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Council OKs public hearing, study before adopting traffic‑safety camera ordinance
Summary
City engineer briefed council on a draft traffic‑safety camera ordinance based on state law; council directed staff to hold a public hearing on the draft and complete location‑specific studies before authorizing camera placement.
City engineer Kim Klinkers presented a draft ordinance to authorize an automatic traffic safety camera program and asked for council direction on outreach, study and timing.
Klinkers said the draft implements statutory requirements (RCWs referenced by staff) and sets program parameters, including a base civil penalty in the draft ordinance and higher penalties for repeat offenders or speeds more than 11 mph over posted school speeds. The draft also requires an equity analysis and a crash/speed needs assessment before any camera signs or installation at a particular location. The ordinance requires advanced public signage, vendor audits and annual reporting; after four years, 25% of additional revenue must be remitted to the state's designated fund (referenced in staff materials).
Council indicated a preference to hold a public hearing on the draft ordinance for transparency, and to provide clear, written materials to the public explaining statutory limits, eligible locations (school walk zones, school speed zones and qualifying parks), the data and studies that will inform location choices, and what the city can — and cannot — control under state law. Council instructed staff to schedule the public hearing prior to ordinance adoption and to pursue the required equity and crash analyses in parallel so council would have location‑level data when the program design returns for final authorization.
Klinkers said staff aim to complete vendor procurement and implementation steps with the objective of beginning program setup in early 2026, contingent on council approvals, study results and vendor contracting. Council asked staff to prepare outreach materials that explain statutory constraints and the analysis that must be completed before cameras can be sited.
No ordinance adoption vote occurred at this meeting; council set the procedural next steps: (1) public hearing on the draft ordinance, (2) completion of equity and crash/speed analyses for candidate locations, and (3) return to council with a location plan and proposed vendor contract for final authorization.
