Tustin, CA Drone Rules: Event Drone Restrictions (2026)

Two different sections of Tustin's UAS chapter reach the same practical goal, keeping drones away from organized events and active incidents, from different angles. Section 4962(d) targets planned gatherings: no person may take off or land a UAS within 100 feet of "any City-permitted and/or City-sponsored public event" without the City's written or electronic permission, and an operator flying inside that buffer must carry a copy of that consent. Section 4964 targets unplanned, safety-sensitive scenes instead: subsection (a) bans takeoff or landing within 500 feet of any emergency vehicle running lights or sirens, and subsection (b) bans the same within 500 feet of any active law enforcement or emergency response incident, covering everything from a traffic collision to a barricaded suspect.

The same section separately restricts flights within 100 feet of a school facility without the school's authorization, and within 500 feet of a jail, holding facility, or law enforcement facility. None of these buffers apply to "Public UAS" run by a qualifying government agency under Section 4965's exemption, so police and fire drones responding to the very incident being buffered are not themselves violating the rule. A private operator who ignores any of these event or incident buffers commits a misdemeanor under Section 4667, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, up to six months in the Orange County jail, or both, with continuing violations charged day by day.