HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 14359
City of Palo Alto (ID # 14359)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 6/6/2022 Report Type: Consent Calendar
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Adoption of an Ordinance Amending the City's Surveillance and Privacy
Protection Ordinance to Exempt the Foothills Fire Early Warning System
(PAMC 2.30.680).
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Office of Emergency Services
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending the
City’s Surveillance and Privacy Protection Ordinance (PAMC § 6.20.680) to add one
exemption for fire detection technologies used as part of the Foothills Fire Early
Warning System in the City’s greater foothills area.
Background
In 2018, the City Council passed Ordinance 5450 (known as the Surveillance and
Privacy Protection Ordinance), which requires Council approval for use of surveillance
technology. As Council must approve contracts, agreements, grant applications, and
donations of any time and amount, the acquisition of surveillance technology is
included(PAMC 2.30.630). Additionally, staff must provide a surveillance evaluation of
the technology (below), and Council must approve a surveillance use policy in order to
use the technology. PAMC 2.30.680(c) states: “Surveillance Technology” means any
device or system primarily designed and actually used or intended to be used to collect
and retain audio, electronic, visual, location, or similar information constituting
personally identifiable information associated with any specific individual or group of
specific individuals, for the purpose of tracking, monitoring or analysis associated with
that individual or group of individuals. Examples of surveillance technology include, but
are not limited to, drones with cameras or monitoring capabilities, automated license
plate readers, closed-circuit cameras/televisions, cell-site simulators, biometrics-
identification technology, and facial recognition technology.
On March 14, 2022, Council reviewed staff recommendations published in CMR 13774
where staff recommended to return to the Council with an Ordinance amendment to
modify Municipal Code Section 2.30.620 (Surveillance and Privacy Protection Ordinance)
to add the Foothills Fire Early Warning System (FFEWS). Council approved a motion 7-0
to:
City of Palo Alto Page 2
A. Pursue funding for eucalyptus tree removal in Foothills Nature Preserve, Pearson
Arastradero Nature Preserve, and Esther Clark Park, and Foothills Fire
Management Plan (FFMP) mitigation efforts;
B. Authorize the Fire Chief to determine, in collaboration with CSD, the appropriate
restrictions on barbeques and campfires at Foothills Nature Preserve; and
C. Return to the Council with an Ordinance amendment to modify Municipal Code
Section 2.30.620 (Surveillance and Privacy Protection Ordinance) to add the
Foothills Fire Early Warning System (FFEWS).
Discussion
As directed by Council on March 14, 2022, the attached ordinance exempts any
technology used for the Foothills Fire Early Warning System to cover the greater Palo
Alto Foothills Area of Operation defined in CMR 12315 from March 21, 2021.
West Side: Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35) from Route 84 (Woodside Rd/La Honda Rd.) to
Hwy 9
North Side: Route 84 from Skyline to Alameda de las Pulgas
East Side: Alameda de las Pulgas to Santa Cruz Ave to Junipero Serra Rd. to
Foothill Expwy.
South Side: Draw a line from the intersection of Hwy 9 at Hwy 35 to the
intersection of Foothill Expwy at Magdalena
As discussed at the August 30, 2021 Foothills Fire Mitigation Strategies Study Session
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(CMR 13479), the City wishes to foster a multi-jurisdictional test bed for the Foothills
Fire Early Warning System (FFEWS). Technologies evolve rapidly and will likely be
tested briefly and decommissioned or changed. The Council will still have oversight via
updates and other usual mechanisms. Wildfire detection cameras are positioned and
oriented to observe broad swaths of the area in which they are installed. These
cameras are passively monitored, and are usually only actively managed when a wildfire
has been detected in the optical view of the camera. Even then, cameras are not
zoomed in to identify discrete identifiers, but instead maintain a wide angle view to
assess the fire behavior. As such, the use of these cameras is not neither primarily
designed nor actually used or intended to be used for personal identifiable information.
A current example is the AlertWildfire (https://www.alertwildfire.org/) network of
cameras, a consortium of the University of Nevada, Reno, University of California San
Diego, and the University of Oregon to provide fire cameras and tools to help
firefighters and first responders do the following:
• Discover, locate, and confirm fire ignition
• Quickly scale fire resources up or down
• Monitor fire behavior during containment
• Help evacuations through enhanced situational awareness
• Observe contained fires for flare-ups
Resource Impact
There are no resource impacts to the implementation of this ordinance.
Policy Implications
If approved, the use of this technology will be exempted from the Surveillance and
Privacy Protection Ordinance.
Stakeholder Engagement
This item was discussed at the March 14, 2022 City Council meeting as an action item.
Environmental Review
Adoption of this ordinance is not a “project” under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA).
Attachments:
• Attachment A - Ordinance amending PAMC 2.30.680 to exempt fire detection
technologies from the Surveillance and Privacy Protection Ordinance
NOT YET ADOPTED
251_20220519_ts24 1
Ordinance No. ____
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Surveillance and
Privacy Protection Ordinance to Exempt the Foothills Fire Early Warning System
The Council of the City of Palo Alto ORDAINS as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows:
A. In 2018, the City Council adopted the Surveillance and Privacy Protection Ordinance, now
codified at PAMC 2.30.620 et seq.
B. The City Council now desires to exempt certain technology related to fire detection from
the provisions of the Ordinance.
SECTION 2. Section 2.30.680(c) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended as
follows to add new subsection (6) (new text is underlined, deleted text in strikethrough):
(c) "Surveillance technology" means any device or system primarily designed and
actually used or intended to be used to collect and retain audio, electronic, visual, location, or
similar information constituting personally identifiable information associated with any specific
individual or group of specific individuals, for the purpose of tracking, monitoring or analysis
associated with that individual or group of individuals. Examples of surveillance technology
include drones with cameras or monitoring capabilities, automated license plate readers, closed-
circuit cameras/televisions, cell-site simulators, biometrics-identification technology and facial-
recognition technology. For the purposes of this chapter, "surveillance technology" does not
include:
(1) Any technology that collects information exclusively on or regarding city employees
or contractors;
(2) Standard word-processing software; publicly available databases; and standard
message tools and equipment, such as voicemail, email, and text message tools;
(3) Information security tools such as web filtering, virus detection software;
(4) Audio and visual recording equipment used exclusively at open and public events,
or with the consent of members of the public;
(5) Medical devices and equipment used to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease or
injury;.
(6) Any technology used as part of the Foothills Fire Early Warning System to detect
fires within the following area:
West Side: Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35) from Route 84 (Woodside Rd/La Honda Rd.) to Hwy 9
North Side: Route 84 from Skyline to Alameda de las Pulgas
East Side: Alameda de las Pulgas to Santa Cruz Ave to Junipero Serra Rd. to Foothill Expwy.
South Side: Draw a line from the intersection of Hwy 9 at Hwy 35 to the intersection of
Foothill Expwy at Magdalena
NOT YET ADOPTED
251_20220519_ts24 2
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is
for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance.
The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every
section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without
regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Council finds that adoption of this Ordinance is not a “project” within
the meaning of CEQA.
SECTION 5. This Ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first date after the date of
its adoption.
INTRODUCED:
PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
NOT PARTICIPATING:
ATTEST:
____________________________ ____________________________
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
____________________________ ____________________________
Assistant City Attorney City Manager
____________________________
Director of the Office of Emergency Services
____________________________
Fire Chief