Delivery drones spark concerns with Warren City Council

WARREN — Warren is joining the list of cities that may soon see delivery drones flying overhead — but not without some concerns.

At its Jan. 27 meeting, the Warren City Council raised multiple concerns over delivery drones being operated by Amazon. The city is looking to join Sterling Heights in bringing their questions to the online mega retailer.

City Council Attorney Jeff Schroeder said the Federal Aviation Administration has jurisdiction over the drones, and that the city could submit a statement about the environmental impact caused by the drones — things such as noise, or privacy concerns.

After submitting a letter, Schroeder said, the city could request a public hearing with the FAA regarding concerns over the drones.

Warren Police Lt. Brandon Roy said the city had already received documents from the Sterling Heights Police Department to help draft a letter to the FAA.

“Our letter was narrowly focused to the public safety implications of the drone flights,” Roy said. “So requesting aerospace deconfliction priorities for public safety missions and things of that nature was the general path.”

Roy said the department had already submitted its letter.

City Council Secretary Mindy Moore asked about the possibility of adding the environmental impacts of the drones to the letter.

“Maybe we want to address those items, because I think there’s a place for public comment at some point,” Moore said. “We do want the residents to (comment) because they might have concerns.”

Another concern raised by Councilman Gary Boike was about the increased risk of safety problems that could arise if other delivery agencies were to start using drones, too.

“The risk is going to go up higher with more drones up there,” Boike said. “You’re going to have packages flying all around the city.”

Councilman Johnathan Lafferty also raised two questions: the first surrounding privacy issues, stating on Christmas Eve he saw a number of drones pass over his backyard.

“I’m thinking to myself, in summertime, people are outside, they’re enjoying their pools, they’re in their bathing suits. What is the expectation of privacy here,” he said.

Lafferty referenced concerns about privacy that were raised when the Detroit City Airport expanded, and the affects the routes of airplanes had on the neighborhoods.

“I am certainly not a proponent of having air traffic like that at such a low level, flying over my backyard and the backyards of my neighbors all day long, and having to listen to that,” he said. “That is not what we signed up for.”

Lafferty also suggested the possibility of people shooting down drones to steal packages.

“Someone’s having too good of a time and decides, well I’m going to get my rifle out and shoot one out of the sky,” he said. “These are serious issues. These are serious questions that have to be asked. What are they doing about this?”

Lafferty added that the city should be working to get ahead of any issues before it becomes a problem.

In the end, the council voted unanimously to have Schroeder hold a discussion with Interim City Attorney Mary Michaels, as well as the city’s public safety departments about submitting another letter or holding a public hearing about delivery drones.