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Sammamish, WA Drone Rules: Park Drone Restrictions (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified August 2026

Key Facts

Governing section
SMC § 7A.07.060
Offense class
Criminal misdemeanor
Drone treatment
Adopts 49 U.S.C. 448 by reference
Emergency exception
Written notice to director within 72 hours
Scope
All city parks, trails, open spaces, marine areas

Summary

Sammamish Municipal Code § 7A.07.060 bars aircraft from landing or taking off anywhere in city open spaces, trails, park areas, park facilities or marine areas except in a bona fide emergency, and folds unmanned aircraft systems into that same section by adopting federal aviation law by reference. A violation is a criminal misdemeanor.

(1) No aircraft may land or take off from any body of water or land area in a City of Sammamish open space, trail, park area, park facility, or associated marine area, except aircraft used to transport injured persons, evacuees, medical personnel, or public officials in the event of an accident, disaster, or emergency. ... (3) With regard to unmanned aircraft systems, the following chapter in the United States Code is adopted as reference, now in effect and as subsequently amended: 49 U.S.C. 448. (4) Any person violating provisions of this rule shall have committed a criminal misdemeanor.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance O2026-598, and legislation passed through August 18, 2026).

Full Breakdown

07's General Rules, prohibits aircraft landings and takeoffs from any body of water or land area within a City of Sammamish open space, trail, park area, park facility, or associated marine area. The only exception covers aircraft transporting injured persons, evacuees, medical personnel, or public officials during an accident, disaster, or emergency, and even then the aircraft owner must submit a written statement explaining the circumstances to the director within 72 hours of the emergency landing or takeoff. C. " Sammamish did not draft its own drone-specific standard; it incorporated the federal aviation statute wholesale, so the operative federal aviation and drone-operation rules govern by reference rather than by locally-written text.

That places drone launches and landings in city parks under the same criminal-misdemeanor penalty in subsection (4) as manned-aircraft violations, since the section treats aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems as one regulated category. 030.

Violations & Fines

Landing, launching, or operating an aircraft, including a drone, in a Sammamish park, trail, open space, or marine area without qualifying for the written emergency exception is a criminal misdemeanor under § 7A.07.060(4), not merely a civil infraction. An aircraft owner who lands during a genuine emergency avoids liability only by submitting a written explanation to the director within 72 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I fly a drone in a Sammamish city park?
Sammamish Municipal Code § 7A.07.060 prohibits any aircraft, a category the section extends to unmanned aircraft systems by adopting federal aviation law (49 U.S.C. 448) by reference, from landing or taking off in city open spaces, trails, park areas, park facilities, or marine areas. There's no drone-specific carve-out, so a drone launch or landing in a park is a criminal misdemeanor.
Is there any exception to Sammamish's park aircraft ban?
Yes, but it's narrow. Section 7A.07.060(1) exempts aircraft used to transport injured persons, evacuees, medical personnel, or public officials during an accident, disaster, or emergency. The aircraft owner must then submit a written statement explaining the emergency to the director within 72 hours of the takeoff or landing to avoid violating the rule.
What penalty applies to an illegal aircraft or drone landing in a Sammamish park?
Section 7A.07.060(4) makes any violation a criminal misdemeanor, the same classification used for other serious park-rule violations like unauthorized motor-vehicle use on trails. That's a higher-level offense than the civil-offense citations used for lesser park violations such as restroom loitering or unauthorized vehicle washing.

Sources & Official References

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