Anderson Municipal Code Ch. 9.31 Operating an Unmanned Aircraft System

For the purpose of this section the following definitions shall apply:

1. "Unmanned aircraft" ("UA") is an aircraft, including but not limited to an aircraft commonly known as a drone that is operated without possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft.

2. "Unmanned aircraft system" ("UAS") is an unmanned aircraft and associated elements, including, but not limited to, any communication links and components that control the unmanned aircraft that carries an apparatus that captures still (photographs) or moving images (videos) or any other payload.

(Ord. No. 806, § 1, 4-4-2017)

1. The following shall apply to the operation of any unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft system:

a. Every UAS that requires registration with the FAA shall be registered in accordance with the FAA Part 107 registration requirements. UAS operators who do not register their UAS in accordance with the FAA Part 107 registration requirements are in violation of this section, and are subject to all applicable legal penalties enforced by the FAA.

b. Every UAS that requires registration under the FAA must bear its assigned FAA registration numbers affixed to the UAS.

c. No person shall operate an UAS to record or transmit any visual image or audio record of any person or private real property located in the city under circumstances in which the subject person or owner of the subject real property has a reasonable expectation of privacy (including but not limited to inside a private residence or office and inside an enclosed yard).

d. No person shall operate an UA or an UAS within the city outside of daylight hours (between official local times from sunrise and sunset), no more than four hundred feet above ground level and no faster than thirty miles per hour.

e. No person shall operate any UA or UAS in the city beyond the visual line of sight of the person operating the UA or UAS. The operator must use his or her own natural vision to observe the UA/UAS. Visual line of sight means that the operator has an unobstructed view of the UA/UAS. The use of vision-enhancing devices, such as binoculars, night vision goggles, powered vision magnifying devices, and goggles or other devices designed to provide a "first-person view" from the UA/UAS, do not constitute the visual line of sight of the person operating the UA or UAS.

f. No person shall operate an UA or an UAS within the city closer than twenty-five feet to any human being. This provision of the chapter shall not apply as to operator of the UA or UAS and shall not apply during any UA or UAS takeoff and landing event.

g. No person shall operate an UA or an UAS while under the influence of alcohol or any other drugs, intoxicating compound or any combination thereof.

h. No person shall operate an UA or an UAS in a careless or reckless manner that is reasonably likely to jeopardize the safety or welfare of the public or in fact causes injury to the public.

i. No person shall operate an UA or an UAS that is equipped with hazardous materials or items that may be considered to be weapons. Aircraft fuel used to navigate the UA in use is not a material or items considered to be a weapon.

j. No person shall operate an UA or an UAS in violation of any temporary flight restriction or "Notice to Airmen" (NOTAM) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

k. No person shall operate an UA or an UAS in the path of any manned aircraft.

l. No person shall operate an UA or an UAS in a manner that interferes with police activities, firefighting or emergency response or investigative activities.

m. This section shall not prohibit the use of any model aircraft where the use occurs as described in Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 or where the use is exempt under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 107.

n. This section shall not apply to a public agency's use of an UAS where operated pursuant to, and in compliance with, the terms and conditions of any current and enforceable authorization granted by the FAA.

(Ord. No. 806, § 1, 4-4-2017)

Any operator of an AU or an UAS who violates Section 9.31.020 of this code is subject to an infraction, fines and confiscation of the UA or the UAS by the Anderson police department.

(Ord. No. 806, § 1, 4-4-2017)