Drone Noise Management in New Zealand

Abstract

The development of unmanned aerial vehicles continues to progress at pace. While these devices have been primarily used in research and hobby applications to date, there are increasing development efforts by companies interested in commercial applications where ‘drones’ would more commonly be deployed and encountered in the community. This paper considers the regulation of drone noise in the context of New Zealand’s Resource Management Act and seeks to examine how well the approaches traditionally used by acoustical engineers to quantify and manage environmental noise will cope with the widespread commercial use of drones. Drawing on recent experience providing advice to the aerospace sector in New Zealand, examples of the types of vertical and horizonal take-off drones which appear set for relatively imminent commercial use in New Zealand are discussed in general terms, along with indicative sound power levels and applications for these devices. How those situations may be managed in a typical District Plan context is then examined, along with the relevance of the concepts outlined in NZS6802:2008 Acoustics—Environmental Noise, NZS6805:1992 Airport Noise Management and Land Use Planning, NZS6807:1994 Noise Management and Land Use Planning for Helicopter Landing Areas, and case law such as Dome Valley District Residents’ Society v Rodney District Council.