Do these people REALLY expect that every landing area that might be used by a helicopter be “government approved”? I fly helicopters–the advantage of a helicopter is that “the whole world is a potential landing area.” In this case, there was no traffic, no congestion, no parked cars. The helicopter pilot undoubtably surveyed the landing area for obstructions and wires. The operation was conducted safely.
The helicopter pilot conceivably COULD be charged with trespass–but it’s unlikely, since they welcome walk in and drive in customers. I didn’t see any note saying the BUSINESS complained. Whose ox is being gored here? Not the business owner–only an "over-enthusiastic cop or town council in a rural community that seems to want to assert “control.”
It brings up a big point for VTOL manned and unmanned aircraft–are we supposed to get “government permission” to operate on “non-designated landing areas?” There is a parallel here–SEAPLANES obviously take off and land on water–are we to get “prior permission” from the government or surrounding landowners before operating on water?
Growing up in the 50s–a common comment was “There ain’t no law against it!” We seem to have lost that feeling of freedom–it is now “I’ll have to check with the government agencies to see if that is approved.”