Representatives of Walmart will ask Cobb commissioners later this month to carve out a portion of its parking lot at its Johnson Ferry Road store to build a drone delivery station.
Filings with the Cobb Zoning Office indicate that Walmart would fence in the kiosk (indicated in the pink area on the map below), “no land disturbance is proposed and all proposed items will be anchor bolted to the pavement.”
Because Walmart would be amending the site plan, commissioners need to sign off on the proposal, which is scheduled to be heard April 21 during the monthly zoning hearing.
It’s an “other business” item (you can read the filing here), and zoning staff hasn’t yet offered an analysis.
The applicant is Rachel Sutherland, a project manager with Atwell, a national real estate and land development firm that is partnering with Walmart and a third-party drone service to develop the proposed East Cobb drone station site.
The Walmart deliveries would be for light parcels, typically under five pounds, and would cover a radius of a few miles.
Walmart is one of the first retailers to offer drone delivery services, and Atlanta is among the test markets (Amazon, Walmart’s main competitor, also is experimenting with drone delivery in certain area, but not Atlanta).
The East Cobb station would be the first such Walmart drone facility in Cobb County; the closest Walmart drone station currently is in Woodstock.
Walmart is working with the drone delivery service WING, which promises deliveries in less than 30 minutes.
The drones would travel at 60 mph at a height of 150 feet until reaching the delivery point, then would drop to around 20 feet to a driveway or yard.
Walmart has indicated it would provide deliveries only during daytime hours.
Residents in the vicinity have been receiving notifications from Walmart, and some have vowed to fight the drone kiosk.
One of them, Stefanie Stoltz, has written to commissioners asking them to turn down the request, saying that unlike other areas where Walmart operates drones, “this is a very residential area” and that what Walmart is asking for is “a misuse of zoning.”
She lives on Freeman Road, right behind the Walmart store, and is worried about noise, mechanical failures and other issues.
“This isn’t just a small operational change—it would fundamentally change the nature of what happens right next to my property,” Stoltz wrote.
“Living next to what is effectively a drone launch site—with constant noise, overhead activity, and safety concerns—makes my home less desirable to future buyers. This is a direct financial impact on me as a homeowner, through no choice of my own.”
What isn’t included in the Walmart filings is how drone activity might change if the delivery station plans are approved.
Drones are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, and Walmart has received permission to deliver via drone into the evening hours in some other markets.
It’s unclear if local governments could implement rules that could be overridden by the FAA.
More than anything, Stoltz, said, “I am also concerned about what this opens the door to. If this is approved, what prevents other companies or additional drone operators from using the same airspace or nearby properties? This could quickly multiply the number of drones overhead, turning an already concerning situation into a constant, unavoidable presence.”
Related stories:
- RaceTrac refiles Bells Ferry/Barrett Parkway rezoning plans
- Cobb approves Mt. Bethel Christian Academy expansion plans
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We need to stop this now or there will be drone flights over our homes making noise all times of the day and night in the future.
Think of it this way. We all put up with garbage collection in our neighborhoods, even when it seems that someone in the neighborhood has a “garbage day” every day of the week, except Sundays. The collection cannot begin before 7am, by law.
Imagine a Walmart or Amazon truck showing up at a place near your neighborhood and 10 drones flying from there for 5-10 minutes, like a swarm, delivering smaller packages. This is the best case. Drones have failures. Drones drop from the sky. Will we need to sue these huge companies for compensation when they break a roof or hit a vehicle? How long will that lawsuit take to get $5000 in compensation? Who wants that hassle?
BTW, don’t we own the 400ft of airspace above our homes. Is it even legal for a company to fly that low without permission?
An aircraft flying below the navigable airspace limit may be considered trespassing if it interferes with the property owner’s use and enjoyment of their land.
Aircraft have the right to fly over private property without the owner’s permission, as long as they are within navigable airspace and comply with FAA regulations.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates navigable airspace, which generally starts at 500 feet above ground level for uncongested areas and 1000 feet above the highest obstacle within 2000 feet horizontally for congested areas.
Flying at 150 ft isn’t within the “navigable airspace” definition.