Orange County Grand Jury • 2015-2016 • Agency Response
Response to: City of Rancho Santa Margarita

City of Rancho Santa Margarita*

Published: July 14, 2016 5 pages
Ver PDF original

Findings and Recommendations 7 findings

F1
December 2015 and it is probable their unregulated use will pose significant threats to public safety and privacy in Orange County cities and unincorporated areas. Response: Based on the information presented in this report, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita agrees partially with this finding. As stated on of the report, the Grand Jury "restricted examination of the topic of drones to the expanding recreational/hobbyist market and its consequences for Orange County's emergency responders." Accordingly, we cannot fully agree regarding the probability or significance of threats to privacy, as sufficient information regarding this specific topic has not been presented. However, anecdotally, the Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) in Rancho Santa Margarita reports that calls regarding drones primarily relate to privacy issues.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Each City Council should direct its City Attorney to provide a report to the City's police department and City Council on existing laws that can be applied to the use of recreational drones in the city's jurisdiction by December 30, 2016. Response: The City of Rancho Santa Margarita will not implement this recommendation because it is not warranted. The City of Rancho Santa Margarita contracts with the Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) for law enforcement services; we are confident that OCSD is aware of all existing laws that can be applied to the use of recreational drones in the City. Further, County Counsel, not the City of Rancho Santa Margarita City Attorney's office, advises OCSD on such matters.
F2
With the exception of the recent Federal Aviation Administration registration rule, recreational drone owners are largely self-policed, which leads to a wide range of behavior. 22112 El Paseo • Rancho Santa Margarita • California 92688-2824 Phone 949.635.1800 • Fax 949.635.1840 • www.cityofrsm.org Response to 2015-16 OC Grand Jury Report, "Drones: Know Before You Fly." Response: Based on the information presented in this report, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita agrees with this finding. anuary 1,
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Each City should adopt a recreational drone ownership and operation ordinance, with regulations similar to those found in Los Angeles City ordinance #183912, by March 31, 2017, to the extent not preempted or superseded by Federal law or Federal Regulations. Response: The City of Rancho Santa Margarita will not implement this recommendation because it is not warranted. The City of Rancho Santa Margarita believes that regulation of drones should be left to, or directed by, aviation experts. We believe that pending proposed state legislation as well as the proposed FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016 cited in the Grand Jury report would more effectively address drone ownership and operation and provide a more uniform set of rules as compared to a patchwork of local ordinances. Additionally, the regulations recommended by the Grand Jury report do not address the most frequent concerns reported to the City of Rancho Santa Margarita and its law enforcement personnel, which is privacy. Finally, OCSD has adopted current best practices in the enforcement of existing laws that can be applied to the use of recreational drones in the City's jurisdiction.
F3
Most of the cities and unincorporated areas of the County of Orange do not have a drone ordinance, nor do they have any immediate plans to enact an ordinance in the near future. Response: Based on the information presented in this report, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Each City should inform its citizens about laws and ordinances that apply to recreational drone operators through print media, city- related websites, social media sites and/or public forums by March 31, 2017. Response to 2015-16 OC Grand Jury Report, "Drones: Know Before You Fly." IICHO SANTA MA Response: As stated below for recommendation R5, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita will implement this recommendation by December 30, 2016 by publishing at least one e-news article and at least one website posting recommending that drone owners and operators review the recommendations posted by the FAA on www.knowbeforeyoufly.org.
F4
Most of the cities provide no educational programs for public awareness of the safety issues connected to recreational drones. Response: Based on the information presented in this report, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Each City should establish and publish on its website a point of contact for drone-related citizen complaints by December 30, 2016. Response: The City of Rancho Santa Margarita has already implemented this recommendation. The City of Rancho Santa Margarita contracts with OCSD for law enforcement services. OCSD has assembled and trained a group of deputies capable of responding in the field to handle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ("UAV" or "drone") complaints. This group has been established as a specific UAV Unit. Accordingly, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita has established the OCSD as the single point of contact for drone incidents. OCSD contact information is available on the City's website. Citizens can reach the UAV Unit by calling dispatch at (949) 660-7011 for non- emergency and 911 for emergencies.
F5
Some Orange County cities, despite recognizing potential issues with drones, are awaiting drone-related legislative action or other guidance by the State of California or FAA before enacting local ordinances. Response: Based on the information provided, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita agrees partially with this finding. The data provided in the report is aggregated such that it cannot be determined if the same cities recognized potential issues with drones and responded that they are awaiting drone-related legislation or guidance from the State of California or FAA.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Each City should post FAA drone ownership and operation educational links on city-related websites, newsletters, and flyers by December 30, 2016. Response: The City of Rancho Santa Margarita will implement this recommendation by December 30, 2016 by publishing at least one e- news article and at least one website posting recommending that drone owners and operators review the recommendations posted by the FAA on www.knowbeforeyoufly.org
F6
The FAA-required registration of recreational drones provides a useful tool for local enforcement of drone ordinances. Response: The City of Rancho Santa Margarita disagrees with this finding. The report does not demonstrate how the FAA-required registration provides a useful tool for local enforcement of drone ordinances. As stated in the report, the "registration requirement is a powerful tool for identifying owners of drones." The City of Rancho Santa Margarita does not agree that the identification of drone owners would assist in any way with enforcing rules or imposing penalties.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Orange County cities have not established a procedure for reporting drone incidents, which results in under-reporting of drone safety and privacy events. Response: Based on the information provided, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita agrees partially with this finding. It has been established by the stakeholder research provided in the report that most Orange County cities do not have a procedure for reporting Response to 2015-16 OC Grand Jury Report, "Drones: Know Before You Fly." SANTA M drone incidents. The only discussion of under-reporting in the report is expressed in terms of the opinion of the OCSD Bomb Squad on anuary 1, . Accordingly, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita respectfully disagrees with this part of the finding based on a lack of evidence.
No recommendations for this finding

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.