Resident raises concerns about solar ordinance costs and Flock Safety cameras in Florence

During public comment, resident Zeb Gentry urged the council to reconsider parts of the proposed solar zoning language that he said would raise installation costs for homeowners and asked the city to review its use of Flock Safety automated-license-plate-recognition (ALPR) cameras.

Gentry said some proposed zoning requirements—matching conduit paint, fencing or stricter concealment—may seem small individually but cumulatively increase the cost of home installations and could discourage residents from adopting rooftop solar. He urged the council to weigh the public benefit of stricter design requirements against the added expense to homeowners.

Gentry also urged a review of Flock Safety cameras, citing litigation against other jurisdictions and recent media reports alleging warrantless uses of ALPR data. He referenced an Institute for Justice lawsuit against the city of Norfolk and national accounts of law-enforcement uses of Flock data, and asked council to examine whether the city should continue to use that vendor or seek alternatives that provide vehicle-alert capability without broader tracking features.

Council members acknowledged the comments. Staff had previously noted in the solar zoning discussion that state and city rights-of-way and certain public cameras are exempt from zoning, and that conduit-painting and equipment-visibility requirements are under consideration in the draft zoning language.