Reminded By Operators That The FAA Regulates Airspace

An anti-UAV ordinance passed by the City of Palm Beach, FL banning most drone flying on the island overreached the city's authority, and they may have to rescind the law.

The Palm Beach Daily News reports that the city's ordinance banned flight by drones and model aircraft in the city limits unless the operator met certain exemptions for law enforcement, or they obtained a permit allowing flights for educational, environmental, or commercial purposes. But the drone and model aircraft community responded saying that the city could not regulate airspace, and last week, Deputy Town Manager Jay Boodheshwar told the Ordinances, Rules and Standards Committee that there are errors in the ordinance as it was written.

Boodheshwar said that regulation of UAVs is "a very fluid issue" and the city would have to either rescind its drone ordinance or revise it to bring it into line with new FAA rules.

He said that the city's drone ordinance should be "general enough to stand the test of time with FAA rule changes, but specific enough to address the concerns we have here in Palm Beach."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.townofpalmbeach.com/index.aspx?NID=385