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Solvang council adopts three‑year downtown surveillance camera pilot, limits scope to fixed cameras
Summary
The council unanimously approved a three‑year pilot for fixed downtown surveillance cameras and clarified the policy excludes body‑worn cameras and drones, which would be addressed separately.
Solvang, Calif. — The Solvang City Council on Sept. 8 approved a three‑year downtown surveillance camera pilot limited to fixed cameras in the downtown corridor, and the council clarified that the policy does not apply to body‑worn cameras or drones.
City staff presented the surveillance policy as a confined pilot for fixed, Mercator‑style cameras on the downtown corridor; staff said the policy was drafted to avoid “mission creep” and to keep different surveillance technologies under separate review. The council approved the policy by roll call vote (5‑0).
Olivia, a city staff member who presented the policy, said: “This policy is very specifically just focused on the downtown corridor surveillance pilot project for 3 years with fixed position Mercator cameras. It was written in a way that it would not have mission creep.” Olivia said that other technologies, such as body‑worn cameras and drones, raise different legal and privacy questions and would require separate policies or further council approval.
Council members asked whether the policy covered existing body‑worn camera programs and how data retention and storage would interact with sheriff’s office practices. Staff replied that body‑worn camera programs are governed by a different set of best practices and that the sheriff’s office has its own policy; the downtown camera footage would be managed under the adopted policy for the pilot project only.
The council approved item 6f as presented; roll call was: Council Member Infante — yes; Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Arona — yes; Council Member Smith — yes; Council Member Elizabeth Arona — yes; Mayor David Brown — yes.
The approved policy establishes the scope of the pilot (downtown fixed cameras), limits data sharing and specifies that expanding to other camera types or drone use would require additional council review. Staff said the sheriff has not requested footage to date and that storage and record‑keeping for the pilot will remain separate from existing code‑compliance and body‑worn systems.
