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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
⚠️ 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 7 findings
F1
Page 276
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.
F2
Page 276
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.
F3
Page 276
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.
F4
Page 276
Most of the cities provide no educational programs for public awareness of the safety issues connected to recreational drones.
F5
Page 276
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.
F6
Page 276
The FAA-required registration of recreational drones provides a useful tool for local enforcement of drone ordinances. REPORT 7 Drones: Know Before You Fly 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury
F7
Page 277
Orange County cities have not established a procedure for reporting drone incidents, which results in under-reporting of drone safety and privacy events. RECOMMENDATIONS In accordance with California Penal Code Section 933 and Section 933.05, the 2015-2016 Grand Jury requires (or, as noted, requests) responses from each agency affected by the recommendations presented in this section. The responses are to be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court. Based on its investigation titled “Drones: Know Before You Fly”, the 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury makes the following nine recommendations:
Recommendations 9
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R1Page 277Each 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.)
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R2Page 277Each 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.,
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R3Page 277Each 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.)
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R4Page 277Each City should establish and publish on its website a point of contact for drone-related citizen complaints by December 30, 2016. (F.7.)
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R5Page 277Each City should post FAA drone ownership and operation educational links on city-related websites, newsletters, and flyers by December 30, 2016. (F.4.)
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R6Page 277The Orange County Board of Supervisors should direct County Counsel to provide a report to the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department and the Board of Supervisors on existing laws that can be applied to the use of recreational drones in county-governed parks and unincorporated areas by December 30, 2016. (F.2., F.3., F.6.)
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R7Page 277The County should adopt a recreational drone ownership and operation ordinance similar to Los Angeles City Ordinance #183912 for the parks and unincorporated areas under its jurisdiction by March 31, 2017, to the extent not preempted or superseded by Federal law or Federal regulations. (F.1., F.2., F.3., F.6.) REPORT 7 Drones: Know Before You Fly 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury
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R8Page 278The County should inform its citizens about laws and ordinances that apply to recreational drone operators through print media, County-related web sites, social media sites and/or public forums by March 31, 2017. (F.4., F.6.)
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R9Page 278The County and each City should formally gather data on recreational drone incidents within their jurisdictions and review these data annually and report the results publicly. The first analysis and publication should occur within 1 year of the publication of this report. (F.1., F.2.,