I wanted to make sure I was being lawful before attempting to operate my MA2 over the beach to get those awesome dune shots as well as some long exposure shots of the waves.
I’ve been told several times by many people that under no circumstance can you fly a drone over the beaches here but I could never find anything actually stating that.
I researched online until my eyes bled so I decided to reach out to local law enforcement.
So, after emailing the St Augustine Beach Police Department (SABPD) The Police Chief took the time to email me back promptly.
I won’t attach the email traffic here for PII reasons but if you’d like a copy you may PM me if you’re looking to fly in the area and would like the printout.
The response:
“St. Augustine Beach falls under the St. Johns County Beach Code. Per the county beach code, it is unlawful to launch or land a drone on a county beach. It doesn't specify about flying over the beach though after launching and landing from another location.
Hope this helps.”
So, as you can see, it IS legal to fly over the beach here in St Augustine as long as you’re not launching or landing on the beach itself.
I’ve been told several times by many people that under no circumstance can you fly a drone over the beaches here but I could never find anything actually stating that.
I researched online until my eyes bled so I decided to reach out to local law enforcement.
So, after emailing the St Augustine Beach Police Department (SABPD) The Police Chief took the time to email me back promptly.
I won’t attach the email traffic here for PII reasons but if you’d like a copy you may PM me if you’re looking to fly in the area and would like the printout.
The response:
“St. Augustine Beach falls under the St. Johns County Beach Code. Per the county beach code, it is unlawful to launch or land a drone on a county beach. It doesn't specify about flying over the beach though after launching and landing from another location.
Hope this helps.”
So, as you can see, it IS legal to fly over the beach here in St Augustine as long as you’re not launching or landing on the beach itself.