Alpharetta, GA Drone Rules: Park Drone Restrictions (2026)

Section 32-4, Rules and regulations for parks owned and operated by city, lists fifteen activities in subsection (a)(11) that are prohibited except by a city-issued permit, including hunting, camping, open fires and fireworks, golf, archery, soliciting or vending, cutting or attaching to trees, public address systems, overnight parking, and item (k), 'Drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, rockets, or model aircraft.' Subsection (b) deems the City of Alpharetta Greenway system and the AlphaLoop trail a 'park' for all purposes of section 32-4, so the drone permit requirement reaches those corridors as well as traditional parks.

Subsection (c) authorizes all city law enforcement officers, city officials, and other city officers to enforce the section, and it does not preempt separate enforcement of other city, county, or state rules in the same park. Subsection (c)(3) sets the penalty: a misdemeanor conviction is fined according to the penalties described in section 1-8, or the offender may be sentenced to labor under city supervision on the streets, sidewalks, parks, or other public works for up to 45 days. Subsection (d) requires the director of recreation, parks and cultural services to publish the rules for public distribution and the director of public works to post them on all-weather signs at city parks, though the rules apply whether or not a sign is present. The provision was most recently amended by Ordinance No. 870, § 1, on March 18, 2024.