Ada County, ID Drone Rules: Park Drone Restrictions (2026)

Adopted in 2018 as Ordinance 883, Ada County Code 5-4-10 regulates unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), defined broadly to include any drone, remotely piloted vehicle or remotely operated aircraft that flies without carrying a human operator. The county states the rule is meant to work alongside, not replace, FAA regulation: every operator must register their UAS with the FAA (model aircraft excepted) and hold a remote pilot certificate under 14 CFR Part 107 or the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act's Section 333, and must have that certificate on hand while flying.

The substantive bans in subsection D target conduct rather than location, so they reach a drone flown over Barber Park, the Greenbelt or any other Ada County parks and waterways property the same as anywhere else in the unincorporated county: no flying in a way that harasses, startles or annoys pedestrians or vehicles; no reckless or careless flying that endangers life or property; no using a drone to capture images, audio or other impressions of someone in a place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy; and no interfering with a firefighter or other public safety officer responding to a fire or medical emergency.

Subsection E carves out anyone flying under an FAA waiver, certificate of authorization, or Part 107 approval, and separately protects law enforcement flying a UAS under a warrant, or for emergency search-and-rescue or controlled-substance investigations under Idaho Code 21-213(2)(a). There is no dedicated no-fly rule written just for county parkland; 5-4-10 is the operative law wherever a drone crosses over Ada County's unincorporated area.