Chicopee, MA Drone Rules: Park Drone Restrictions (2026)

Chicopee's drone ordinance is Chapter 186 of the Code, adopted by the City Council on 6-20-2017 as Ord. No. 17-30. It has no separate parks section. Instead, § 186-4(C)(9) reaches every property owned or controlled by the City of Chicopee, and City parks are City-owned land, so the air above them falls under the rule. Prior written authorization is the price of flying over any of it.

Two requirements stack. First, § 186-4(B) says a drone or aircraft shall only take off and land on private property owned by the operator or where written permission is granted by the landowner. That written permission has to include the name and signature of the landowner, the address of the property, and the permissible dates and hours of operation, and the operator must have it in possession during the flight. When the landowner is the City, launching from a park without that paper breaks the rule. Second, § 186-4(C)(9) requires prior written authorization to operate over City property. The chapter does not name the office that issues the authorization and prints no application form or fee, so the operator has to get the document in hand before the drone leaves the ground.

The other operating rules in § 186-4(C) also shape a park flight. No operator can fly over a crowd or persons not directly participating in the drone's operation (C)(4), no flight is allowed before sunrise or after sunset (C)(5), the operator must keep constant visual line of sight without screens or visual enhancements (C)(3), the drone must stay below 400 feet (C)(2), and no person can be photographed or videotaped without that person's prior written permission, which the operator keeps for seven years (C)(7).

Chapter 186 applies to drones weighing less than 55 pounds and flown by a private citizen below 400 feet, and only to the extent allowed pursuant to state and federal law (§ 186-3). Section 186-1 gives the reasons: residents' privacy and property interests and the safe operation of the Westover Air Reserve Base.