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Residents press Renton council to halt ALPR use, and council refers data-center moratorium to administration
Summary
Multiple residents urged Renton City Council to terminate or strictly limit the city's contract with ALPR vendor Flock and to enact a moratorium on data centers; the council voted to refer a potential moratorium on building data centers to the administration for study and accepted a utilities contract amendment for waste-prevention assistance.
Residents at Renton’s June 1 council meeting urged officials to end or restrict local use of automated license-plate readers (ALPRs, often called "Flock" cameras) and to impose a moratorium on new data centers in the city. The council voted to refer a proposed moratorium on building data centers to the administration for review.
Leslie Jensen, representing East Renton Highlands, cited Electronic Frontier Foundation reporting that ALPR systems have been used for school-residency checks, background checks and even to follow people for noise complaints. Jensen asked the council to consider a moratorium on data centers and to limit how ALPR data is collected and shared.
Multiple speakers connected ALPR equipment and data-center infrastructure. Resident Michael urged the council to set a clear timeline for the pause on Flock cameras and said the pause should be formalized by a vote. Scott Moore described a personal theft incident and argued surveillance cameras have not reliably prevented crime; he urged redirecting resources toward social services and urged a data-center moratorium. Amy, a health-care worker, told the council that constant surveillance and the local effects of data centers — higher energy and water demand and increased community stress — harm public well-being.
On the council floor, the utilities committee report carried an unrelated but connected item: concurrence on amendment #3 to contract 23451 with Cascadia Consulting Group in the amount of $212,197 for waste-prevention technical assistance to commercial customers; the council concurred and the motion carried. Later in the meeting Council Member Ronn moved — and Council Member Rivera seconded — that the question of imposing a moratorium on building data centers in Renton be referred to the administration; the motion carried with at least one recorded nay.
What happens next: The city administration will research the legal, fiscal and operational implications of a data-center moratorium and report recommendations to the council. Separately, any action to change contracts or to terminate vendors would require staff recommendations and, where applicable, formal council action.
