Wentzville aldermen pass first reading of drone delivery zoning bill

TLDR

• Wentzville's Board of Aldermen passed the first reading of a bill regulating drone delivery sites on 21 October.¹
• It would require conditional use permits, FAA approval, insurance and noise tests at launch sites and nearby homes.¹²
• DroneXL, reading city minutes, links the bill to a Wing and Walmart proposal; KMOV does not name either.¹²

Wentzville's Board of Aldermen in Missouri passed the first reading of a drone delivery measure on Wednesday 21 October, Mayor Nickolas Guccione told KMOV.¹ KMOV says the proposal would require companies to obtain conditional use permits, secure Federal Aviation Administration approval and carry insurance, and to run noise tests at proposed launch sites and nearby homes; it expects the board to take the bill up again in about two weeks.¹ DroneXL, which calls the measure Bill 4914, says the next regular board meeting is 4 November.²

DroneXL reports that the bill would make drone delivery a conditional use in the C-2, C-3 and I-1 zones, only as an accessory to an existing business, and that its text in the board's 21 October agenda packet limits flights to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, subject to each permit.² It adds that operators could not intentionally collect images or data unrelated to deliveries and must publish a privacy policy.² Mid-Rivers Newsmagazine, reporting the 23 September meeting, says the draft then had drones take off from a launch pad, climb about 150 feet and descend to drop the delivery, and required applicants to delete data and footage after a set period.³

The bill was postponed unanimously on 23 September after aldermen raised concerns.²³ Alderman Michael Lovell said he was not ready to accept anything yet, and Alderman Frank Martell said passing a law would open the city to the technology sooner.³ City Administrator Doug Lee said that without rules, drone deliveries originating in the city are currently prohibited, but that drones could fly in from neighbouring cities such as Lake Saint Louis.³ City Attorney Jim Hetlage said the FAA has already authorised commercial drone delivery, so the city can control only the parameters for a landing base at a store.³

KMOV does not name an operator. DroneXL, citing city minutes, says Wing's local policy manager pitched an 18-drone nest at the Wentzville Walmart to the Planning and Zoning Commission on 8 June, and the commission voted 6 to 0 to have staff write a zoning category.² DroneXL notes that the minutes record a 2.3 pound payload while Wing announced five pounds on 5 October, and says the figures match if the minutes' number was in kilograms.² KMOV adds that Kirkwood leaders rejected a Walmart drone station last week after resident opposition, and that Walmart is exploring St. Charles, Maplewood and Manchester.¹

Why it matters: Wentzville is regulating the ground base of drone delivery because, in its city attorney's words, the FAA already authorises the flights; the bill returns for further readings around 4 November, and the Wing and Walmart link rests on DroneXL's reading of city minutes rather than on KMOV or the bill text as reported.