Amendments have been made to a drone use bylaw which originally prohibited recreational drone use in Drumheller, allowing residents to recreationally operate a drone over private property, as long as they comply with federal guidelines.
Drumheller town council passed the original drone use bylaw at a late July meeting which prohibited any recreational drone flying within the municipality and required commercial drone pilots to complete an application. Council amended this bylaw at their August 19 meeting to only prohibit recreational flying over municipally owned property. Drone operators still must comply with Transport Canada regulations and requirements, as well as not fly within 100 feet of people, vehicles, buildings, maintain visual sight, and stay within a 200 foot take off and landing radius, among other requirements.
“This is not outlawing recreational drone use so long as it is on private property and it follows the community standard that it not be used for spying,” said Councillor Jay Garbutt.
Economic Development Manager Sean Wallace reiterated at the meeting the application is largely to monitor behaviour so the town knows when commercial flying occurs in town, saying three commercial drone flying applications have been approved this summer already.
As is, the policy does not provide the town or bylaw enforcement with recourse against people who violate the policy, but council directed administration to add a fine to the Community Standards Bylaw. The RCMP would be responsible for federal violations regarding drone use.
