HomeMy WebLinkAbout13 - Response to the OC Grand Jury — "Drones: Know Before You Fly - Response LetterMayor
Diane Brooks Dixon
Mayor Pro Tem
Kevin Muldoon
Council Members
Keith D. Curry
Marshall "Duffy" Duffield
Scott Peotter
Tony Petros
Edward D. Selich
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
100 Civic Center Drive
Newport Beach, California 92660
949 644-3004 1949 6443039 FAX
newportbeachw.gov
August 9, 2016
The Honorable Charles Margines
Presiding Judge of the Superior Court
700 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, California 92701
RE: Report of the Orange County Grand Jury— "Drones: Know Before You Fly'
Dear Judge Margines:
The attached is the City of Newport Beach's formal response to the above -
noted Grand Jury Report.
If you or any members of the Grand Jury have questions about our response,
please do not hesitate to contact City Manager Dave Kiff at
dkiffCa) newportbeach ca.eov or 949-644-3001.
Sincerely,
Diane Brooks Dixon
Mayor of Newport Bea
RE: Report of the 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury — "Drones: Know
before You Fly."
FROM: City of Newport Beach, California
DATE: August 9, 2016
The Orange County Grand Jury's recent report, "Drones: Know Before You Fly."
obligates the City to respond no later than August 24, 2016 to:
• Findings: F1 to F7; and
• Recommendations: R1 to R5, and R9.
City Manager Dave Kiff provides the following responses.
FINDINGS
F1: Recreational drones have greatly increased in number since December 2015
and it is probable their unregulated use will pose significant threats to public
safety and privacy in Orange County cities and unincorporated areas.
The City of Newport Beach disagrees partially with the finding. The City does not have
sufficient information to conclude that recreational drones currently pose a significant
threat to public safety and privacy in the City, in all other Orange County cities, and in
unincorporated areas of the County."
F2: With the exception of the recent Federal Aviation Administration registration
rule, recreational drone owners are largely self -policed, which leads to a wide
range of behavior.
The City of Newport Beach disagrees partially with the finding. In addition to existing
and proposed federal regulations and guidelines, the Governor of California recently
signed AB 856 into law to expand the invasion of personal privacy to include invasions
into the airspace above the land of another without permission. It is the City of Newport
Beach's understanding that the Governor felt that Penal Code sections 148, 148.1,
148.2, and 402 addressed concerns about a drone's interference with first responders
during emergencies."
F3: Most of the cities and unincorporated areas of the County of Orange do not
have a drone ordinance, nor do they have any immediate plans to enact an
ordinance in the near future.
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The City of Newport Beach agrees with the finding.
F4: Most of the cities provide no educational programs for public awareness of
the safety issues connected to recreational drones.
The City of Newport Beach agrees with the finding.
F5: Some Orange County cities, despite recognizing potential issues with
drones, are awaiting drone -related legislative action or other guidance by the
State of California or FAA before enacting local ordinances.
The City of Newport Beach agrees with the finding.
F6: The FAA -required registration of recreational drones provides a useful tool
for Local enforcement of drone ordinances.
The City of Newport Beach agrees with the finding
F7: Orange County cities have not established a procedure for reporting drone
incidents, which results in under -reporting of drone safety and privacy events.
The City of Newport Beach disagrees partially with the finding.
This finding implies that all Orange County cities have not established a procedure for
reporting drone incidents, and we do not believe this is the case. For the City of
Newport Beach, the established procedure for reporting drone incidents is to notify the
police department. In the past, members of the public have called the police
department and reported drone incidents, causing the response of on -duty police
officers to investigate each of those incidents.
RECOMMENDATIONS
R1: Each City Council should direct its City Attorney to provide a report to the
city's police department and City Council on existing laws that can be applied to
the use of recreational drones in the city's jurisdiction by December 30, 2016. (F2,
F3, F5, F6)
The recommendation has not yet been implemented and requires further analysis
related to drone usage in the City of Newport Beach, which analysis shall be completed
by the City Manager and City Attorney within six months from the date of publication of
the grand jury report.
R2: Each City should adopt a recreational drone ownership and operation
ordinance, with regulations similar to those found in Los Angeles City ordinance
#183912, by March 31, 2017, to the extent not preempted or superseded by
Federal law or Federal regulations. (F1, F2, F3, F5, F6)
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The recommendation has not yet been implemented and requires further analysis
related to drone usage in the City of Newport Beach, which analysis shall be completed
by the City Manager and City Attorney within six months from the date of publication of
the grand jury report.
R3: Each City should inform its citizens about laws and ordinances that apply to
recreational drone operators through print media, city-related web sites, social
media sites and/or public forums by March 31, 2017. (F4, F6)
The recommendation has not yet been implemented and requires further analysis
related to drone usage in the City of Newport Beach to determine whether additional
local laws regulating drone use are necessary, which analysis shall be completed by the
City Manager and City Attorney within six months from the date of publication of the
grand jury report.
R4: Each City should establish and publish on its website a point of contact for
drone-related citizen complaints by December 30, 2016. (F4)
This recommendation has not yet been implemented, but should be implemented by
December 30, 2016.
R5: Each City should post FAA drone ownership and operation educational links
on city-related websites, newsletters, and flyers by December 30, 2016. (F2, F3,
F6)
This recommendation has not yet been implemented, but should be implemented by
December 30, 2016.
R9: The County and each City should formally gather data on recreational drone
incidents within their jurisdictions and review these data annually and report the
results publicly. The first analysis and publication should occur within one year
of the publication of this report.. (F1, F2, F3, F7)
This recommendation has not yet been implemented, but should be implemented by
May 27, 2017.
If the Grand Jury has any questions or concerns about this response, please contact
City Manager Dave Kiff at 949-644-3001 or diciffrwportbachcv_
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