Orange County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
• Agency Response
Response to:
Drones: Know Before You Fly 5/26/2016, 2086 KB
City of Huntington Beach*
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 7 findings
F1
Recreational drones have greatly increased in number since 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. The City agrees with the finding.
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. (F.2., F.3., F.5., F.6.) The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. The Huntington Beach City Attorney's Office is in the process of drafting an ordinance based on existing laws related to the use of recreational drones. It is expected that an ordinance will be effective by October, 2016.
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. The City agrees with the finding. Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5575
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similar to those found in Los Angeles City ordinance #183912, by March 31, 2017, to the extent not preempted or superseded by Federal law or Federal regulations. (F.1., F.2., F.3., F.5., F.6.) Office: 714.536.5575 Fax: 714.536.5233 The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. The Huntington Beach City Attorney's Office is in the process of drafting an ordinance based on existing laws and review of similar ordinances for the regulation of drones. It is expected that an ordinance will be effective by October, 2016.
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. The City disagrees wholly or partially with the finding. While at the current time most cities and the unincorporated areas of the County may not have an ordinance, the City is not in the position to opine on whether those areas have any immediate plans to enact an ordinance in the near future.
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 web sites, social media sites and/or public forums by March 31, 2017. (F.4., F.6.) The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. Along with the consideration by the City Council of a forthcoming drone ordinance, the City will implement educational efforts to inform recreational drone operators through various medium, to include, but not limited to print media, city-related web sites, social media sites, and/or public forums.
F4
Most of the cities provide no educational programs for public awareness of the safety issues connected to recreational drones. The City agrees with the 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. (F.7.) The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. The City is in the process of adding a topic related to complaints about drone operations to its "Pipeline" citizen service request automated process.
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. The City agrees with the finding.
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. (F.4.) The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. Along with the consideration by the City Council of a forthcoming drone ordinance, the City will have information readily accessible on its website regarding drone related guidelines, education, and federal regulations.
F6
The FAA-required registration of recreational drones provides a useful tool for local enforcement of drone ordinances. The City agrees with the finding.
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. The City agrees with the finding. Recommendations
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.