St. Louis law bans unauthorized drone surveillance flights

It is now illegal for anyone to pilot a commercial drone in St. Louis in what could be considered a surveillance operation without written permission from the city, thanks to a single, divisive operator.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones signed Board Bill Number 199 into law Tuesday, according to local media reports, banning commercial UAV flights that threaten the privacy rights of individuals or their property. The city’s Board of Aldermen previously passed the amendment to the municipal code in a unanimous response to out-of-state startup SMS Novel’s efforts to conduct drone overflight surveillance on the Gravois Park neighborhood, despite objections from most residents. 

As DroneDJ reported in January, SMS Novel has been inflaming tempers of inhabitants and officials by pursuing its controversial UAV monitoring of the area as a crime-fighting service. In reaction, officials voted to amend the St. Louis Code of Ordinances “to regulate the commercial use of drones and impose community-based safety regulations and restrictions on the operation of drones and other UAS.”

That is now law, meaning any companies flying craft on business missions need to get a permit to avoid potential complaints of illegal surveillance within 25 feet of people or their property without their authorization.

Exemptions are made for media outlets and first responders, with the caveat the law doesn’t “preempt federal aviation rules or state law; including a severability clause and emergency clause.”

SMS Novel, which has said it has launched the drone streaming services for subscribing clients in a few other US cities, describes itself as a “faith-based” company providing “on-demand drone service for security, events, or creativity.” The startup’s owner has reportedly said he would sue St. Louis if Jones signed the ordinance into law. 

That could still happen, though – true to his record in previous controversies that his varied business plans have provoked in other states – he appears to have moved on to other projects already.