DronesCalifornia city could become first in the state to ban drones

The City Council in Rancho Mirage, California was set  to vote yesterday on a proposal which would ban the use of drones in residential areas in the city. If it passes, it will be the first law of its kind in the state.

USA Todayreports that the ordinance would ban the flying of “unmanned aircraft that can fly under the control of a remote pilot or by a geographic positions system (GPS) guided autopilot mechanism” up to 400 feet above areas that have been zoned residential. Any drone which is capable of flying higher will be under the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Civil liberty advocates have expressed their concerns in California and  other states about drones that can fly at low altitudes with cameras and even weapons attached to them. About thirty states are debating laws which will restrict the use of drones by law enforcement, requiring the police  to prove probable cause for a warrant.

Cities in Virginia and Minnesota have passed their own drone laws to limit the use of surveillance drones, and flying a drone in the city over a homeowner’s property.

In Rancho Mirage, the ordinance was brought to the city council by a citizen  who was  annoyed with the sound of a neighbor’s hobby.

“It sounded like a weed-eater, or weed whacker, and I wondered, ‘Who’s out doing their landscaping on a Sunday afternoon?’” Steve Sonneville, who was trying to relax in his backyard about six weeks ago, told USA Today. “Then I heard it getting louder and louder, and I looked up and realized it was coming from overhead.

“It was slowly going back and forth over the backyard of my home,” Sonneville added. “I knew right away what it was and what was going on.”

Sonneville eventually found the two men piloting the drone.

“I told them, ‘I don’t think you should be flying that in a subdivision, we have an expectation of privacy.’ And they were very cooperative, and basically understood what I was trying to get at,” Sonneville said.

Sonneville e-mailed Rancho Mirage’s mayor Scott Hines the next day expressing his concerns.

Hines, who received an iPad-controlled drone for his birthday last year, believes the language in the ordinance may be a bit too broad. “I think individuals should be able to use their own property and perhaps common areas of communities to enjoy the technology with their families. Where one crosses the line is by infringing on the privacy of others,” Hines told USA Today.

Peter Bibring, a senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said that a new bill is being introduced in the California Senate that will state that drones do fall under current invasion of privacy laws.

It is unknown when the council will vote on the ordinance.