Residents urge Issaquah council to delay ALPR rollout, warn of privacy and federal access risks

Several Issaquah residents used the public-comment period to press the council to delay accepting grant funding or installing automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) until vendors demonstrate stronger technical safeguards and limits on external access.

James Marquardt told the council that a neighbor had an incident involving an unmarked federal vehicle and argued that where cities have installed ALPR systems federal agents have been able to track movements and routines. "SB 6,002 is not yet law. Governor Ferguson has not signed it," Marquardt said, urging the council not to treat the bill as sufficient justification to accept a congressional grant or to deploy vendor systems until architectural safeguards are proven.

Other commenters echoed privacy concerns. Karen Klein, a homeowner who does business in Issaquah, said mass scanning of license plates and vendor-held databases "is not okay by me," and urged retention limits, a sunset clause, and a community vote before approval. PJ Alo and other residents said they do not trust vendor practices based on reported abuses in other jurisdictions.

In the council's legislative briefing earlier, contract lobbyist Shelly Helder noted that the bill discussed at the state level (SB 6002) allows ALPR use to investigate felonies and gross misdemeanors and includes a 21-day retention limit; she also said the bill prohibits cameras on the immediate premises of schools, places of worship, and food banks. Helder emphasized the bill does not require municipalities to install cameras.

Council did not take action on ALPRs at this meeting. Residents asked the council to decline or defer any grant acceptance and to require vendors to demonstrate technical safeguards that make dangerous configurations architecturally impossible rather than relying on contractual protections alone.