In today’s world it seems that once a new technology reaches the masses there is no stopping where it might go.

One such technology is unmanned aircraft, or drones, being used primarily for aerial photography and video.

Evidence of this can be seen on the front page of the Feb. 11 edition of The Times. There was an aerial photo taken of the Concours auto show in Fountain Park.

This was no fluke, as The Times received photos of the event, taken from drones, from three separate sources.

Does this reflect a safety concern with drones flying over crowded events in the park or other venues in Fountain Hills?

Community Services Director Mark Mayer, whose oversight includes Parks and Recreation, admits the thought of regulating drones has crossed his mind.

“We have had discussions at the commission level (Community Services Advisory Commission),” Mayer said. “This has become an issue nationwide for parks.”

Mayer added that he is aware of at least two drones now sitting at the bottom of Fountain Lake. He said the town turned down a request by one of the owners to retrieve his aircraft.

Current Town Code includes a provision in parks regulations that prohibits the use of “gas- powered model airplanes and incendiary model rockets.”

That will not cover the use of drones, according to Mayer.

Fountain Hills, like many other communities as well as users, throughout the country are waiting patiently for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue its Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) regulations before taking specific local action.

The FAA expects to publish rules for smaller aircraft – less than 55 pounds – later this year.

The agency did release tentative rules this past weekend, although it may take two to three years to finalize.

Those rules include no night flights, the operator must keep the aircraft within their sight, flights near airports are prohibited and they may not fly over people.

The rules pave the way for the smaller drones to perform commercial tasks that include aerial photography.

As part of reauthorization legislation approved in 2012 Congress told the FAA to provide for “safe integration” of UAS by the end of September 2015.

This is to be an “incremental process” according to an FAA website. It will likely provide for regulations, standards and policies for commercial use. There is already a regulatory process for commercial and research use in place, but currently has very limited use.

At this time, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire declined to comment on the legal issues related to drones.

However, he did say that he expects he will be asked at some point to advise the council regarding its authority to regulate drone operations.