Orange County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
• Agency Response
Response to:
Drones: Know Before You Fly 5/26/2016, 2086 KB
Drones: Know Before You Fly.*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ 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 this 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 City will work with its City Attorney to establish applicable regulations and provide a report to the City Council concerning the use of recreational drones in the City's jurisdiction
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 this finding.
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similar to those found in Los Angeles City ordinance #183912, by March 31, 2017, to the extent not preempted or superseded by Federal law or Federal regulations.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) The City will work with its City Attorney to adopt a local ordinance by March 31. 2017.
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 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 web sites, social media sites and/or public forums by March 31, 2017. (F.4., F.6.) The City will use its website, social media site, and other print media to educate its citizens about laws and ordinances that apply to recreational drone operators
F4
Most of the cities provide no educational programs for public awareness of the safety issues connected to recreational drones. The City agrees with this finding. www.cityoflapalma.org PHONE 714 690 3350 7821 Walker Street FAX La Palma, CA 90623-1720 714 522 2967
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 City currently does not have a point of contact listed on its website regarding drone-related citizen complaints. A point of contact for such complaints will be posted on the City's website
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 this 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 City will post FAA drone ownership and operation educational links on its website and newsletters by December 30, 2016. Sincerely, ad Godlist Gerard Goedhart Mayor City of La Palma .
F6
The FAA-required registration of recreational drones provides a useful tool for local enforcement of drone ordinances. The City agrees with this 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 this finding. Response to 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.