LAPD Warning Against Hiring Unmanned Aircraft Operators for Aerial Photos

C.A.R., January 24, 2012 - Los Angeles authorities have asked C.A.R. to communicate this warning to REALTORS® who hire unmanned aircraft operators to take aerial photographs for marketing high-end properties. Using these devices (also known as drones) for flight in the air with no onboard pilot may violate, among other things, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) policy on unmanned aircrafts, and Los Angeles's local ordinance requiring permits for filming commercial motion pictures and still photographs.

The Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) investigation has apparently revealed that aerial photos where unmanned aircraft were observed have appeared on certain real estate sales websites. According to FilmL.A., the LAPD Air Division has issued this warning as it intends to prosecute violators in the near future. FilmL.A. is a public benefit company created by the City and County of Los Angeles to manage film permit activity and related issues.

Under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s current policy, no one can operate an unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace System without specific authority. Operators who wish to fly an unmanned aircraft for civil use must obtain an FAA experimental airworthiness certificate, which will not be issued to an unmanned aircraft used for compensation or hire. Although the FAA allows hobbyists to fly model airplanes for recreational purposes under specific guidelines, that authority does not extend to operators flying unmanned aircraft for business purposes. More information is available from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Notice on Unmanned Aircraft Operations and the FAA's policy.

Please join Assemblymember Betsy Butler for a community coffee at the Venice-Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library on Saturday, January 28 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Residents are encouraged to bring their questions, ideas and solutions regarding state legislative issues that affect the community.

Saturday, January 28, 2012
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Venice-Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library
501 S. Venice Boulevard
Venice, CA 90291

Please call (310) 615-3515 for more information and click here for directions and to RSVP.

End of redevelopment agencies slows down advocacy at local cities

If you are a local redevelopment agency, then today is not a good day. Following the recent action by the California Supreme Court upholding the Governor's authority to raid RDA funds, cities are scrambling to figure out what to do next. Some cities like Torrance transferred RDA powers to the city council while other cities like Los Angeles are doing away with them altogether.

While cities are busy shutting down their RDA's, other items risk taking a back seat. In one of the South Bay cities served by SBAOR, items related to business taxes and signage that are of importance to REALTORS are due for consideration as soon as city officials finish resolving the RDA before the February 1 deadline.

"As of today’s date, this means our Redevelopment Agency will go out of business as of February 1, 2012," we were told in an email from a city staffer. "City management and the Council are working together on how to address the unintended consequences (i.e. layoffs, budget shortfalls, etc.) It is a very bad time for cities with redevelopment agencies."

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports today that state legislators are doing some scrambling on their own to fill the gap left by local redevelopment agencies.

On Thursday, one state senator proposed extending the life of the agencies; another wants to replace them with different organizations that could fund environmentally friendly growth.

The agencies are on borrowed time because the California Supreme Court last month upheld Gov. Jerry Brown's elimination of their funding but struck down a compromise that would have let them survive in a lesser form.