Iowa City City Councilors are divided on an ordinance that would allow new license plate recognition cameras in three city-owned parking ramps and city-owned traffic cameras to skirt restrictions on their use in city code. 

The ordinance was approved for a first reading in a 4-3 vote on Tuesday night, with councilors Laura Bergus, Andrew Dunn, and Mazahir Salih voting against the ordinance. 

The ordinance will require two more readings before it becomes law, but councilors who voted for the measure expressed concerns and committed to further discussion before approving all three readings. 

The ordinance amends a chapter of city code that prohibits the use of license plate recognition cameras or other devices for the enforcement of traffic violations unless an officer is on the scene. 

The ordinance was enacted in 2013 after Iowa City residents moved to petition the city to ban traffic enforcement cameras. The voters gained enough petitions on the proposed ordinance to force the council to either adopt the measure or send it to a referendum. The council voted to adopt the measures. 

The measure the council approved also would remove city-owned and -operated traffic cameras used to monitor traffic lights and fix timing issues remotely from the definition of an automatic traffic surveillance system, allowing them to skirt the restrictions in city code. 

City Attorney Eric Goers and City Manager Geoff Fruin said the city has interpreted the spirit of the law to mean for traffic enforcement purposes, and city policy has allowed certain city officials to review footage to assist in law enforcement investigations. 

The amended ordinance would codify that practice and long-used exemption in the city code. 

However, Councilors Bergus, Dunn, and Salih expressed concerns about the overly broad language of the amendment and asked for the ordinance to be more narrowly tailored to include specific exemptions for parking enforcement uses. 

Bergus said she was worried about removing these systems from the regulations under the ordinance that provide privacy protections to Iowa City residents: “If we exempt the entire system, we know they can be used for surveillance.”

“What we’re talking about is a camera system that is controlled by the government,” Bergus said. “And the reason that people came to the city council 11 years ago and said this is a problem is because it is controlled by the government.” 

Dunn said that, according to news reports from the time, the initiative started as a petition against red light cameras but became more broad and proactive against the use of cameras for surveillance on Iowa City residents. 

“I think that we have to have a much greater conversation if we are going to make these sorts of changes, especially to the fact that it is a voter initiative,” Dunn said. “I am extremely hesitant about making broad carve-outs for entire departments.” 

Mayor Bruce Teague said that he appreciates the use of the traffic cameras and license plate recognition cameras beyond just for parking purposes, including using the cameras to locate missing persons or solve violent crimes. 

“I think people want justice, and things like this can certainly help,” Teague said. 

The ordinance comes as the council discusses the possible use of license plate readers on police vehicles; however, that was not part of the ordinance brought before the council on Tuesday. 

The next reading of the ordinance will be on the council’s August 6 formal meeting agenda.