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Wednesday, June 22, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Does drone spying violate nuisance law?
By aaron West
The Bulletin
REDMOND (AP) — A
Redmond woman’s concerns
about her neighbor spying on
her with his camera-equipped
drone was met with uncer-
tainty at a City Council meet-
ing June 14 as to what could
be done about it. But others
familiar with drone rules say
that low-flying drone-harass-
ment potentially violates nui-
sance and trespassing laws.
Fawn Curry told Redmond
councilors this week that since
May her neighbor has been
using his drone to spy on her
and her family in their home,
but after contacting local
police she’d been told nothing
can be done about it.
“I recently have had a situ-
ation with a neighbor who
lives a block away and is fly-
ing his drone over my home
day and night,” Curry said.
“I’ve asked him to stop but he
continues to do so. It sounds
like a simple situation but it
truly is not.”
Curry, who spoke during
the meeting’s public comment
period, said she’s called the
Redmond Police Department
about the drone twice but was
told both times that drone
usage above a house is out-
side local law enforcement’s
jurisdiction.
“Unfortunately there is (sic)
no teeth in the law for us to be
able to take any action against
him,” Redmond Police Chief
Dave Tarbet said on Tuesday,
noting that he’s taking Curry’s
complaint seriously. “The
FAA mandates that the air-
space above the highest object
on private property is pub-
lic airspace, unfortunately.”
So Curry, who told The
Bulletin she’s concerned for
her family’s safety, turned to
local government for help.
“Please, at the very least,
consider putting a City ordi-
nance in place to stop the
usage of drones in residential
areas,” she said at the meeting.
Council members prom-
ised Curry they’d look into
it, asking City Attorney Steve
Bryant to investigate the mat-
ter. At the meeting, Bryant said
that trespassing or nuisance
laws could possibly come into
play, and that he’d explore
those options. Meanwhile, an
official ordinance would at
least make it obvious where
the City stood on such matters,
he said.
“Certainly passing an
ordinance that says no drone
flights in residential areas
makes it clear that you can’t
do that,” Bryant told council-
ors, who seemed receptive to
the idea but also hesitant to
target a specific situation with
a blanket rule.
“I wouldn’t want to shut
down someone from flying
a drone in their backyard,”
Councilor Jay Patrick said.
“If we want to look at cre-
ating an ordinance, frankly I’d
be for it,” Tarbet said.
I recently have
had a situation with a
neighbor who lives a
block away and is flying
his drone over my home
day and night.
— fawn curry
But local ordinances
restricting drone use are
an unknown to the Oregon
League of Cities, according
to Kevin Toon, communica-
tion director for the League,
who said that such ordinances
probably wouldn’t be enforce-
able because of state and fed-
eral preemption.
“There aren’t any (ordi-
nances) that we know of,”
Toon said. “A lot of it’s the
newness of the subject itself, it
takes a while for it to become
something we look into.
Drones haven’t risen to that
level where a lot of cities are
calling us.”
Gary Firestone, Bend’s
assistant city attorney, said no
local rules exist in Bend about
the use of drones in residential
areas or otherwise.
“The answer is very sim-
ple: We don’t have any regu-
lations,” Firestone said when
asked about local drone rules.
A F e d e r a l Av i a t i o n
Administration fact sheet
released December 17, 2015,
to clear up confusion over
drone regulations states that
local and state governments
should consult with the FAA
before creating ordinances or
laws that attempt to regulate
where drones are allowed to
be used.
For example, the fact sheet
states the FAA would need to
weigh in on “a city ordinance
banning anyone from operat-
ing (drones) within the city
limits, within the airspace
of the city, or within certain
distances of landmarks.”
However, “specifying that
(drones) may not be used for
voyeurism” is generally within
state or local jurisdiction, the
FAA states in its fact sheet.
I’ve asked him to
stop but he continues
to do so. It sounds like
a simple situation
but it truly is not.
— fawn curry
State Rep. John Huffman,
R-The Dalles, who has spear-
headed a couple of pieces of
drone-related legislation in
Oregon since 2011, said that
harassment using drones could
be against some trespassing
and nuisance laws, and that
he’s frequently surprised local
police so often defer to the
FAA’s jurisdiction in situa-
tions like Curry’s.
“It surprises me that local
police handle it that way,
because quite frankly they do
have some kinds of author-
ity,” he said, adding that he’s
run into similar situations
before. He said he would try
to get in touch with authori-
ties in Redmond and orga-
nize a training session about
drone laws. “We have tres-
passing and nuisance laws in
place that can be used. These
types of complaints are going
to happen more and more,
and I hear about them fairly
frequently. The more hobby-
ists that get drones and don’t
know what the laws are and
are flying them around peo-
ple’s backyards and harassing
them, well, it’s against the law
to do that.”
However, Huffman did
note that while trespassing or
nuisance laws are enforceable
in these situations, a local ordi-
nance might not be so helpful.
“I will say that Redmond
was correct in saying that
they didn’t have the authority
to pass a local ordinance for
drone use,” Huffman wrote in
an email to The Bulletin. “HB
2710 from 2011 was our first
drone bill and it stipulated
statewide preemption over
regulation of drones.”
On a federal level, the FAA
backs up what Huffman said.
According to Allen Kenitzer,
an FAA public affairs officer,
people who use drones for rec-
reational purposes are required
to avoid “careless and reckless
operations,” as well as abide
by local and state laws.
“Users must NOT inten-
tionally fly over unprotected
persons or moving vehicles,
and remain at least 25 feet
away from individuals and
vulnerable property,” Kenitzer
stated in an email to The
Bulletin. “They also must
check and follow all local
laws and ordinances before
flying over private property.”
Church
group
plans
Quilt Show
breakfast
This year marks the 13th
year that the woman of the St.
Edward the Martyr Catholic
Church Altar Society will
again be preparing “Early
Bird Breakfasts” during Quilt
Show week, July 4-8. They
will serve breakfast daily
from 6:30 to 9 a.m. at the
church.
Each day’s “special” is
offered for $8 and the conti-
nental breakfast is available
for $4. Originally intended
to offer a convenient option
for those quilters who needed
to get to classes at the high
school, it has expanded to
welcome everyone in the
community, visitors and
locals alike.
This is the women’s
group’s main fundraiser for
the year. Also featured is the
annual raffle, with prizes such
as artwork, quilt, gift certifi-
cates, etc. Tickets are $1 each
or six for $5. Drawing for
prizes will be held Sunday,
July 17, and ticket holders
need not be present to win.
St. Edward the Martyr
Catholic Church is located at
123 Trinity Way in Sisters.
For more information,
contact Mary Richards at
541-549-2053.
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