La Plata, MD – The latest movement to establish a drone park where recreation radio-controlled devices could be legally used in the region took a dramatic turn for the better Tuesday, March 8 in a discussion before the Charles County Commissioners.
Charles County Public Works Director Bill Shreve and Charles County Chief of Parks Tom Roland were discussing the possible use of an area in Southern Park near Newburg to establish a drone park.
The two men were proposing using part of the 38-acre park because it was outside of a 30-mile no-fly zone imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) around Washington, DC.
“That makes it illegal for drone operation except south of the Route 301 bridge,” Roland said. “Southern Park is south of Newburg. It allows us to provide a legal place to allow citizens to use drones as a new pilot program within our parks. There is potential tourism benefits from the plan,” he added.
Roland said there was about an acre-and-a-half of open field which could be a potential place where citizens could launch their drone and land it.
“If there’s nothing else going on, the majority of the boundaries of that park could be used as a fly zone,” he said. “We need to clarify FAA regulations and develop an understanding of general use, considered for the park.”
Once his office has established rules and procedures, they would present it back to commissioners for final determination.
Roland said drone pilots would have to have their device registered by the FAA and would need to present their registration in order to operate their craft within the park.
“FAA regulations are fairly simplistic,” he noted, stating that craft could be from one-half pound up to 55 pounds,” Roland explained. “There is an altitude limit within 400 feet. The pilot must stay within sight of his craft at all time.”
He noted that since the issue was brought before the commissioners in January, they have received correspondence from a “significant number of residents” expressing concerns about noise and privacy.
“We need to look at some sort of dialogue with the residents,” he said. “It is important we have some discussion.”
Commissioner Ken Robinson [D – District 1] threw a rather welcome wrench into the works when he informed Shreve and Roland that the FAA had recently just relaxed the initial 30-mile no fly zone down to 15 miles.
“We were not aware of that,” Roland responded. “I think in that case we could consider Pisgah Park [between La Plata and Indian Head]. That would not fall within the no fly zone. There are no houses around. We could establish between 35 and 40 acres then for UAVs.
“That might be a viable alternative,” Robinson suggested. ”I would have staff confirm what I have been reading and maybe then you can come back and say we have a better alternative.
“I think that would also alleviate the concerns of the residents near Southern Park,” Robinson said. “A private meeting could have alleviated those concerns, but now it may not be needed.”
“It’s always been looked at to be a pilot program,” Charles County Commissioner President Peter Murphy [D] explained. “No matter where we go, it will be as a six-month pilot program.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com