Drone Use By Fairfax County Channel 16 Approved By Supervisors

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Channel 16, Fairfax County government's television channel, gained approval Tuesday to use drones for footage of county facilities.

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to allow use of drones, also known as unmanned aircraft systems. The county's Department of Cable and Consumer Services plans to get video of Fairfax County facilities, parks, buildings, and historic landmarks to improve television programs about county services. Footage would be taken by Channel 16 staff who are FAA licensed operators.

According to board documents, measures would be taken to ensure the privacy of people seen in videos.

"To ensure the privacy of the public, imagery would be recorded to ensure that individuals would not be recognizable or, if anyone is recognizable, a signed County Release Form would be acquired," board documents state.

The Board of Supervisors approved an authorization process in 2019 allowing non-public safety departments to operate a drone program. In February, the Department of Cable and Consumer Services provided a memo on its proposed drone program for board review.

The department received no comments, questions, concerns or objections from the board on the proposal. There was no additional discussion by the board Tuesday on the matter.

The drone program does not come with additional costs. The Department of Cable and Consumer Services has $900 in the current budget to acquire equipment and provide operator license certification.

Fairfax County already has a drone program for public safety responses such as search and rescue, flooding assessments, disaster damage assessments, crash reconstruction, fire incidents, and hazardous material responses.

For the public, the Fairfax County Park Authority allows use of drones on its land, provided that pilots follow FAA policies, including DC area airspace restrictions.