The Norfolk City Attorney's office and Norfolk Police Department have pulled a proposal to regulate drone takeoffs and landings on city-owned property ahead of Tuesday’s city council session, with officials saying they need more community input before moving forward.
In a June 1 email, Norfolk spokesperson Kelly Straub said they "made the decision to not move forward with the ordinance until more stakeholder engagement could be done." The city has not yet specified what that engagement will look like or when the ordinance might return to council.
WHRO first reported on the proposal on May 29. At the time of publication, the city had not responded to multiple requests for updated information.
In a response sent Tuesday, city officials confirmed the proposal is not going before council and that "at this time, there is no future date to do so," reiterating that additional stakeholder outreach will happen first.
City officials stated the proposed ordinance is intended to give Norfolk Police a "clear mechanism" to intervene if someone uses city property to launch or land a drone unsafely, specifically citing crowded conditions where people could be injured by spinning propellers, or unsuitable takeoff locations like city parking garages and areas with heavy tree coverage.
According to the city, the ordinance was designed to ensure drone operations are consistent with the pre-existing uses of venues like parks and schools, and was drafted with input from the city departments most directly affected, including Norfolk Police, Parks and Recreation, Norfolk Public Schools, and the Virginia Zoo.
The ordinance was introduced at a May 12 city council work session. Norfolk Police Detective Bruce Pugh, who leads the department's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Unit, told council that the growth of consumer drones near large public gatherings posed a growing safety risk.
Deputy City Attorney Kristopher McClellan said his office had been working with NPD for roughly a year on the ordinance, aiming to have something in place before the summer waterfront event season.
Because the FAA controls all domestic airspace, the city cannot restrict where drones fly. The proposed ordinance instead targeted ground operations, requiring recreational and commercial pilots to obtain permits for takeoffs and landings on certain city-owned properties, and banning them outright at others, including neighborhood parks, schools, and city parking garages.
Some council members asked questions and expressed skepticism while others supported prohibiting drones in some city owned spaces all together.
Commercial drone pilot and Norfolk photographer Glenn Bashaw said he had tried to sign up to speak at Tuesday's council meeting before learning the vote had been postponed. Bashaw previously told WHRO the ordinance would do little to stop unlicensed hobbyists while placing unnecessary burdens on licensed operators.
"The only people they're penalizing are people like me who fly legally," Bashaw said.
