Atlas Twp.-At the Jan. 25 board of trustees meeting, township attorney David Lattie presented the first draft of an ordinance to regulate drones and unmanned aircraft in the township.
The board is expected to further discuss the ordinance at an upcoming meeting.
According to the proposed ordinance, drones will be prohibited from flying under 250 feet, over schools, cell tower property, government or public property. Drones and unamanned aircraft however, may be used by any law enforcement agency or emergency service organization or on private property in daylight hours. Drones will be prohibited from containing a weapon of any kind or operated by anyone under the influence of alcohol or illegal substance. Individuals shall not be prohibited from using drones in daylight hours in the airspace over private property with the owners? consent.
Patrick Major, township trustee said a drone ordinance was considered after a resident had issues with them flying overhead.
‘Allegedly someone operated and flew a drone from about a half a mile away that dropped out of the sky near a resident,? said Major. ‘They did not know where the operator was and what if a child was hit by it when it came down. The drone could also have been watching a neighbor with a built-in camera’it can pose some real interesting problems.?.
According to news sources, more than 700,000 drones are currently operated in the United States, sparking new ordinances similar to the one recently passed in the city of DeWitt, located just north of Lansing. In addition, drones must now be registered with the FFA. The regulations have had mixed reactions from drone owners.
Romeo Durscher is the director of education for Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI), the manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones for aerial photography and videography,
‘Our goal at DJI as we reach out to the world is to help the public understand the positive applications and uses of drones,? said Durscher.
‘And, to dispel many misconceptions of drone usage such as privacy issues and ‘Big Brother is watching? that seems to come up. Yes, drones are used in the military for a variety of field uses including reconnaissance missions; however, that’s just one application.?
They can be advantageous to people, emphasized Durscher.
‘Just a few weeks ago the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) noted that they, not local governments, has exclusive sovereignty of airspace regulations on the flight of aircraft, including UAS. There is just so much good that can come out of technology’issues like the invasion of privacy is already protected. You just can’t make the technology the culprit for flying over someone’s house with a camera. If you look over history there’s a certain amount of apprehension when new technology comes up. As a society we need to overcome those challenges to better our lives.?