Hermosa Beach officials are moving to enact some of the toughest laws in California regulating unmanned aerial vehicles, known to most as drones.
City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to strengthen a proposed ordinance that establishes a permitting process for drones and sets rules for their use. The law will return for final approval when it is updated with more restrictions.
Following the lead of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, Hermosa Beach is hoping to retain local control over the issue, even as federal and state governments engage in a tug-of-war for power over drone regulation.
The city especially wants to protect privacy concerns of residents by requiring drones to stay at least 25 feet away from anyone and enacting laws to prevent harassment and stalking, though there is little they can do legally to keep drones out of public areas.
“What’s to protect women from someone flying a drone over the beach, seeing them, then following them home?” Mayor Carolyn Petty said. “How do we prevent them from stalking people in that manner?”
Councilman Justin Massey said he’s worried about the criminal penalty, a simple misdemeanor that comes with a maximum $1,000 fine and potential jail time, won’t be enough to deal with the increasing popularity of drones.
“Say we had a paparazzo in town flying a fleet of these things, and a $1,000 fine is not enough to deter them?” Massey said. “Do we have a way to revoke their permit?”
The city can require drone owners to get permits for the aircraft, but can’t prevent them from flying in public spaces. Unpermitted drones can be seized and impounded, and stalking and harassment laws could potentially be applied to drones, according to city staff.
The Federal Aviation Administration already regulates drones and requires owners to register their equipment. In December, the FAA issued a guiding document for state and local governments to follow.
“Local governments can pass laws that ban their agencies (such as police or fire departments) from operating drones, and they can ban people from launching or landing drones on city-owned property,” said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. “However, laws that attempt to ban drones from flying over a city or portions of a city conflict with the FAA’s exclusive jurisdiction over the nation’s civilian airspace.”
Hermosa Beach’s city attorney and police chief said they plan to ban drones from flying over city facilities and schools, but acknowledged it could be difficult to enforce the new rules. The city plans to increase its code enforcement staff this year.
Several residents asked council members for tough drone laws because they said the devices already are a nuisance.
“I have had experience with the drones hovering right outside our windows (on The Strand),” said resident Lauren Pizer Mains. “We haven’t been able to find out who it is. They’re hiding who-knows-where. We don’t know what their intent is. They could be casing our home.”
Arcadia Berjonneau said a drone buzzed just over her head and crashed while she walked with a friend and her daughter on The Strand.
“All of a sudden I heard this buzzing and, uncontrollably, this drone passes us and almost hits us, hits a house on The Strand and completely combusts into tons of pieces,” Berjonneau told the council. “My heart rate was jumping. … The guy … was more concerned about his drone than the fact that he almost chopped our heads off. He said he lost the signal.”
