On May 26, 2016, the Orange County Grand Jury released its 2015-16 Grand Jury report, Drones: Know Before You Fly.  The purpose of the report was to examine the topic of the expanding recreational drone market and its consequences for Orange County’s emergency responders.  Among the major findings of the report was that most cities in Orange County did not have local ordinances to regulate drone use.  Consequently, the report recommended that all Orange County cities and the County take action to adopt a recreational drone ownership and operation ordinance similar to that of an ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles.  The City of Garden Grove agreed with this finding and reported to the Grand Jury that a proposed ordinance would be presented to the Garden Grove City Council for consideration prior to March 31, 2017.

Following the release of the Orange County Grand Jury report in 2016, the Association of California Cities–Orange County (ACC-OC) convened a working group of individuals from public safety, legal, and government sectors to begin drafting a model drone ordinance.  The purpose of the model ordinance was to provide a resource that could be used by member cities to address the issue of drone use and regulation for the purpose of enhancing safety and education of the public.  The model ordinance was recently approved by the ACC-OC Board on March 22, 2017, and provided to member cities.

Staff reviewed the model ordinance and determined that it largely meets the specific needs of Garden Grove.  Therefore, a drone operation ordinance was developed for the City of Garden Grove based on the ACC-OC model.  The proposed ordinance imposes community-based safety requirements and restrictions on the operation of unmanned aircraft (UA) that do not preempt federal aviation rules, or state law, in order to protect the public from the hazards associated with the operation of UA.  The matter of drone ownership was not addressed since the Federal Aviation Administration is asserting regulatory authority in this area. 

None.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Introduce and conduct the first reading of the attached Ordinance adopting drone operation regulations for the City of Garden Grove.