Can someone fly a drone over your yard in Bellingham? Here’s the law, FAA airspace map
By Rosemary Montalvo and
Daniel Schrager
Drone use is restricted in much of Bellingham, due to FAA controlled airspace regulations.
Mark Newman
Getty Images
Back in 2021, the Bellingham City Council declined to adopt a law regulating drone use in public parks, leaving city law silent regarding drone use. Whatcom County also doesn’t say much on the issue beyond requiring that drones flown in county parks comply with FAA regulations.
On a statewide level, the Washington State Department of Transportation has its own set of policies regarding drone use, but it defaults to Federal Aviation Administration law for regulating recreational drones.
So what does that FAA say?
According to the FAA, you have to register your drone and take a safety test. Once you’ve done that, you have to fly only for personal enjoyment, follow the safety guidelines outlined by one of the four organizations recognized by the FAA to regulate recreational drone use, and only fly your drone where you or someone you’re in communication with can see it.
You also have to stay out of the way of other aircraft, fly below 400 feet in most areas (you need to register to fly in controlled airspace) and make sure you’re not doing anything else that could interfere with the national airspace system.
The FAA uses the term “No Drone Zone” to areas where drone takeoff and landing isn’t due to local laws, controlled airspace regulations, or temporary flight restrictions. The FAA provides signs to local governments trying to designate an area as a “No Drone Zone,” so if you see a sign, don’t fly in that area.
The Federal Aviation Administration created the No Drone Zone sign for government agencies to use to identify if there are local restrictions that prohibit taking off or landing drones from the designated area. Credit: Federal Aviation Administration
Much of Bellingham’s airspace is controlled
With Bellingham International Airport located within a few miles of some of the busiest parts of the city, much of Bellingham’s airspace is controlled by the FAA.
“Most of Bellingham is off limits,” Joshua McCunn, a former commercial drone pilot who teaches after school drone flight classes at the Bellingham Coding + Robotics Club, said in a phone call with the Bellingham Herald.
Bellingham’s Class D controlled airspace stretches as far south as downtown and as far east as the Barkley area, according to the FAA’s airspace map. The area directly north and south of the airport, as well as the stretch to the southeast of BLI, you can’t fly a drone at all, even if you’ve registered with the FAA.
“Some places in town, there’s a 400-foot flight ceiling for recreational pilots, but some places have a zero-foot flight ceiling, which I think means even with the authorization in the zone you can’t fly there,”
You can check exactly where you can and can’t fly, as well as the flight ceiling in each part of town, on the FAA’s B4UFLY app.
Getting FAA authorization to fly can be a minor inconvenience, but McCunn said that shouldn’t discourage recreational flyers around Bellingham.
“Recreational pilots can still apply to the FAA for authorization, it just takes a few days or a week… When you’re issued an authorization, many times you can get an authorization that is not just for a day but like a three month or a six month authorization,” McCunn said.
Drones and privacy
If they’re compliant with all other FAA rules, there’s no law stopping someone from flying a drone over someone else’s property. However, that doesn’t mean they’re free to point a camera at you.
According to state law, you’re not allowed to take a photo or video of anyone without their permission in a place “where that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.” So even if you’re allowed to fly a drone over a neighbors property, you can’t keep your camera on.
This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
Daniel Schrager is the service journalism reporter at the Bellingham Herald. He joined the Herald in February of 2024 after graduating from Rice University in 2023.Support my work with a digital subscription
Rosemary Montalvo was previously a service journalism reporter based in Tacoma, WA. She started as a summer news intern after graduating from California State University, Fullerton in May 2023. She has also worked as the photo editor and reporter for her university’s student-run newspaper. She was born in Inglewood, California.
