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Pacific Grove adopts urgency ban on recreational drones, adds exception for previously permitted projects
Summary
Council voted 6–0, with one absence, to adopt an urgency ordinance immediately banning recreational drone use in Pacific Grove while carving out a narrowly worded exception for projects with valid city permits issued before Feb. 4, 2026.
The Pacific Grove City Council on Feb. 4 adopted an urgency ordinance that immediately bans recreational unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) within city limits to protect resident privacy and wildlife, particularly nesting and pupping areas.
City staff characterized the ordinance as narrowly focused on recreational operations and said commercial and research uses would be addressed in a later, separate ordinance. Because the ordinance was brought as an urgency measure it required six affirmative votes and the council recorded a 6–0 vote with Mayor Smith absent.
During debate several council members sought explicit language to prevent the ordinance from inadvertently halting previously permitted projects (for example, the ATC development raised by council members). The council added a subdivision clarifying that the prohibitions and permit requirements in the chapter do not apply to any project or activity for which a valid city‑issued use permit, architectural permit, or Coastal Development Permit was approved prior to Feb. 4, 2026. City attorneys advised that the new subdivision could be placed appropriately in the code and that further refinements could be made when staff returns with a comprehensive commercial and research regulation.
Supporters cited repeated reports of drone disturbances to shorebirds and marine mammals and described encounters on the coastal trail where drones had allegedly caused nesting birds to abandon nests. Members who pressed for the exception said they did so to protect existing, lawfully authorized projects and to avoid creating a loophole that would permit unpermitted recreational use by claiming association with a permitted project.
What happens next: Staff will publish the ordinance and begin enforcement under the new urgency code. Council directed staff to return with a separate, more detailed ordinance to regulate commercial and research drone operations with stakeholder input.
