DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Question about local regs (US)

geauxnola

Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Messages
6
Reactions
2
I was on another site that talked about various regulations based on your state. Apparently there is a small town in my state that passed an ordinance basically making it illegal to fly over and city owned property.

I know in San Francisco they do not allow drones in parks. Basically if you read the letter of the law, they can’t prevent you from flying over a park but you can’t land on city owned property.

It’s my understanding the rules of the air fall under the jurisdiction of the FAA so in the small town example wouldn’t that be unenforceable as they do not have the jurisdiction to regulate airspace? Thoughts?
 
I was on another site that talked about various regulations based on your state. Apparently there is a small town in my state that passed an ordinance basically making it illegal to fly over and city owned property.

I know in San Francisco they do not allow drones in parks. Basically if you read the letter of the law, they can’t prevent you from flying over a park but you can’t land on city owned property.

It’s my understanding the rules of the air fall under the jurisdiction of the FAA so in the small town example wouldn’t that be unenforceable as they do not have the jurisdiction to regulate airspace? Thoughts?
There's much that you can do without resorting to legal action. Start by contacting your local representatives by phone, email, and/or letter. Escalate higher if you need to.

Some municipalities pass ordinances that conflict with other laws and are simply passed without thought to legalities. They're allowed to sit on the books because they're never challenged.

For instance, I was told I couldn't fly at an unoccupied soccer field. There was a local ordinance that said you can't fly in county parks. State law said local municipalities can't make their own uas ordinances. A few emails back and forth with the parks director and I was allowed to fly in the park as long as the field was unoccupied and I followed AMA guidelines.

Be the change! Good luck. Fly safe, fly smart.
 
  • Like
Reactions: geauxnola
I was on another site that talked about various regulations based on your state. Apparently there is a small town in my state that passed an ordinance basically making it illegal to fly over and city owned property.

I know in San Francisco they do not allow drones in parks. Basically if you read the letter of the law, they can’t prevent you from flying over a park but you can’t land on city owned property.

It’s my understanding the rules of the air fall under the jurisdiction of the FAA so in the small town example wouldn’t that be unenforceable as they do not have the jurisdiction to regulate airspace? Thoughts?
As Sar stated it is contrary to federal law but doesn't mean they won't try to enforce it. If you can please state the name of the small town. Sometimes they have exceptions to anyone certified under the FAA. I always keep a copy printed of the FAA Statement–Federal vs. Local Drone Authority which goes over this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JSKCKNIT
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,996
Messages
1,558,732
Members
159,984
Latest member
jack_0851