Ottawa County, MI Drone Rules: Recreational Drones (2026)
Key Facts
- Parks drone rule
- Written Commission permission required, § 400.3.1.16(a)(iii)
- Parks penalty
- Up to $100 civil infraction, § 400.3.1.17
- Jail drone ban
- No dropping objects onto jail grounds, § 400.5.2.1
- Harassment ban
- No drone use to harass or invade privacy, § 400.5.2.2
- Enforcement
- Sheriff's deputies and Commission agents/designees
- Surveillance ordinance effective
- February 1, 2022
Summary
Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission bans flying a remote-controlled airplane, helicopter, drone, car or boat on Commission Park Property without prior written permission, punishable by a $100 civil infraction. Countywide, § 400.5.2 separately bars dropping any object by drone onto the County Jail or Juvenile Detention Facility grounds and bars using a drone on County property to harass or invade another's privacy.
400.3.1.16 Sports, Games, and Hobbies ... a) No person, while on Commission Park Property, shall: ... iii. Use or operate any remote-controlled airplane, helicopter, drone, car, boat, or similar device unless prior written permission is obtained from the Commission or its Agent. ... 400.5.2.1 For security and safety reasons, no person shall drop or cause to be dropped using any device, including but not limited to a drone, any object onto the secured grounds of the Ottawa County Jail or Juvenile Detention Facility; 400.5.2.2 For security, safety and public welfare reasons, no person shall engage in any behavior, including but not limited to using a drone, on County-owned property including but not limited to park property in a manner that violates federal or state laws or invades the privacy of and harasses another person or wildlife.
Full Breakdown
11), states that no person while on Commission Park Property shall use or operate any remote-controlled airplane, helicopter, drone, car, boat, or similar device unless prior written permission is obtained from the Commission or its Agent. The same subsection separately requires written Commission permission before launching hot air balloons, parachutes or hang gliders. 3(b). 17 punishable by a fine of up to $100 plus the costs of prosecution, and the violator may also be expelled from Commission property. 18. 1 bans dropping any object, including via a drone, onto the secured grounds of the Ottawa County Jail or Juvenile Detention Facility, adopted after the Michigan Department of Corrections reported contraband dropped by drone onto prison grounds.
2 bars using a drone on any County-owned property, including park property, in a manner that invades the privacy of or harasses another person or wildlife, defining harassment as a course of conduct that would annoy, threaten, intimidate, alarm or cause reasonable fear.
Violations & Fines
Flying a drone in an Ottawa County park without the Parks and Recreation Commission's prior written permission is a municipal civil infraction under § 400.3.1.17, carrying a fine of up to $100 plus prosecution costs and possible expulsion from the property. Dropping objects onto the County Jail or Juvenile Detention Facility by drone, or using a drone on County property to harass or invade privacy, is enforced separately by the Sheriff under § 400.5.8.2 as a misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I fly my drone at an Ottawa County park?
Is it illegal to fly a drone over the county jail?
Does county law restrict using drones to spy on people in a park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ottawa County
Compare Ottawa County to another location·View the Michigan drone rules overview
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