Updated 5/11/2025:
This update follows the community meet and greet held by Amazon on Thursday, May 8 at the Aloft Richardson.
The Richardson City Council asked to move the Amazon presentation until the June 9 council meeting to allow the new Mayor to be sworn in.
Amazon performed a sound study at their Tolleson, AZ site with the new drone and rented an Air BnB next to the drone pad to gage the sound from indoors. The picture below shows the results of that study.
The drone weighs about 70 pounds. Below is a photo of the drone they displayed at the meeting. This is the model that will be used at the Richardson Amazon site.
Some additional information provided during discussions with various Amazon team members included the following:
- They have two active sites today in College Station, TX and in Tolleson, AZ. Richardson will be the third site and should be launched in October/November of this year. They have a total of 10 drone sites they are working on bringing online before the end of the year so they are running all of these launch plans in parallel.
- 56% of the Amazon inventory can be delivered by drone.
- 87% of the most ordered items can be delivered by drone.
- They expect to have around 10 drones in Richardson and once they get interest, expect to see about 250 drone trips per day.
- The drone path is that the drone goes straight up and then flies at 200 ft outbound for delivery. They return at 400 ft to keep both lanes open.
- Only one drone will take off at a time. They will not launch two drones at the same time, but they can follow each other.
- Their operation hours must stay between 7am and 10pm but they do not fly after dark. They stop drone flights about 30 minutes after dusk starts.
- The drones can fly in light rain but will not fly during heavy storms
- Privacy Concerns
- The front facing cameras only record to the drone memory and are overwritten as trips progress. It is only used by the drone to improve its accuracy of dangers in the air that the drone will avoid. The drone operators do not see this video stream at all since it stays on the drone. They do not download the video at any time and indicated that would be illegal.
- The downward facing camera is only activated when the drone descends to its drop height and is used by the drone to determine if there is an obstruction or a person or animal in the drop zone before it drops the package. It has a very narrow focus of the drop zone only and not neighboring yards. Again, the drone operator does not see the video from this camera. If any obstructions are present, then the drone delivery is aborted and the drone returns without dropping the package.
- Neither camera takes photos. No video leaves the drone and is overwritten as the drone operates.
- Amazon designs, builds, and tests each of their drones and does not use an external company for this technology. They must comply with FAA regulations in terms of safety and redundancy of components.
Updated 4/25/2025:
Amazon’s meeting with the Richardson City Council has been moved to mid May.
Below is a message from Sarah Rith, Amazon Community Engagement Manager:
We’re excited to invite you and the residents of Creek Hollow Estates to our Amazon Drone Delivery event we’re hosting on Thursday, May 8, 2025 from 4PM to 6PM at the Aloft Richardson hotel. During our event, you’ll have an opportunity to learn about Amazon’s Drone Delivery service that allows customers to shop from thousands of items and have them delivered by drone within an hour.
Address: Aloft Richardson Hotel: 1160 State St, Richardson, TX 75082
Parking: Street parking is available on Newton Street and State Street, with additional parking in nearby garages.
Please take a moment to share your attendance through this link, which will help us plan accordingly. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me at: sannrith@amazon.com
Amazon Prime Air Planned Development Change (Zoning File 25-04)
Amazon is in the planning stages to introduce Prime Air Drone Delivery from their STX-8 Fulfillment Center located at Breckinridge and Shiloh in Richardson, TX, near our neighborhood. Their goal is to have it operational in 4Q 2025. They must first go through the following approvals:
- Approval of a Planned Development Amendment with the Richardson Planning Commission (recommend approval on March 18 with a vote of 3 to 2 in favor) and the Richardson City Council (scheduled for mid May).
- FAA approval (being conducted in parallel)
The drones are battery powered, carry one item of 5 pounds or less, and are intended for Amazon Prime deliveries in under 60 minutes. Amazon is planning on using the new model MK30 drone which has passed approvals in October 2024 and started deliveries in November 2024 at another location. This newer drone is quieter than previous models, has enhanced detect and avoid technology, has the ability to operate in light rain, and has a wider range allowing deliveries up to a 7.5 mile radius.
The FAA restricts the flying of these delivery drones between the hours of 7am and 10pm, but Amazon has indicated they will only fly them during daylight hours.
Each drone has two cameras. One is used to track forward flight and the second is to track downward when a delivery is made. If there are dogs or people in the back yard, then the drone will return to the Amazon facility without delivering the package to ensure maximum safety. Customers can request a delivery drop in either the front yard or the back yard.
Amazon indicated they expected to have 10-20 drones at the Breckinridge site. Each drone will utilize the most direct path to the delivery site and does not follow roads. They will fly where air space is allowed by the FAA so will avoid some paths such as over the Methodist Medical Richardson Center at Bush and Renner. Amazon also indicated they will work in close cooperation with Richardson First Responders when they need to operate their drones.
Amazon Prime Air is actively in discussions with Methodist Richardson Medical Center and other airspace users. These conversations are focused on understanding operational frequency while ensuring Amazon drone delivery service can operate with Methodist Richardson Medical Center, residential areas, and other airspace users. It’s important to note, Amazon states they plan their routes and work with their customers on delivery locations while abiding by airspace constraints. As these conversations are ongoing, they do not have information to share on their specific routes at this time.
The flight elevation of the drones is between 200-400 feet. They will descend to 13 feet to deliver the package. The packaging includes special padding to protect the item being delivered. However, not everything under 5 pounds will be able to be delivered, especially highly fragile items. The drones have sense and detect technology to prevent collision with other drones, with birds, and with other obstacles.
With regards to noise, Amazon has included this link which features their newest Prime Air drone, the MK30. This drone has redundant critical systems, longer range, and is 40% quieter as perceived by the human ear than the prior drone, the MK27. You can hear the difference via the soundbite through the link. There are numerous factors, such as landscape and weather, that determine how much aircraft sound is experienced on the ground. The drone also produces different decibel levels at different stages of flight. Amazon has followed all applicable regulatory standards and requirements on noise, and will do so in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards. The primary focus of their operations, as stated by Amazon, will always be the safe operation of the drones. However, they are also committed to flying in a manner that minimizes community noise. In addition to leveraging technology, Amazon will be utilizing multiple routes and flying at higher altitudes to reduce the sounds heard by individual households.
Tollson, AZ and College Station, TX are the only other Amazon sites currently with drone deliveries. College Station originally had multiple complaints until the drones were replaced with the newer, quieter model. The drone pad was also immediately adjacent to the neighborhood and did not have the separation that will exist for Creek Hollow.
For those Amazon Prime Members who want to consider drone deliveries once this is operational, it will be an additional charge to add the service to your plan. This will be an overall charge and not a charge per delivery.
For frequently asked questions about drone delivery by Amazon, here is the link to answer many questions how it works for customers: Amazon Drone Delivery FAQ.
Specific questions can be sent to Amazon at amazondronefeedback@amazon.com.
Customers who place orders on Amazon.com for drone delivery must agree to Amazon’s privacy notice, conditions of use, and consent for drone delivery.
City Planning Commission Materials may be found at this website.