Driveway easement liability and signage

My home is on what is called a "flag lot" in a new development in California. That is, my lot does not border the asphalt public street, but is accessed via a concrete easement driveway through an adjacent lot which is adjacent the public street. I share this private easement driveway with two other homes and we all would like to know what legal liability we might be exposed to when others who do not have easement rights on our private drive venture in, either on foot, bicycles, in cars, etc.

Children, dog-walkers, and view-seekers often venture in, mainly because these flag lots are atop a hillside that has expansive panoramic views. The private driveway adjacent our three homes terminates at a vehicle barrier and unlocked gate which is intended for HOA landscaping crews to perform maintenance. We are concerned about someone falling down the steep hill beyond the gate, such as a child or intoxicated person, and other issues such as uninvited view-seekers loitering at all hours just outside our front doors.

Are we legally responsible for posting NO TRESSPASSING signs as warning in case there is an incident? Will this protect us at all? Lastly, can the community HOA legally prevent us from posting such signs? Or do we have certain rights to restrict access since we are exposed to liability?

It would appear that you will need to contact the community HOa before you proceed further to avoid any dispute in the future. If you have an agreement/contract with the community HOA, it would also be sensible to consider this before speaking to them.
The boundaries between the pathways and the public areas will need to be considered before a sign can be erected, as this will affect whether a sign can be used and, if so, where the sign can be placed.
It may also be sensible to contact a lawyer to assist you with any liability issues you may have for people using the path. It may be necessary for you to erect signs, possibly including a waiver etc.

aee

Thank you for the response. All good advice.

To clarify, there are no "pathways". To describe it further: The public street is like any other in any typical neighborhood...asphalt with concrete sidewalks on either side. Now picture a (private access) concrete driveway perpendicular to this public street that has a driveway apron like any house would. The driveway in our case, however, is about 150 feet long, leading straight to the hillside cliff with a vehicle barrier at the end like you would see on a freeway. This is to protect a car from just flying off the end. In front of this barrier is an unlocked metal fence about 6 ft. high to let maintenance workers tend to the hillside landscaping. Now off of this long concrete driveway are three homes that each have driveways of their own. This layout makes the common driveway appear as a public drive, but it is not. It's private access for only the three homes. There are no sidewalks on this drive. The no trespassing sign would go at the entry apron immediately adjacent the public street.

The property deed for our three homes states we and only we have ingress/egress easement to/from the public street on the common drive. We carry responsibility for its maintenance and care. Herein lies the problem, that since the drive appears to be public, uninvited cars and pedestrians are constantly venturing down the drive at all hours. The concern is a lawyer would come after us in case of a personal injury claim, etc.

I believe this question whether a sign (as described above) can be posted has been solved, thanks to California Civil Code. The sign cannot be prohibited by CC&R's in that it is not a commercial sign and it is not over 9 sq. ft. in area.