This is my response please feel free to comment

My company Geomaps has been in the business of aerial mapping and photogrammetry since 1967. Geomaps and hundreds like it have used aerial photographs to perform vital survey work for thousands of construction projects over the years. The ability to survey large projects from aerial photographs has eliminated the need to have survey workers on the site that in many cases would be in dangerous situations and causing traffic problems. By moving survey measurements to the comfort of an office we not only reduce survey costs, but we improve safety conditions for surveyors and the commuters on the roads and bridges.  Up until recently all aerial survey projects were flown by manned aircraft and because of this the cost to do an aerial survey required a large site to compensate for the expense of the pilot, camera man and the aircraft. Recent technology developments as enabled the industry to collect survey grade aerial photographs from unmanned UAVs. This will enable surveyors to use aerial survey methods on smaller projects that would otherwise be too expensive.  The benefit will be less survey people on the sites for greater safety and cost savings that will be significant.

The current situation of unregulated UAV use is dangerous and unacceptable. The FAA has been working on a comprehensive solution that will register all UAV pilots and aircraft. The efforts of individual states and communities to ban UAV use are misguided and ill-informed about the technology and their benefits. Just as the Wild West got tamed so will the UAV industry let’s do it in an intelligent manner, through a federal authority (the FAA) with the tools to get it right for everyone.