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

Section 20-64(d)(1), part of the city's pilotless aircraft ordinance adopted by Ordinance No. A-97 on December 19, 2016, singles out city-owned land for its own permit track. Subsection (c)(1)(d) already bars using city property to launch or land a drone without a permit as may be required in section (d), and subsection (d)(1) then spells out who can require and issue that permit: the commissioner of the parks, recreation and culture department, or a designee, when the land is parks department property, or whichever other city department or commission actually manages the specific parcel, or its designee, when the land belongs to a different city agency.

That means the permit requirement is not limited to the largest parks; it reaches any land the city maintains, wherever a different department or commission has jurisdiction over the property. The ordinance's stated purpose, printed at the top of Section 20-64, is to let residents keep using drones as a hobby and learning tool while protecting the privacy, safety and quality of life of people using the same public land, and while staying consistent with FAA rules. Operators still have to carry proof of FAA registration or any required FAA Certificate of Waiver or Authorization if the city asks for it, and every flight over parks land is also bound by the separate noise ordinance at Section 20-13.