In an effort to regulate drone use on town-owned lands, the Parks & Recreation Commission on Wednesday approved new signs prohibiting the use of drones in Mead Park, Irwin Park and Kiwanis Park.
The new signs – which will be installed later this year – will instruct park goers that drone use is allowed in Waveny Park, provided that flyers are registered members of the New Canaan Radio Control Society (NCRCS) and have the appropriate insurance.
In addition, it was announced that the NCRCS has agreed to assist the town in regulating drone use by defining drones as radio controlled aircraft under its charter.
Under a set of revised rules recently put together by the commission, moving forward, people who want to fly drones on town lands must become members of the Society and must carry Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) membership and insurance. The insurance is important as it will help indemnify the town in the event a drone causes severe property damage or if someone is injured or killed by a drone on town property.
During Wednesday’s meeting, commission member Kit Devereaux read the new rules, which will be enforced through the Society.
Now, drone users are subject to the same rules as users of all other radio controlled aircraft – for example, drones cannot be used to film or take photographs without express written consent from the town. In addition, users are restricted from flying their drones over the community pool, Waveny House and all other town-owned buildings in the park.
In addition, all drone users must carry their NCRCS/AMA membership card when flying drones in Waveny Park.
The new prohibitions stem from concerns regarding “rogue flyers” who might not be properly insured to use drones on town property or who might not respect town rules and regulations. There have been recent reports that some drone users have been flying their drones close to the community pool, for example.
The commission members pointed out that that many of the drone users in Waveny are non-residents.
Commission chairwoman Sally Campbell asked how the town could be sure that all of the drone users at Waveny on any given day are properly registered with NCRCS and thus insured. She asked whether some enforcement mechanism could be be put in place whereby drone users are asked to present their membership card.
Steven Benko, recreation director, said the NCRCS, which currently has about 30 members, would handle enforcement.
“They are excellent at self-policing,” he said.
Under the revised rules, drones are to be flown only at the allowed times and fields at Waveny. Mainly they will be flown from the same area where all other radio controlled aircraft currently are launched – an area known as “Alternate Field B,” which is on the Lapham Road side, near where the fireworks are launched.
The commission is going to address the matter of signage for Waveny Park separately. Campbell said getting signs into the other parks prohibiting drone use is just a first step in attempting to regulate an increasingly popular recreational activity.
I attended last Wednesday evening’s concert in Waveny Park. A drone came down so low that I thought it was going to land. I felt very uncomfortable with the drone hovering nearby while I was trying to enjoy the music. It was a distraction.
Are there height regulations for hovering over people? How would drone activity be regulated and rules enforced?
I was also at last the last Wednesday night concert and agree the drone was flying too close to the people. What are the hours that drones can fly because it shouldn’t be when people are trying to enjoy a summer night concert? And who’s going to enforce these rules?
Yea that drone was incredibly obnoxious at Waveny on Wednesday night, it was pretty ridiculous. I have seen them there before but they are usually flown high enough that they don’t bother anyone.
I was there as well with a group of friends. We all noticed how low the drone was (apart from the obvious safety issue, its presence was distracting and taking away from the concert) so I approached the gentlemen flying it (who was not a New Canaan resident), introduced myself as a Selectman, and politely informed him that there was a Town ordinance prohibiting such activity. To his credit, he immediately grounded the drone. Still, I’m afraid we will be seeing more of this at future outdoor NC events.
Why can’t we just ban drones from ALL of our parks? It would be difficult to regulate and enforce ordinances. Yes, indeed, there is a public safety issue with drones and our Town should be responsible for ensuring the safety of visitors to our parks.
Nick Williams, thank you for getting the low-flying drone grounded at last Wednesday night’s concert. How about having a police officer in attendance at the concert to enforce the ordinance?
Mike, can you please find out the current ordinance/penalties regarding drones. Do NC police patrol and enforce these ordinances?