Drones Are Okay for Now

Santa Claus is due to arrive soon, and children and adults alike who hope to find drones under the tree will have no restrictions on flying them in the Village of Sag Harbor, at least until after the new year.

The village board held a hearing Tuesday night, but took no action, on proposed legislation that would ban recreational drones from flying over private or public property to take aerial photographs, video, or surveillance, unless their operators have permission from a property owner or the village. The proposed law is similar to an aggressive approach to drones enacted in the Town of Huntington earlier this year, but Sag Harbor is the first on the East End to tackle the issue of unmanned aircraft.

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who is also the village attorney, explained that while the commercial use of drones is regulated by the federal government, recreational use is not, as yet anyway. The proposal laid out some “common-sense safety provisions” taken from Federal Aviation Administration recommendations, he said. For instance, it would prohibit flying a drone for recreational use higher than 400 feet and would require that pilots maintain visual contact with the aircraft.

“Privacy and safety is why we started this,” Mayor Sandra Schroeder said as she opened the hearing. The proposal was introduced a month after a radio-controlled airborne device crashed on Main Street. It had been flown for commercial purposes, however.

Kurt Leggard, a North Haven resident and professional photographer who owns a drone, had some questions about the legislation. While he acknowledged privacy issues, he said there should still be the opportunity to fly. “National air space is not controlled by any municipality,” he told the board. Though he flies a drone for commercial purposes, he also uses it recreationally. Soon, he predicted, “everybody’s kid and their mother” will own one.

“In about three weeks, I’d say,” Mr. Thiele remarked with a laugh. “Drones are probably going to be a big Christmas present this year.”

Mr. Leggard, who has applied for a waiver under the F.A.A. Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 that will allow him to fly unmanned aircraft for commercial purposes in the national airspace, offered his expertise to the board in crafting regulations on unmanned aircraft. Mr. Thiele took him up on his offer, and recommended taking no action so the community could be heard from further. Mayor Schroeder agreed, saying she had received many questions, and the hearing was tabled for another month.

Mr. Thiele warned the board that the federal government, which has created a task force on the subject, was likely to take a stand on the recreational use of drones within the year. “The F.A.A. could pre-empt this law in a heartbeat,” he said.

Yesterday, he questioned by phone whether the village should introduce a new law and then have the F.A.A. announce regulations soon after. “The $64,000 question here is what is the federal government going to do,” he said.