North Myrtle Beach’s planning commission voted 6-0 on 20 October to refuse Amazon a drone launch pad behind its Water Tower Road warehouse, The Post and Courier reported. It was the third town in a week to move against an Amazon drone base.
“I’m done talking about drones,” commissioner Callie Jean Wise said before the vote. The decision stops at the commission, according to the city’s minutes of 22 September. Amazon can apply again after twelve months.
The city’s own staff had found no reason to refuse. Their report said a denial should name the standard the plan fails. Objections mainly about flights, it added, should get legal review before being used as grounds.
A denial, a ban and a pause
Westborough, Massachusetts went further on 19 October. A special town meeting voted 510 to 13 to bar launch pads and drop zones for commercial drones anywhere in town, Boston.com reported. Amazon wants its first New England drone site at its Otis Street warehouse there.
The bylaw exempts surveys, newsgathering and emergency response. It takes effect only if the state attorney general and the Massachusetts aeronautics division approve it. Amazon did not answer Boston.com’s request for comment.
Portland, Oregon’s city council voted 11-0 on 14 October to give the state notice that it may consider a moratorium on facilities for commercial drones. The resolution itself says it adopts no moratorium. Oregon law requires the notice at least 45 days before a final hearing, and caps a city moratorium at 120 days unless extended.
Councilor Sameer Kanal introduced it. Since 28 September, the council’s impact statement says, these facilities were the most common topic in messages to the councillors of District 2, which takes in North Portland. OPB reported that Amazon applied in September for a drone base at its North Portland warehouse, then cancelled a planning meeting set for 20 October.
Rules instead of refusals
Other places are writing conditions rather than saying no. Northglenn, near Denver, passed its hub ordinance 7-0 on first reading on 12 October. Pads would need a special use permit and sit at least 200 feet from homes and schools, with noise capped at 65 decibels at the property line. Wing and Walmart plan to fly in the Denver area from 2027.
Belvedere, California tabled the second reading of its own ordinance on 12 October. The city now says it is exploring a regional approach with other Marin towns. A total ban, its council report warned, “could raise substantial legal risks”.
North Myrtle Beach is drafting the same kind of rule. Staff planned to advertise it on 22 October, with setbacks of 300 feet from homes for a pad like Amazon’s. It would set no flight paths, altitudes or flight limits, and would not apply to Amazon’s refused application.
FlightBrief analysis: every one of these measures acts on the ground, because the FAA controls the air. The July environmental finding removed the agency’s site-by-site review, so a town’s own permit is now the only local review a hub faces. Westborough’s ban reaches furthest. Barring every landing in town comes close to barring the flights, and the state has yet to approve it.
Northglenn holds its public hearing and final vote on 26 October. Westborough’s zoning board of appeals meets on Amazon’s drone site on 2 November.
