Drones over Northglenn: what's coming, who decides, and what you can still do

The purpose clause says it in one sentence: "Nothing in this Subsection shall be construed to regulate matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of the FAA." The September 21 memo spells out what that means: the city "has no legal authority to regulate where drones fly, their altitude, flight paths, or flight schedules once airborne." Everything that follows applies to the fenced patch of ground the drones leave from.

A Commercial Drone Delivery Hub becomes a use in the code for the first time. As an accessory to an existing business it is allowed with a special use permit in the Commercial General, Commercial Auto-Oriented and Industrial districts. As a stand-alone, primary use it is allowed only in Industrial zones, also with a special use permit. The Washington Street Walmart is a commercial lot; a hub there would be an accessory use.

The permit application must include a written narrative stating hours of operation, maximum flight altitude from takeoff until the aircraft leaves the property, anticipated ground noise in decibels, the maximum number of aircraft based at the site, and flight frequency as average and peak flights per day, plus the operator's federal authorizations: its air carrier certificate, operations specifications and aircraft registrations. The ordinance says the information is collected "for disclosure and land-use compatibility review purposes only." It is still the first place Wing would have to state those figures on a public record in Colorado.

A hub may take up 10% of the lot or 10,000 square feet, whichever is less, and may not consume parking the main business is required to keep. Ground operations run 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., or the host business's hours if those are shorter. Wing's FAA window is also 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., so the city's hours and the FAA's match.

The drone staging area must be 200 feet from the nearest residentially zoned parcel, from any school or licensed childcare center, and from any police, fire or utility site. The ordinance measures from the hub's screening to the closest property line; the memo describes it as measured from the nearest residential boundary. That wording should be reconciled before adoption.

The pad must be screened. Chain-link fencing is barred outside industrial zones unless it sits in a side or rear setback with a dark vinyl coating. A rooftop staging area may carry a single mast up to 10 feet above the zone's height limit.

Ground operations may not exceed 65 decibels at any point on the property boundary. That is the pad, not the aircraft in flight; in-flight noise is the FAA's. The planning director named the noise level among the figures that could still change before adoption, per The Denver Post.

Commercial general liability coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, with the city named as an additional insured.

The operator must file an Incident and Emergency Response Plan covering an unplanned landing, crash or other incident inside the city. Any incident causing injury, property damage or a public safety hazard requires an immediate call to 911. Any incident the operator must report to a federal or state agency must be copied in writing to the planning director within 24 hours, injury or not. The director may weigh that history at renewal.

It is unlawful to operate a drone "to intentionally engage in surveillance of another person in a private place," and the applicant must sign a statement that it understands this. The draft defines neither "surveillance" nor "private place." Wing told The Denver Post its drones give controllers no live video feed.

An accessory hub permit runs one year and comes back to the Planning Commission annually. That review is the city's standing lever: a record of complaints, incidents or broken conditions is on the table every twelve months.