PLANO, Texas — Plano city officials tabled a decision Monday on whether to change zoning to accommodate the newest feature to retail: drones.
Drones are not exactly a new technology, but the delivery of goods using drones is a novel concept that North Texas has somewhat been at the forefront on. Drone delivery companies like DroneUp have been operating out of Plano off Custer Road in a partnership with Walmart.
"You hear them buzzing around. I don't hear them that often frankly," said Plano resident Paul Selva who lives behind the Walmart Neighborhood Market where DroneUp operates out of the parking lot. The Plano location is just one of eleven drone delivery hubs in North Texas and one of 34 throughout the country.
"I think about having enough privacy. We live in a nice quiet neighborhood. I'd hate to see drones buzzing around in people's backyards," said Selva.
Their drones can deliver up to 1.5 miles away and carry items up to ten pounds and deliver within 30 minutes. Plano, like many cities, do not have drones written into their zoning regulations. Many cities are just now being introduced to the technology and are having to 'learn on the fly.'
"There's always been a fear of the unknown when we go into a community," said Anthony Vittone, chief operating officer of DroneUp.
Christina Sebastian, who is the Land Records Planning Manager, says drone delivery hubs first came to the city's attention more than a year ago. Many meetings later, the city has to decide how it looks on the ground.
"We want to be able to adapt to these new technologies but still provide protections to our residents," Sebastian said. "How far is it from residences? Outside storage? Open storage? [We're just] making sure things are screened throughout the city."
The city cannot regulate the drone up in the air -- that's for the FAA. But the city does have some say in how these hubs may look on the ground.
"What we don't want to do is create a patchwork environment where different counties have different regulations across the state of Texas," Vittone said.
Vittone adds that Texas has been a very accommodating partner in the drone delivery market.
The decision regarding drones has been tabled, and will not be decided on by Plano City Council until next year, Feb. 26. One man spoke during the city council meeting on Monday, saying he felt it wasn't fair to have drone deliveries without a city ordinance in place.
Council members also stated they felt they still need to tour and meet with operators to give them a better understanding before they make a decision.
Will this pave the way for more deliveries? More hubs? Quite possibly. Plano is also adding air taxis to the same zoning change.
Drone deliveries are already here and many North Texas cities are just catching up,