Public Works Agency
www.santa-ana.org/public-works
Item # 21
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
August 1, 2023
TOPIC: Citywide Parking Study – Automated License Plate Reader Policy
AGENDA TITLE
Adopt a Resolution for the Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Policy
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt a Resolution for the Automated License Plate Reader Policy.
DISCUSSION
The Public Works Agency staff is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the Permit Parking Program to update the program guidelines and requirements which were established in the early 1990s. As part of the ongoing Permit Parking Program evaluation, parking studies must be conducted to evaluate and inventory public street parking spaces and street density. Traditionally, these studies are conducted manually and are labor and time intensive.
In an effort to collect the public street parking spaces data, along with street density, in a highly efficient and expeditious manner, the Public Works Traffic Engineering section is recommending the use of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Technology.
ALPR technology functions by automatically capturing an image of a vehicle's license plate, transforming that image into alphanumeric characters using optical character recognition software, and storing that information. There is no personally identifiable information (PII) captured by the ALPR. The ALPR data does not include the name or address of the registered owner or any other information gleaned from the license plate number associated with a particular vehicle.
The ALPR is a smart phone application that does not require special equipment. The sole purpose of the data collection is to assess the curbside vacancy rate i.e., street density. The development and purpose of the ALPR is to define the appropriate use, collection, security, and retention of ALPR data (Exhibit 1).
Additionally, the recommended action adopts a resolution (Exhibit 2) of the City Council’s intent to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Permit Parking program by utilizing ALPR Technology.
City Council 21 – 1 8/1/2023
EXHIBIT 2
Citywide Parking Study – Automated License Plate Reader Policy August 1, 2023
3 6
2 2
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with the action.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
EXHIBIT(S)
1. Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Policy for Conducting Parking Studies
2. Resolution
Submitted By: Nabil Saba, P.E., Executive Director – Public Works Agency Approved By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager
City Council 21 – 2 8/1/2023