The City Council of the city of Clermont, in central Florida, voted to approve a request allowing Walmart local to deliver purchases to their client by dron. And the result was? 4-1 in favor of the supermarket company.
Clermont is now becoming the first municipality of the state to authorize an operation of this kind for the chain. And it’s quite a step towards future technologies on the retail sector.
Walmart Supercenter, located in Johns Lake Road, will be then using this aerial technology to send away products—within an specific zone—changing the way things get deliver in Florida.
Walmart drones: How will it wort?
The plan is to install a fence approximately 8 feet high to divide the parking area into two specific zones: One, for loading the products automatically; and another for storing and operating the drones.
This was Wing LLC’s proposal, a company specialized in dron deliveries. They demanded authorization to place a container in the property, that will be part of the infrastructure to operate the whole system.
The request mainly ask for an improvement on the chain’s delivery system. However, it open the pandora’s box of urban rules for this kind of services.
Councillors debate before voting
Although the votes in favor were nearly unanimous, councillors expressed concerns about the visual impact, privacy and security of the project during the session. However, Eric Vaughan, spokesperson for Wing LLC, was there to answer all their questions.
Vaughan explained how the system would work: Drone would be dropping the packages through a 7,6 meters cable. No device will be landing on households. He also assured the councillors that, the cameras in the drones don’t have the resolution to invade people’s privacy.
They were questions about if drones would be able to cross busy highways like Highway 27 or Highway 50. Vaughan’s answers in that matter was that there are no federal authorizations for this kind of flying device yet.
Councilman Bryan Bain was the only one who voted against the proposal. “All it needs is a barbed wire fence and it would look like a prison,” he said, referring to how the aesthetics of the place would be affected by the metal fence and the container. Although he clarified he wasn’t opposing to the drones, and saw the useful potential in urgent deliveries for medicine or food.
Getting the drones ready for 2026
Walmart is already working with this systems in cities like Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth; so this is not a first time for them, although it is for the city of Clermont.
The service has been approved already and according to Wing LLC, this technology is only going to develop more, and more around the country. The vision is that, for mid 2026 drones might double their loading capacity.
In Clermont, the only condition to approve the proposal was that he containers would have to be recovered with materials a little more pleasant to the eyes. For the rest, the new year will arrive e welcoming aerial deliveries in Florida.
What does this proposal mean for customers and residents? First benefit will be: faster deliveries if you are inside the designated area. Your groceries won’t get stopped by traffic, there will be fewer delays and more efficiency overall.
Clermont will be the first in California to test this model, but since it has been already implemented in other cities (Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth), it becomes an example—to do around the U.S.—if the results are positive. It will leaves less place to a marge of error, and it can serve as an example to assure people that safety and privacy are being respect.