[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Ocean 8-13-2015 by Ord. No.
2015-10. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
- DATA COLLECTION
- The acquisition of information by use of one or more sensing devices.
- DRONE
- An unmanned aircraft that can fly under the control of a remote pilot or by a global positioning system (GPS) guided autopilot mechanism, and that is equipped with any sensing device or capable of any data collection.
- SENSING DEVICE
- A device capable of acquiring data from its surroundings. Sensing devices include, but are not limited to, cameras, microphones, thermal detectors, chemical detectors, radiation gauges, and wireless receivers in any frequency (including cellular, Wi-Fi, or other data frequencies).
- UNMANNED AIRCRAFT
- An unmanned vehicle or device of any size that is capable of remote-control flight by any means and that does not possess any sensing device and is not capable of any data collection.
A.
This chapter shall not prohibit the constitutional use of drones
and unmanned aircraft by any law enforcement agency or emergency services
organization of or servicing Ocean Township, the County of Ocean,
the State of New Jersey, or the United States government for lawful
purposes and in a lawful manner.
B.
This chapter shall not prohibit any state or federal agencies from
the use of drones and unmanned aircraft for any lawful and authorized
purpose pursuant to federal and state regulations.
C.
This chapter shall not prohibit individuals and entities from the
use of drones during daylight hours for business purposes in the airspace
within the boundary lines of private commercial or residential property
with the property owner's consent, except that data collection
shall be limited to data collection of and relating to the properties
that provide consent thereto alone.
D.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, the authorized and
lawful operation and use of drones for commercial, business, educational,
scientific, research, environmental, and personal purposes pursuant
to and in accordance with specific Federal Aviation Administration
("FAA") regulations is permissible if same exists.
A violation of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine of
between $100 and $500 for a first offense, and for a second or subsequent
offense, a fine of between $500 and $1,000.