A group of residents disturbed by the growing use of drones has called for West Marin to become a “no drone zone,” after incidents involving the unmanned aircrafts have disrupted privacy and wildlife. The call for a ban arrives as some real estate companies begin to rely more on aerial photographs from drones to advertise properties for sale.
Speaking at a Stinson Beach Village Association meeting held in May, Bolinas resident Mindy Marin broached the idea of a no-drone zone after her neighbor on Horseshoe Hill Road flew a drone over her property. The lights and loud noises emanating from the drone startled her pets and deer, she said, while the device’s recording capabilities prompted concerns about her privacy.
“It was absolutely astonishing and terrifying and alarming,” said Ms. Marin, a casting director. “Because drones are evolving faster than the laws are, this will be something we face in a very, very big way that will interrupt the beauty of our national parks and your private life.”
Since May, Ms. Marin has joined with a group of West Marin locals to formulate a no-drone policy and encourage county officials to institute height and location restrictions should a complete drone ban fail. Though in its infancy, the group plans to meet with county and local organizations to pitch a no-drone policy.
“This is un-navigated turf,” Ms. Marin said. “It’s imperative that we be able to implement something that protects us from what the drones are capable of doing.”
In June, the Federal Aviation Administration legalized flights for drones weighing less than 55 pounds at a maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground level for commercial uses, including real estate photography. The administration’s rules on drones have no privacy-related provisions. Operators flying drones recreationally must register with the administration and keep their drones below 400 feet, away from airports and away from groups of people.
Since the F.A.A. began rolling out regulations in 2012, drones have been used by used by a number of agencies and private groups to survey natural disasters and spot victims, provide aerial support for law enforcement and improve crop surveying and measuring for farmers. But with nearly 60,000 drones currently registered in California, many fear drones pose a threat to privacy and public safety. (Only 11 drone operators are registered in West Marin.)
Last year, San Francisco officials banned drones from hovering around the Golden Gate Bridge. Likewise, drones are prohibited from flying over national parklands, yet multiple videos on YouTube show aerial video footage of the federally managed Stinson Beach and Point Reyes National Seashore. Drone operators are often hard to spot on crowded beaches and likewise tough to catch if park staff are busy with other pressing tasks in the area, said Mia Monroe, the interpretive advisor for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in Marin.
“Flushing out drones may not be the top priority on busy weekends,” Ms. Monroe said. “But that doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye.”
John Dell’Osso, a spokesman for the Point Reyes National Seashore, said that the park flies drones for occasional surveys, such as of tule elk populations. In 2013, scientists from the United States Geological Survey and Fish and Wildlife Service used drones over Tomales Bay for bird counts.
Drone flights over Tomales Bay remain legal for now, pending a potential future expansion of zones in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary—including the bay—that fall under overflight restrictions, which require all aircrafts to fly above 1,000 feet. A working group tasked with making zone expansion recommendations for Tomales Bay, Point Resistance, Millers Point Rocks and parts of Drakes Estero is poised to present recommendations to the national sanctuary in November. Currently, the Bolinas Lagoon, Point Reyes Station and the mouth of Tomales Bay fall under the overflight restrictions.
Despite being legal, drones over Tomales Bay have irked residents in recent years. Once, in 2014, Marshall resident Paul Reffell and his partner, Donna Sheehan, were enjoying breakfast in their home when a drone appeared suddenly outside their window.
“It was looking at us through our window, eating breakfast,” said Mr. Reffell, who said he would back a no-drone zone. “I gave it the finger, and when I did that it flew away.”
In Stinson Beach, two real estate companies—Oceanic Realty and Seadrift Realty—hire professional drone operators to take photos of houses on the market. While Seadrift Realty has only used drones once over the last four years, Oceanic Realty does so every few months to capture high-quality shots for advertisements, though the company has hit some snags—including in April, when a resident shot down a drone.
Sarah Butler, a realtor at Oceanic, said realtors try to contact neighborhood “ambassadors” to alert them to the presence of a drone and do not condone flights over adjacent, not-for-sale properties.
“I certainly don’t want to upset [people] taking a drone photo, but I also want to work hard for our clients,” Ms. Butler said. “I’m simply trying to get the highest and best prices for my clients.”
County fire officials, meanwhile, have worried that drones risk interfering with airborne fire crews in the event of a blaze. While no drones have hovered over fires in Marin, Fire Chief Jason Weber said that county crews assisting teams outside Marin have been hampered a few times by drones over wildfires, forcing fire agencies to ground helicopters and planes.
“[Drones have] grounded aircraft, which has really hindered our ability to fight fires,” Chief Weber said. “It’s a restricted airspace, and it’s against the law.”
And aside from safety risks, some incidents involving drones have simply annoyed public safety officials. In Stinson Beach, for instance, the volunteer fire department recently fielded one call from an operator hoping a truck might be sent to salvage his wayward drone that lodged in a tree.
“I’m not going to do that,” said Fire Chief Kenny Stevens, who said drones began popping up in Stinson over two years ago. “If they’re stupid enough to fly it into a tree, the tree can eat it. I’m not going to risk personnel safety.”
Anyone who sees a drone being flown over national parklands may notify park dispatch by calling (415) 561.5510.