RESOLUTION NO. 26-108
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A CITYWIDE AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER (ALPR) USAGE AND PRIVACY POLICY, UPDATING THE RETENTION SCHEDULE FOR ALPR DATA, AND AUTHORIZING THE DESTRUCTION OF ALPR DATA PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 34090 WHEREAS, the City of San Clemente (City) is responsible for providing public safety support, parking management, traffic operations, and mobility-related services to the community; and WHEREAS, Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) systems use cameras and software to capture and process license plate information for legitimate governmental purposes, including law enforcement support, stolen vehicle recovery, parking enforcement, and traffic and mobility analysis; and WHEREAS, California Civil Code Sections 1798.90.5 through 1798.90.55 require public agencies utilizing ALPR technology to adopt and maintain a publicly available usage and privacy policy addressing authorized uses, data access, retention, sharing, security safeguards, training, auditing, and transparency; and WHEREAS, the City desires to utilize ALPR technology through third-party service providers in support of authorized municipal functions with access governed by established operational protocols to ensure security and accountability; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, in its role as the City’s contracted law enforcement service provider, maintains its own ALPR policies and procedures consistent with applicable law; and WHEREAS, the City desires to maintain a Citywide policy governing the use of ALPR technology for municipal operations, including public safety support, parking enforcement, and transportation-related initiatives; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds it in the public interest to establish a Citywide ALPR Usage and Privacy Policy to ensure lawful, transparent, and accountable use of ALPR technology and to safeguard privacy and civil liberties; and WHEREAS, the adoption of such policy will establish clear standards for the collection, use, retention, sharing, and protection of ALPR data and ensure compliance with state law; and WHEREAS, Government Code section 34090 requires the City to retain City records for a minimum of two years, unless otherwise provided by law; and WHEREAS, California Civil Code sections 1798.90.5 through 1798.90.55 require agencies operating Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) systems to implement reasonable security procedures for retention, and unauthorized destruction of or access to ALPR information; and WHEREAS, the City recognizes the need to balance legitimate law enforcement interests with the protection of individual privacy rights by limiting retention periods and providing for the automatic destruction of ALPR data that is no longer required for an authorized purpose; and WHEREAS, retaining ALPR data not otherwise subject to a retention period longer than two years as provided by law, policy, regulation, or the City's Records Retention Schedule for over two years obstructs the effective and efficient operation of City governance; and WHEREAS, because ALPR data is automatically generated on an ongoing basis, such data will be unnecessarily retained on the system without the periodic review and upkeep contemplated by the City's Records Retention Schedule; and WHEREAS, Government Code section 34090 provides a procedure whereby City records may be destroyed with the written consent of the City Attorney.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente does hereby find, determine and resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. The City Council hereby adopts the Citywide Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Usage and Privacy Policy, attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and fully incorporated herein by reference.
SECTION 2. The City Manager or designee is designated as the ALPR Program Manager and shall be responsible for implementation, oversight, and administration of the Policy. Minor changes to this Policy or the City’s ALPR program that are necessary to comply with applicable law, as it may be amended from time to time, may be approved and implemented by the City Manager in consultation with the City Attorney and shall be posted on the City’s website.
SECTION 3. The Policy establishes standards for the lawful and appropriate use of ALPR technology, including but not limited to:
Alignment with OCSD ALPR policy and California law
Authorized governmental uses
Restrictions on unauthorized access and misuse
Data retention limits consistent with applicable law
Data security, audit logging, and breach notification requirements Training requirements for authorized users
Audit and compliance review procedures
Public transparency through publication of the Policy on the City’s website SECTION 4. All ALPR-related activities conducted by or on behalf of the City shall comply with California Civil Code Sections 1798.90.5 through 1798.90.55 and all other applicable state and federal laws.
SECTION 5. The City’s records retention schedule is hereby updated to specifically address ALPR data and require that it be retained for a minimum of two (2) years.
SECTION 6. ALPR data not associated with an active investigation, enforcement action, booked evidence, legal hold or otherwise subject to a longer retention period as provided by law may be destroyed automatically on an ongoing basis after two years from when the ALPR data was created. The ALPR Program Manager shall determine the interval(s) for ALPR data deletion.
SECTION 7. The destruction of ALPR data shall completely destroy the record without permitting any duplicates using methods that prevent reconstruction, recovery, or unauthorized access.
SECTION 8. The provisions of Section 6 above do not authorize the destruction of Records affecting the title to real property or liens thereon.
Court records.
Records required to be kept by statute.
Records less than two years old.
The minutes, ordinances, or resolutions of the legislative body or of a City board or commission.
SECTION 9. City staff are authorized and directed to implement the Policy and take all necessary actions consistent with this resolution, including the City Manager is authorized and directed to negotiate and execute amendments to contracts necessary to comply with and implement the Policy, provided that such amendments are within his general contract authority and are in a form acceptable to the City Attorney.
SECTION 10. This resolution shall supersede any contrary resolution or City policy to the extent of any such inconsistency.
SECTION 11. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this _____ day of ____________________, 2026.
ATTEST:
___________________________ __________________________
City Clerk of the City of Rick Loeffler, Mayor of the City San Clemente, California of San Clemente, California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) §
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 26-108 was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Clemente held on the _______ day of _______________________, _________, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of _________________, ________. __________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
Approved as to form and written consent pursuant to Government Code section 34090 is hereby provided by:
____________________________
Elizabeth A. Mitchell, City Attorney
Resolution No. 26-108 Page 2
Attachment 1