Is this legal?

They probably can force this, however they can also all get elected out of their positions.

Clearly there were some issues in that HOA.

Also, do they have group insurance rates? I think the cost of insurance is more of a factor about rebuilding/repairing the home vs possessions, but you'd think leaving it open all day would potentially raise rates. That being said, it's less of an issue during the day compared to the middle of the night.