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STAFF MEMO <br /> Drone Ordinance <br /> INTRODUCTION <br /> The City is one of seven member cities of the North Metro Telecommunications Commission ("NMTC"). <br /> In March 2018, NMTC engaged the law firm of Bradley Berkland Hagen & Herbst LLC to draft a policy <br /> governing municipal drone use and a drone ordinance for NMTC's member cities.The ordinance is now <br /> before the City Council for consideration. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> NMTC's outside attorney, Mike Bradley, Bradley Berkland Hagen & Herbst LLC, in consultation with <br /> NMTC's Executive Director, Heidi Arnson, drafted a Drone Ordinance and Municipal Drone Policy <br /> governing NMTC's drone operations. Both documents are attached to this Staff Memo for consideration. <br /> Drone Policy <br /> Under current federal law, most, if not all,government drone operations are exempt from federal <br /> regulation.The Drone Ordinance fills this void by setting forth the procedures and operating principles <br /> that NMTC must follow to ensure safe and reliable drone operations. <br /> The Drone Policy requires that all NMTC drone operations, whether performed by a NMTC employee or <br /> an independent contractor retained by NMTC, must comply with applicable state and federal law.This <br /> includes obtaining any necessary authorizations or exemptions from the Federal Aviation <br /> Administration.The Drone Policy also requires that drone operators must record certain operational <br /> information, such as a preflight inspection or a flight report, with NMTC's Executive Director.The Drone <br /> Policy requires that this information be stored in accordance with NMTC's data retention policy. Under <br /> this policy,this information may be publicly available by request. The purpose of making this <br /> information publicly available is to provide transparency to the public and to ensure them that NMTC <br /> and the City are operating drones for the public's benefit and in a safe and ethical manner. <br /> Drone Ordinance <br /> The Drone Ordinance has two primary aspects: (1) it requires a permit for operating a drone above City- <br /> owned or managed lands and waters, and (2) it criminalizes certain drone uses, such as invasion of <br /> privacy. <br /> As is indicated in the ordinance,there is an existing body of federal law that regulates the use of drones <br /> in federal airspace. Because the City does not have jurisdiction in federal airspace,this ordinance seeks <br /> only to manage drone use over City-owned or managed lands and waters. While this ordinance sets <br /> forth certain limitations on the operation of a drone in these areas,this ordinance further authorizes the <br /> City Manager to promulgate additional rules governing drone use over these City-owned or managed <br /> lands and waters (i.e., drone operations in certain parks may be banned by the City Manager). <br /> Prior to operating a drone over City-owned or managed lands or waters,this ordinance requires a drone <br /> user to obtain a permit from the City.These permits are intended to be required for each individual <br /> drone operation subject to this ordinance.To obtain a permit, a drone user must provide information <br />