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HomeMy WebLinkAbout595ORDINANCE 595 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS AMENDING TITLE 4 (PUBLIC SAFETY) OF THE LOS ALTOS HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADD CHAPTER 9 "AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE READERS" TO ESTABLISH RELATED REGULATIONS WHEREAS, the Town of Los Altos Hills ("Town") deploys Automatic License Plate Readers ("ALPRs") at fixed locations in the Town for the purposes of deterring crime, assisting with law enforcement investigations, and creating a safer environment for the Los Altos Hills community; and WHEREAS, the ALPRs deployed by the Town will gather data associated with vehicle license plates that can be shared with local law enforcement for purposes including, but not limited, identifying stolen and wanted vehicles, identifying wanted persons, recovering missing persons, recovering stolen property, and gathering crime related information; and WHEREAS, the Town is concerned about protecting the privacy of its residents and visitors with respect to the retention and use of ALPR data; and WHEREAS, California Civil Code section 1798.90.5 requires public agencies with ALPRs adopt and implement a usage and privacy policy that identifies the individuals who will have access to ALPR data, describes how the ALPR system will be monitored, lists parameters for sharing of ALPR data, describes measures that will be taken to protect the accuracy of ALPR data, and specifies the retention period for ALPR data; and WHEREAS, the City Council has adopted an ALPR policy on March 18, 2021, restricting the collection, use, maintenance, sharing, and dissemination of information collected pursuant to ALPRs, in compliance with state law; WHEREAS, the Town desires to add Chapter 9 "AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE READERS" to Title 4, "Public Safety" of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code to codify regulations relating to ALPRs and impose penalties for any violations thereof. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills does hereby ordain as follows: SECTION I. FINDINGS. 1. All of the facts and recitals above are true and are incorporated herein. 2. This ordinance is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines, as the proposed activities hereunder is not a "project" as defined therein and this ordinance has no potential for resulting in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment, and thus would not have any significant effects on the environment. Ordinance 595 Page 1 SECTION II. AMENDMENTS TO THE MUNICIPAL CODE. Chapter 9 "Automatic License Plate Readers" is hereby added to Title 4 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code as set forth below. Chapter 9 AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE READERS Article 1. Purpose Article 2. Definitions Article 3. Regulations Pertaining to Operations and Data Use Article 4. Penalties for Violation Article 1. Purpose and Applicability This chapter applies to those Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) that are either owned or contracted for by the Town and deployed at fixed locations in Los Altos Hills for the purposes of deterring crime, assisting with law enforcement investigations, and creating a safer environment for the Los Altos Hills community. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that the collection, use, maintenance, sharing, and dissemination of information collected pursuant to ALPRs owned or contracted for by the Town protect individual privacy and civil liberties, and also to enforce regulations regarding the use, management, retention and other aspects of Town ALPRs. Article 2. Definitions Automatic License Plate Reader or ALPR means the technology, software and hardware owned or contracted for by the Town and deployed in Los Altos Hills that provide automated detection of vehicle license plates using high speed cameras or other similar means. ALPR Policy means a City Council -adopted and publicly available policy of the Town governing the use, operation, management, data retention and other aspects of ALPRs. Authorized Personnel means individuals or entities that are authorized to access data collected by ALPRs pursuant to an ALPR Policy. Data means any and all information gathered by ALPRs in the form of license plates and metadata (such as location and time of the license plates being viewed), as well as access records, searches, and any other operational data collected by the ALPR software system used to store, index, and access the information gathered by ALPRs. Article 3. Regulations Pertaining to Operations and Data Use Only authorized personnel may operate and access ALPR systems and data collected thereunder. The Town shall develop, and the City Council shall adopt and may amend from time to time, an ALPR Policy that establishes the requirements and standards governing the use, operation, maintenance, and data collection and access for Town ALPRs. The ALPR Policy shall also impose requirements relating to the collection, use, maintenance, sharing, and dissemination of Ordinance 595 Page 2 information collected pursuant to ALPRs. The ALPR Policy shall be made available to the public in writing and posted on the Town's website. Article 4. Penalties For Violation a) Any person violating the Council -adopted ALPR Policy, as may be amended from time to time, is guilty of a misdemeanor pursuant to Municipal Code Section 1-2.06 and shall be subject to a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). Violations of the ALPR Policy shall include, but are not limited to, unauthorized access, possession or release of data and information gathered or stored by ALPRs. b) In addition, violations of this chapter shall be subject to any administrative, civil, or criminal enforcement remedies available under the law and/or the Municipal Code including cost -recovery provisions under Section 1-2.04. The Town may enforce the violation of this chapter by means of civil enforcement through a restraining order, a preliminary or permanent injunction or by any other means authorized by law. Where it is necessary for the Town to file a civil action in court to obtain compliance with this chapter, the court may, in its discretion, assess a civil penalty based on factors outlined in Municipal Code section 1-2.05(a) against the violating parties in the event the Town is the prevailing party. c) Each violation shall be deemed a distinct and separate offense. d) In accordance with Civil Code section 1798.90.54, an individual who has been harmed by a violation of this ordinance, including, but not limited to, unauthorized access or use of ALPR information or a breach of security of an ALPR system, may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction against a person who knowingly caused the harm. The court may award a combination of any one or more of the following: (1) Actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages in the amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). (2) Punitive damages upon proof of willful or reckless disregard of the law. (3) Reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. (4) Other preliminary and equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate. SECTION III. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional the remainder of this ordinance, including the application of such part or provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in frill force and effect. To this end, provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable. SECTION IV. EFFECTIVE DATE AND PUBLICATION. This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days from the date of its final passage. Within fifteen days after the passage of this ordinance, the City Clerk shall cause this ordinance or a Ordinance 595 Page 3 summary thereof to be published once, with the names of those City Councilmernbers voting for or against it in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Los Altos Hills, as required by law. INTRODUCED: June 17, 2021 PASSED: August 19, 2021 AYES: Mayor Tankha, Vice Mayor Tyson, Councilmembers Mok, Schmidt and Swan NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: None Kavita Tankha, Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk APPROVE ,A S TO FORM: City Attorney 3749243.2 Ordinance 595 Page 4