Weston, FL Drone Rules: Recreational Drones (2026)

Section 52.18 of the Code prohibits the take-off and landing of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in all Public Places within the City of Weston unless the City Manager has given written authorization first. Section 1.01's definitions chapter defines UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE broadly as a type of aircraft that operates without a human pilot onboard, 'including but not limited to drones (as defined in F.S. § 934.50), model airplanes and rockets,' so a hobbyist's quadcopter and a child's remote-control model plane fall under the same rule. The ordinance regulates only the take-off and landing act in a Public Place, which tracks the FAA's exclusive authority over navigable airspace and keeps the City from purporting to ban flight itself; a recreational flier launching from private property, such as a backyard or an HOA common area with the association's permission, is outside Section 52.18's reach.

Because Weston is built around dozens of gated HOA communities plus city parks and the Weston Town Center plaza, the practical effect is that hobby drone launches at city-owned Public Places require the City Manager's prior written sign-off, while launches confined to private lots do not trigger this section, though HOA rules may separately restrict them. Ordinance 2018-16, passed November 19, 2018, created the section as a freestanding rule outside the older 2010-12 base subchapter.