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Council adopts drone rules for city property; police say measure fills enforcement gap
Summary
Council adopted a local ordinance giving police tools to address drone takeoffs/landings on city property, nuisance loitering and interference with emergency operations. The police chief said the FAA controls airspace but local rules can address public-safety and liability issues tied to launches and landings on municipal property.
Summit's Common Council adopted a police regulations ordinance on June 16 that adds a new section governing drones and other unmanned aircraft. The proposal drew a public comment cautioning that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) controls national airspace and that municipalities cannot regulate FAA-compliant overflights; the commenter asked that the town limit its rules to conduct on city property and criminal acts.
Police Chief Peters told the council that while FBI/FAA rules govern most airspace operations, municipal officers lack a direct enforcement route in many cases and must otherwise gather evidence and refer incidents to federal authorities. "Having the ability to enforce certain violations via ordinance will undoubtedly reduce the time it takes for the FAA to receive, review, and address any reported incidents from the Summit Police Department," the chief said (Police Chief Peters).
The adopted ordinance focuses on operations launched or landed on city-owned property, interference with emergency operations, repeated low-altitude hovering and nuisance conduct that causes fear of injury, and privacy violations that may also implicate state criminal statutes. Several council members said they supported adoption with the understanding that language could be refined to avoid unintentionally banning harmless hobby flights in neighborhood parks; some members flagged the possibility of a parks carve-out or an education-first approach for first-time violations.
The ordinance passed after public comment and council discussion; the police chief and council agreed to revisit and refine language after implementation and community feedback.
