The Lompoc City Council was scheduled to discuss a proposed city ordinance concerning unmanned aerial vehicles on Jan. 16. To some, these are toys much like model airplanes, to others they are tools, and to still others they are a nuisance and an intrusion on their privacy.
The military, police, and fire agencies use these aircraft for important reconnaissance work during emergencies. Farmers, engineers, developers, surveyors, environmental scientists, geologists, miners, foresters, and many other specialties use them to help with their work.
In private use they began as harmless toys designed to amuse men, women, and children who had them. Soon though, a toy became far more sophisticated as cameras and leveling gyroscopes were added to give the operator an airborne view of his surroundings without flying in a piloted airplane.
This is where problems began; people didn’t like the idea of someone “peeping” on them from above, and they began to complain. This was particularly troubling to entertainment personalities and executive protection services.
The issue became further complicated when operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) began flying over emergency areas where retardant dropping aircraft, helicopters, and other piloted public safety tools had to stop being used until the UAVs were located and removed. Of course, this further aggravated the emergency.
Early in the life of these devices, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) didn’t have rules established concerning where they could fly. With no rules, it was left up to the operator to fly his craft safely; this wasn’t working since some people thought it was “fun” to harass neighbors, their pets, and other aircraft.
The FAA requires you to register your UAV, label it with a registration number, and fly it below 400 feet elevation. Other rules include not flying while impaired by drugs or alcohol; not flying near crowds, emergencies, near other aircraft, in controlled airspace (e.g. airports), or public events. You can find more information at faa.gov/uas/.
You can buy a sophisticated personal use UAV with a camera at any big box store or online; they are sometimes expensive, but readily available. But registering it appears to be voluntary by the new owner. Of course, if you sell it to someone else and buy yourself a new one, then the new owner may not even know that he/she is supposed to register it.
Besides, we know how well voluntary compliance with established rules works; just read the police activity report in any newspaper or ask a police officer how many traffic tickets are issued every day to folks who couldn’t voluntarily follow the rules.
So, should the city regulate UAV use?
Clearly regulation is needed to address some of these issues. Lompoc first started discussing this issue in public hearings as far back as May of 2013; time can move at a snail’s pace in government and this is just another example of something that’s been on the back burner for years.
There are lots of overhead electrical lines in Lompoc, so the first thing I would ban is flying near any overhead wires. That seems reasonable considering the danger and inconvenience of a power outage. Consider that a Mylar balloon contacting overhead wires can cause hours-long power outages.
Next is flying over your neighbors’ yard; that’s not only rude and intrusive, but it could be dangerous if the whirling blades of your craft hit someone. Folks have some expectation of privacy, and it’s the government’s role to protect that right.
Considering the attitude of the current City Council majority toward enforcing existing rules, it’s hard to say if they’ll be willing to create new ones. Since we haven’t heard of any incidents associated with the use of UAVs recently, maybe the users have regulated themselves. I am sure that public hearings on the matter may reveal incidents that we are unaware of.
Hopefully the council staff report will contain a summary of any complaints the police or code compliance staff have received, and the council will act like adults and create a policy that they are willing to enforce.
I realize that this isn’t a hot-button topic for most people, but some sort of regulation appears to be in order.
Ron Fink is a resident of Lompoc. Send your thoughts to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 18-25, 2018.