The cit of Raleigh, North Carolina – house to business drone chief, PrecisionHawk – is proposing a ban on leisure drones in all however 7 metropolis parks.
The proposal has gotten a number of press in the drone neighborhood. Not solely will it severely prohibit drone use in the overwhelming majority of Raleigh’s public greenspace, however the metropolis additional restricts any leisure drones with cameras (the overwhelming majority of leisure drones) to solely three of the town’s 90 parks.
“The City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department (PRCR) recognize that operating an UAV presents as a popular recreational activity,” says the ordinance. “PRCR evaluated properties within the park system to determine which may be conducive to UAV flying. PRCR determined UAV flying would not be a compatible use for areas classified as “nature preserves,” “nature parks” or “wetland centers” or acceptable for lakes wholly owned, managed or leased by the City of Raleigh or PRCR.”
The concept of limiting drone use in sure areas in order to guard chicken species or wetlands might make some sense. But it appears unlikely that 83 out of 90 parks meet this standards, and leisure flyers say that the intense limitations of the proposal – which defines not solely a really quick listing of parks in which drones may be flown, however really limits flight to very particular fields throughout the parks – don’t go away a lot for accountable operators.
The ordinance additionally specifies that the fields designated to be used by drone pilots are usually not unique for drone pilots, and could also be utilized by different patrons on the similar time – which implies a softball sport or picnic may nicely be happening, making it not possible to fly legally. The fields can also be rented by park patrons for “exclusive use,” in which case drone operators who present up hoping to fly are out of luck.