While the FAA continues its rulemaking process and state legislators propose drone regulations of their own, the City of Los Angeles is considering creating its own drone regulations rather than waiting for the state or federal government to complete their processes. A recent proposal by councilmen Mitch Englander and Herb Wesson, being considered Tuesday by the Public Safety Committee, would keep hobbyist drones from flying within five miles of an airport in the City without receiving special permission.

That proposal, one of the most stringent yet offered to restrict use of drones, would prevent the operation of drones in parts of the City, including on private property, and violators could face arrest. Though this proposal strikes most directly at the fear that a drone may interfere with the flight path of an incoming jetliner, it would also effectively reduce other drone-related issues the City has seen, including the recent problems with drones interfering with firefighting efforts. However, in its current form, it would allow drone hobbyists to seek permission, even for low-altitude test-flights in their own backyard, complicating air traffic control efforts by potentially creating an influx of drone flight exemption requests for activities that pose no risk to others.

The City Council’s proposal also runs the risk of being preempted by the time the FAA’s regulations are finalized, or by the state Legislature’s proposals. The current landscape has drone regulations being proffered at the local, state and federal levels, which could cause serious regulatory confusion and may lead to one of the higher authorities stepping in to assert control over the entire field of drone regulations. Any city passing drone regulations at this point runs the risk that those efforts could be nullified if either California or the FAA decide that their regulations do not leave room for municipal regulations. For now, though, these disparate authorities may be engaged in a power struggle over who has the right to regulate the sky, and whose plan is most likely to be successful. Whether Los Angeles’ complete ban in certain areas is a workable model, or whether it is overbroad for its purposes, is a debate worth having as the policy works its way through the City Council.