance of the other property and not of the user’s property; and

(5) Any other circumstance in which the use of the equipment constitutes:

(a) Intrusion into a private place, conversation or matter; and

(b) In a manner highly offensive to a reasonable person.

Statutory reference:

Shulman v. Group W Productions, Inc. (1998) 18 Cal. 4th 200, 231, 74 Cal. Rptr. 2d 843, 955 P. 2d 469

A violation of this chapter is a misdemeanor or an infraction and is punishable under Chapter 1.12 or Chapter 9.93 or under both of those chapters.

The provisions of this chapter are severable, and if any provision is held to be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected.

(Ord. MC-1314, passed 9-22-2009)