Santa Cruz County, CA Drone Rules: Park Drone Restrictions (2026)

Santa Cruz County Code Title 10.04, the 'Park Ordinance,' applies to every County park as defined at § 10.04.020(F): parks, trails, recreation areas, beaches, community centers and other land the County owns, operates or controls, in either incorporated or unincorporated territory. Section 10.04.150 addresses 'motorized model aircraft and boats' specifically, prohibiting their operation except in areas designated for such use and subject to all rules and regulations applicable thereto. The Department of Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services, not the flying public, decides where those designated areas are and what conditions apply there; the general permitting power at § 10.04.040(C) lets the Director impose conditions or deny a use on grounds including security, crowd control and public safety.

A separate County ordinance for the Cotoni-Coast Dairies Unit of the California Coastal National Monument (§ 8.58.020(I) and § 8.58.030(A)(19)), a Bureau of Land Management property in the county, expressly defines an 'unmanned aircraft system' as any aircraft without a human pilot on board, e.g., drones, and separately bans the takeoff or landing of any aircraft, including drones, on that specific unit; that chapter does not apply countywide, only to the Cotoni-Coast Dairies land. For the County's regular park system, § 10.04.150's designated-area rule is the applicable standard, and § 10.04.305 lets the Director additionally post any park area as fully off-limits to protect public safety, which can extend to grounding drone flights entirely in a posted zone. No specific penalty is written into § 10.04.150 itself.