Anderson County, SC Drone Rules: Recreational Drones (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Sec. 6-57, airport zone use restrictions
- Zones covered
- Airport height safety zones, Sec. 6-55
- Drone reference
- Unmanned aircraft systems named explicitly
- Standard applied
- FAA regulation of drones
- Enforcing office
- County development standards department
Summary
Near Anderson Regional Airport, county code bars any land or water use, including drones and unmanned aircraft systems, that interferes with navigation signals, pilot visibility or aircraft landing and takeoff. The rule folds FAA drone regulation directly into the county's airport height safety zones.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, no use may be made of land or water within any zone established by this article in such a way as to create electrical interference with navigational signals or radio communications between the airport and aircraft, make it difficult for pilots to distinguish between airport lights and others, result in glare in the eyes of the pilots using the airport, impair visibility in the vicinity of the airport, create bird strike hazards or otherwise in any way endanger or interfere with the landing, takeoff or maneuvering of aircraft intending to use the airport. This includes the use of unmanned aircraft systems and drones as regulated by the FAA.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 2).
Full Breakdown
Section 6-57, part of the county's airport height limitation article, sets a use restriction across the airport height safety zones established in section 6-55 around Anderson Regional Airport. No use of land or water in those zones may create electrical interference with navigational signals or radio communications between the airport and aircraft, make it hard for pilots to distinguish airport lights from others, create glare in pilots' eyes, impair visibility near the airport, create bird strike hazards, or otherwise endanger or interfere with aircraft landing, takeoff or maneuvering.
" Rather than setting its own altitude ceiling or no-fly hours for recreational drones, the county defers to FAA regulation and simply folds drone activity into the same interference-based test it applies to any other land or water use in the safety zones defined by 14 CFR Part 77 approach, primary, transitional, horizontal and conical surfaces. This provision is airport-specific: it governs the mapped height safety zones around Anderson Regional Airport, not the county at large, and it is separate from the outright drone ban inside county parks under section 34-24(15).
Violations & Fines
The airport zoning article is enforced through the development standards department; a use restriction violation under section 6-57 can trigger permit revocation under section 6-59 for structures, and interference with aircraft operations is also independently subject to FAA regulation and enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Anderson County have its own drone law separate from the FAA?
Where does the airport drone restriction apply?
Is this the same rule as the county park drone ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Anderson County
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