Tempe Becomes First Arizona City to Ban Automated License Plate Readers While Approving $70M Mixed-Use Development

Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Tempe City Council regular council meeting. Just as a note, uh Councilmember Guardwell is joining us virtually this evening as well. So, we do have a full group here. Also, uh I'm now ready to call to order. Council meetings can be watched in real time via Cox Cable Channel 11 and at tempe.gov/tempe11. Members of the public may also attend the meeting virtually through Microsoft Teams. Public speaker sign-up in the council chambers is electronic.

If you would like to speak during tonight's meeting, please scan the QR code displayed in the chambers and select the agenda item or public appearances period that you wish to address. If you need assistance signing up, please see a staff member at the back of the chambers. If you submitted an online comment card before the meeting and requested to speak, you do not need to sign up again.

As the presiding officer, I may take agenda items out of order to accommodate scheduling, address items with a large number of speakers, or to otherwise expedite the meeting. There are two opportunities for public appearances. Item number six near the beginning of the meeting and item number 10 near the end. When signing up, please select the public appearances period during which you would like to speak. You may speak during only one of the two public appearances periods.

If you speak during public appearances regarding an item that appears later on in tonight's agenda, that will be your opportunity to address that item and you may not speak on the same item again when that time that item is considered. Excuse me. Thank you. Now, I'd like to invite everyone who's able and willing to stand and join me in a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, we will now play a video conveying the city of Tempe's native land acknowledgement statement. We acknowledge that Tempe lies on the ancestral land of the native peoples who have lived here since time immemorial. The ancestral land of the Autumn and Pima stretches far beyond the boundaries of our city.

The landscape is sacred to them embodying cultural values that are integral to their identity and way of life. The Autumn and Pima continue to maintain a deep spiritual connection to this land. We embrace the responsibility of caring for these places and vow to uphold this commitment in all our actions. Thank you very much. We're going to move to item number four, meeting minutes and tonight it will be led by Councilmember Garland. Councilmember Garland. Thank you, Mayor.

Um I would like to make uh move to approve the city council meeting minutes in items 4A1 through 4A4. Okay, it's been moved by Councilmember Garland. Do I have a second? Seconded by Vice Mayor Chin. Please vote. Is it There we go. And that item passes 6 to 0 with Councilmember Keating absent. Next up, item 4b, acceptance of board, commission, and committee meeting minutes. Councilmember Garland. Thank you, Mayor.

I move to accept the board, commission, and committee meeting minutes in items 4b1 through 4b6. It's been moved by Councilmember Garland. Do I have a second? Seconded again by Vice Mayor Chin. Please vote. And that item also passes 6 to 0 with Councilmember Keating absent. Next up, item 5, reports and announcements. I have a few. All right, first up, item 5a1, domestic violence awareness month proclamation.

I'd like to invite the staff from the Tempe Community Health and Human Services and Tempe Police Department, as well as any members of the Family Justice Commission to come join me here up front. All right, so this proclamation reads, whereas the City of Tempe, Tempe Community Health and Human Services, Tempe Police Department, and Tempe Fire Medical Rescue, as well as the city's Family Justice Commission, are proud to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

And whereas the 2020 6 theme is With Survivors Always, which draws attention to what it means to be in partnership with survivors towards safety, support, and solidarity. And whereas by taking a stand, we remind the nation that there are countless people, victims and survivors, as well as their children, families, and friends who are impacted by domestic violence.

And whereas the city of Tempe offers a wide range of trauma-informed services across multiple city departments to ensure that victims are given the support and services they need. And whereas the city's family advocacy center is a model for serving victims of crime in a safe and healing environment in partnership with the Tempe Police Department and Arizona State University.

And whereas victims, survivors, and family members receive free services from CARE 7 victim advocates that are tailored to meet their unique needs from the moment of crisis through healing and recovery. And whereas any victim of crime can receive services through the family advocacy center by calling the 24/7 CARE and Hope Line at 480-350-8004.

And whereas the city of Tempe is grateful for the support and expertise of our Tempe Family Justice Commission during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and beyond. Now, therefore, I, Corey Woods, Mayor of the City of Tempe, Arizona, do hereby declare October 2026 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Tempe Arizona. All right, next up here, item 5A2, which is the Health Literacy month proclamation.

So, I'd like to now invite the Tempe Community Health and Human Services Department who are present. Uh please come down and join me yet again. It's like back like you never left. Look at that. All right, so this proclamation reads: Whereas October 2026 is observed across the nation and the world as health literacy month, highlighting the vital importance of clear, accessible health communication.

The City of Tempe is committed to ensuring residents have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to make informed health-related decisions for themselves, their families, and others. And whereas Tempe is invested in a wide range of programs, services, and partnerships that are helping to educate and empower residents, strengthen connections, and improve quality of life.

And whereas community health workers are frontline public health professionals who meet residents where they are, helping individuals navigate health and social service resources, and build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to improve their health and well-being. And whereas peer recovery support specialists help residents navigate treatment and recovery, drawing on lived experience to build rapport and trust, reduce stigma, and strengthen connections to recovery supports and services.

And whereas Tempe's age-friendly staff offers programs and services that support older adults, caregivers, and people living with memory loss conditions, including our Memory Cafe for those affected by dementia, annual dementia Tempe Summit, and Connect Tempe digital literacy program, helping residents stay connected, informed, and engaged.

And whereas youth support specialists promote well-being among young adults by building trusted relationships and strengthening mental health literacy, including awareness of mental health, recognition of signs and symptoms, help-seeking skills, and knowledge of available supports.

And whereas limited health literacy can create very limited health literacy can create barriers to managing chronic conditions, preventing illness, fully participating in the health care system, building support networks, and enjoying the best quality of life. And whereas improving health literacy empowers individuals, reduces health disparities, fosters well-informed health decisions, and builds stronger, healthier communities.

Now, therefore, I, Corey Woods, Mayor of the City of Tempe, Arizona, do hereby declare October 2026 as Health Literacy Month in Tempe, Arizona. All right, and next up here, item 5A3, National Disability Employment Awareness Month Proclamation. So, I'd now like to invite the staff of the Tempe Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department and members of the Accessibility Collective for employees uh who are here uh from that group to also join me up front.

All right, so this proclamation reads: Whereas National Disability Employment Awareness Month is observed each October to raise awareness of disability employment and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. And whereas the City of Tempe is committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and equitable community where individuals of all abilities are valued and empowered to participate fully in civic life.

And whereas National Disability Employment Awareness Month is a time to celebrate the diversity and strength of the disability community, reinforce the value and talent people with disabilities add to our workplaces and communities, and recommit ourselves to eliminating barriers, both physical and societal, that impact people with disabilities.

And whereas Tempe proudly uplifts the voices, leadership, and contributions of individuals with disabilities who help shape our city, enrich our neighborhoods, and move us all forward. Now, therefore, I, Corey Woods, mayor of the city of Tempe, Arizona, do hereby declare October 2026 as National Disability Employment Awareness Month in Tempe, Arizona. Next up, item five, B, city manager's reports and announcements, Madam City Manager. Nothing this evening. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you very much.

Okay, so tonight's agenda has a number of items that the City Council will consider in order to conduct city business. Guidelines for conduct at City Council meetings are on the table near the entrance for those in attendance at tonight's meeting. We will now play a video on the proper protocol for ensuring the appropriate conduct at City Council meetings. The public appearances portion of the Tempe City Council agenda welcomes people to address the Tempe City Council on city-related issues.

Speakers will generally be taken in the order in which they have signed up to speak. No visual aids or pre-recorded materials are allowed. People may speak once during public appearances for up to 3 minutes. If there is a large number of speakers, the mayor may limit the amount of time allotted for each person. The City Council as a whole is prohibited by state law from discussing, responding to, or taking action on matters that are not on the current agenda.

However, an individual council member may respond to criticism made by those who have addressed the public body, may ask the staff to review a matter, or may ask that a matter be put on a future agenda. The City Council rules of procedure provides everyone with an opportunity to speak. However, rules of decorum are in effect and behavior that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of any City Council meeting is not permitted.

This includes behavior at the podium, inside or adjacent to the Council Chambers. Speakers shall refrain from name-calling, making personal or insulting comments, or slanderous remarks while addressing the City Council or while attending the meeting. Should a speaker become disorderly, action will be taken.

First, the mayor may issue a verbal warning and if the speaker continues disruptive behavior, the speaker will forfeit any remaining time for public comment and will be asked to leave the podium. Further disruption beyond that may result in removal from the Council Chambers and the mayor may ask security officers to remove the speaker.

If the speaker refuses to leave, security will warn the speaker that they are now trespassing and the next step is an arrest for disorderly conduct, trespassing, or both. If necessary to maintain order, the mayor may recess the meeting. Your right to address the Tempe City Council is important to us. These rules are intended to create an atmosphere that is conducive to thoughtful public speech. Thank you.

Okay, before we move on to public appearances, I want to take a moment to address campaign-related activity ahead of the upcoming Tempe special election on November 3rd. City Council meetings are open to the public and are a vital forum for civic engagement. We welcome all individuals, including political committee reps, to speak on matters of public concern during the public comment portion of the meeting.

However, because this is an official City Council meeting that is both televised and live-streamed using city resources, we ask everyone, including members of the City Council, to refrain from electioneering or campaign-related activity during the meeting. That means no discussing local ballot measures, asking for votes or signatures, or displaying campaign materials such as signs, t-shirts, or literature while speaking.

Thank you for helping us maintain the integrity and neutrality of our public meetings. Which brings me to item number six, public appearances. This portion of the meeting is reserved for those wishing to speak on matters within the jurisdiction of the City Council that are not listed elsewhere on tonight's agenda for discussion or legal action. If you speak now about a topic that appears later on in the agenda, that will serve as your only opportunity to speak on that item.

You won't be permitted to speak again when that item comes forward later in the meeting. As a reminder, public speaker sign-up is electronic. If you would like to speak during this public appearances period and have not already signed up, you may scan the QR code displayed on the signs in the chambers and select public appearances item six or see one of the designated staff members at the back of the council chambers for assistance.

If you submitted the city's online comment card before the meeting and requested to speak during this public appearances period, you do not need to sign up again. Your name has already been added to the speaker queue. That means I would now look forward uh look over to our clerk. Do we have any speakers this evening? Yes, we do, Mr. Mayor, and they are now up here. Okay. That's not Okay, the first speaker I have this evening is Mario Martinez. Is Mr. Martinez here? Okay.

Then I'm going to move forward to the next speaker, which is Deborah Zajac. Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. You know, I I I try to keep things moving around here, Ms. Zajac, to the best of my ability. Okay. My name is Deborah Zajac. I'm a north north Tempe resident, and I'm going to address two issues, contract workers and the procurement list. I want to reference the K-shaped economy that is used to describe what is currently happening.

The top leg is doing better and better, and it is usually people who own assets such as real estate or equities. The lower leg is struggling more and more. I hope this is something you consider in your decision-making as city leaders. Contract workers, I understand the need for some contract workers. The hazardous waste facility is staffed by an outside company with Tempe staff oversight.

Various events may be staffed by outside companies, but we have people working 40 hours per week for months, if not years, and are not considered full-time employees because they are hired through an outside company. We have to wait for someone to die, retire, quit, or be promoted for the position to quote open up to receive the benefits full-time Tempe employees enjoy. I talked to the city staff who supervises an area that regularly employs employs contract workers.

He told me there are two companies he uses to staff these positions. We are paying those companies much more than the workers receiving an an hourly wage. The super site supervisor said he's working with what has been budgeted. I said I thought the budget needs to be reevaluated. I just thought this issue was dealt with years ago when Robin was on council and Ken Jones was CFO.

Robin thought it would not be good for morale if two people working side by side and one is benefited and the other is not. Since 2023, we have been dipping into our reserves. The impact of legislature's ruling went into effect January 2025. But just 6 months later, we approved substantial salary increases for top management along with a 50% increase in the city's pension contribution. This is an example of supporting the K-shaped economy and not trying to rectify it.

Procurement, a couple areas I found questionable. Items on the list, equity and inclusion consulting services. Is this really necessary? We have a DEI department. The director has a PhD. Maybe they could look into the equity of how contract workers are employed and compensated. Another item, social media influencers. What? Astroturf is the way to describe this. Grassroots is when residents collaborate around an issue deemed important to them. This is just propaganda.

I have an idea of the consultant who may have recommended this due to what is on his homepage. It reads as follows, "If you need a story told while or in are deep in a crisis and have lost control of your story, we can help." Also note this consultant's monthly payment has increased by 40% from when they were hired a few years ago. Is this the best use of our resources? Remember the K-shaped economy. Thank you. So, the next speaker I have this evening is Noah James Markham.

Please state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Aloha mayor and to the rest of the city council. My name is Noah James Markham and I am from the great city of Tempe. So, let's talk about your sewer systems on the road. You guys need to clean them because they stink and I can smell it when driving on the roads. So, that's not okay. Also, I would like to talk about we need a wavepool. That's really what we need here.

And to be able to share the aloha and able to surf outside instead of inside a building. Also, I would like to ask we need an indoor tennis court really because it's too hot in the summer and it's too cold in the winter. This shouldn't be a hard thing to do. We also need to make our water drinking water taste better. It's really nasty tasting this water here. It needs improvement. We need to figure this out. We need a 7-Eleven downtown mall or a Chinese restaurant spot downtown mall.

Very necessary. Also, let's just say this on the record. Why didn't any of the Native Americans protest to make sure Hawaii didn't become a state in America. Why didn't you help? Oh, let's talk about having a disability and I have been fighting to get my disability. I started in 2024 until this month. That's how long I've I'm still fighting this. And so I don't know and it's a I don't know if your police don't know what it's like when you don't feel safe in your house.

And then one thing that they wanted me to go was CBI. And that was an awful experience. We need a better solution. Happy Pride Month in Arizona. It was an amazing pride parade in downtown Phoenix. This is an important thing. We also need legislation here where anti-zionists can't attack Zionists because they are It needs to be talked about. We also need a virtual sign language interpreter in the Tempe video when it's live on Zoom and also we need we want to rewatch the stream on YouTube, too.

We should have that sign language interpreter. Mahalo and thank you for listening to me tonight. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. That's all the speakers I have this evening. Is there anyone else wishing to address the council under public appearances? If so, can you please get my attention? Yes. Please come forward. Please state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Good evening. My name is Susie Sharkey Johnson. I apologize. I spoke in the wrong spot.

Oh, I was going to say okay. Okay, go ahead. I'm sorry. Uh the city of Tempe had Flock cameras in place for 4 years. In that time, there were zero incidents of law enforcement misuse. In the 8 years Flock has been nationwide in 6,000 cities, there have been 69 convictions due to law enforcement misuse. In 2025, the American Addiction Center listed Phoenix number one and Mesa number two as the cities with the most methamphetamine and cocaine use in the United States. Why is this?

Because 60% of illegal drugs enter the US through Arizona's southern border. 51.4% of all fentanyl seized in the United States is through Arizona's southern border. The DEA identifies Arizona as the number one gateway for illicit drugs. In 2025, the DEA seized 47 million fentanyl-laced pills and 10,000 lb of fentanyl powder across the US. Half of that went through our little state.

The DEA, Border Patrol, and all other drug drug task force operations use Flock to track vehicles linked to drug trafficking, bulk cash smuggling, and criminal networks through the diesel interface. They tag the cars and call them hotlist vehicles associated with narcotics trafficking. These cameras without these cameras, these task force lose instantaneous alerts when a hotlist vehicle enters a city, our city.

These cameras also allow investigators to retroactively analyze the travel history of drug smugglers and stash houses. Ending Flock causes disruption across jurisdictional data sharing from Tempe local police to all other ongoing drug operations. Essentially, we are now the blind spot. Tempe is sandwiched between the top two drug-abusing cities in the US. Our overdose rate in Tempe increased by 21% last year. Arizona has the highest amount of drug transport in the US.

We need all responsible tools to help fight this. So, the next time you place your order on your telephone to Starbucks, Burger King, Taco Bell, or Walmart, not only is everything about your vehicle being recorded as you pull into their parking lot, but as soon as you place your order, geo-fencing goes up, which leverages your phone's GPS, Wi-Fi, cell phone data, and even the RFID, the radio frequency identification, which is your car's key fob.

To see your current location, whether you're on your couch or at your desk, and they track you all the way from your home to their store. So, I ask you, city council, please do not roll out the carpet for the drug dealers. I ask that you reconsider this motion. Tempe has shown us as residents that you know how to use Flock safely and with our best interest. Thank you. Yes, please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes.

And just a note, this item is on the agenda later on, but I mean, you can speak now, you just can't speak later when the item comes up. So, but please state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. J Johnson, city of Tempe. First off, I want to thank the council and Tempe police and fire and the park rangers for the improvements we've seen at Daily Park. It's been a long process, but it's nice to hear kids playing at night. It's nice to see families out there walking their dogs.

So, I applaud you. It's It's It's not done, but it is an effort, and I still think there's a way we can help those that need help and not impact the neighborhoods that where the help is being given. I still think there's a way forward there. My wife was just talking about the Flock cameras, and I don't think it's a privacy issue because if it were, then why when you park your car do you allow them to take a picture of your license plate so you can pay via the license plate on your car.

So, I don't think the Flock cameras are a privacy issue. I'm not sure what their concern is, but I've heard it's privacy. As my my mentioned, on your phone, on Facebook, they're tracking everything you see, everything you say. Try saying something like, "I like to buy a wiener dog." You Facebook will all of a sudden start showing you ads for wiener dogs. So, it's not a privacy issue. If it were, all those folks would delete social media apps off of their phone. So, it can't be a privacy issue.

Also, on your apps, every app that you have on your phone, you're allowing them to track where you're going, what you're doing. They don't {quote} {unquote} sell the data, but that data is available for other people to use to market to you. So, it's a privacy issue. Why do we have apps on our phone? And every time you get an update, you're now allowing them more access to your data.

So, Flock cameras can't be a privacy issue because the people that are opposing them have these same apps on their phone. Like my wife said earlier on on the meals program, so every loyalty program you use, DoorDash, Uber, they're tracking everything that you're doing, every part of your movement. So, if it's a privacy issue, why do we allow them that?

If if all this technology and methodology is good enough to get a food delivered to your door or for you to pick up, why isn't it good enough to keep us safe? I'm not I'm not following I'm not tracking the argument. So, if it's not a privacy issue, we should figure out what the real problem is and it's probably because um something that that they don't want to disclose, but it certainly isn't a privacy issue. So, I believe the Flock cameras keep us safer.

I think Tempe has shown that they use them responsibly and if it they aren't used responsibly, then across the country those those situations have been have been taken care of. I trust you and I trust your ability to see through this and to think through it um because they do help keep us safe and they help us solve solve crimes and I think if any tool that our Tempe Police Department would like to have, I think we should give it to them. Thank you.

Okay, anyone else in the audience wishing to address the council under general public appearances? If so, can you please give my attention? Okay, seeing none, I'll close that portion of the meeting and move on to item number seven, which is the consent agenda. All items listed on the consent agenda will be considered as a group and will be enacted with one motion by the city council unless an item is removed for separate consideration.

Members of the public may remove public hearing items for separate consideration. Public hearing items are designated as public hearing item at the beginning of the item title. Council members may remove any item for separate consideration or to declare a conflict of interest. If a council member would like to declare a conflict at this time, the city clerk will provide the council member with a disclosure form. As a reminder, public speaker sign-up is electronic.

If you wish to speak on a public hearing item and have not already signed up, please scan the QR code displayed on the signs at the chambers and select the specific agenda item or see one of the designated staff members at the back of the council chambers for assistance. And I will now announce the consent agenda this evening as miscellaneous item 7A1 through 7A9, awards of bids and contracts item 7B1 through 7B13, and resolutions item 7C1 through 7C12.

Once again, any agenda item designated as public hearing item can be removed by member of the public for separate consideration. If anyone in the audience would like to have a public hearing item removed, please get my attention now. Okay, seeing none, council members, would you like to have any items removed for the from the consent agenda for separate consideration?

Okay, seeing none, I see this with a motion to approve the consent agenda by Councilmember Rakitic and a second by Councilmember Nichols. Any other comments or questions? All right, hearing none, let's go ahead and vote on that motion. And that item passes 7 to 0. Next up, I'll remove to the non-consent agenda and I'm going to be moving a couple of items around this evening. So, all items listed on the non-consent agenda will be considered separately.

Agenda items scheduled for introduction and first public hearing will be heard, but will not be voted upon at this meeting. Agenda items scheduled for second public hearing and final adoption will be voted upon tonight. Council members who have a conflict of interest may abstain from voting on a matter and the city clerk will provide the council members with a disclosure form at this time.

Public hearing items subject to Arizona Revised Statutes section 9-462.04 are designated as public hearing item pursuant to ARS section 9-462.04 in the item title. A person who gives testimony or submits written comments on a designated item must declare whether they have received compensation on in on a form to testify or submit written comments. Now, I'm going to go ahead and move some stuff around here. Let's see. Where is that actually?

Madam Clerk, can you remind me where the Emerald item is the one I'm looking for right now? That's 8C2. 8C2. Okay, I'm going to go that first here. Let's Let's actually and that means I read that out of order, unfortunately, but that's okay. Give me 1 second here. I believe it's page 35. Yeah, it's it's that there's so much more paper here than there used to be, so a lot more instructions.

All right, so just want to note here um We're going to go to 8C2 and just a note, this is on the non-consent agenda under ordinances that are scheduled for second hearing and final adoption, so votes on these items will be taken this evening.

And that means we're going to go to 8C2, which is hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance for a zoning map amendment from GID to MU4 and a planned area development overlay for Emerald Center mixed use located at 8550 South Priest Drive for a new horizontal mixed use development including 376 multi-family dwelling units. The applicant is Hillman and affiliates. Uh Alexis. So now uh Council, we did receive a full presentation at the first meeting.

Uh for transparency purposes, does anyone want another presentation this evening? I only have one question uh regarding traffic, and I wonder if you could speak to that and perhaps our staff can speak to that as well. Um I've had a couple of questions from residents regarding a traffic study and some concerns that the new units here might cause some traffic issues in the area. Uh do you have a traffic study that was approved by staff? I do.

Um and it was submitted and we had comments and then we submitted a final with our second second resubmittal, um which I believe was in July. Okay, sounds good. Let me ask to uh staff. Anyone I see I see Shelly Seiler. Shelly, just a quick question for you. Um so is is staff comfortable with the traffic study that's been submitted, and is staff recommending approval of this project? Yes, staff has reviewed the traffic study. We have no concerns.

All study intersections were shown to operate within an acceptable level of service, which is one of the things that we review. So, yes, we we do accept the traffic study. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Anyone else uh any other questions for Ms. Proper? All right. Thank you so much. Anything else or So, there was a question last time um from Council Member St. George, so I just want to have an answer on the record for you guys.

Um it was whether we could add more two- and three-bedrooms for families, and we had a study um done by Greystar, and they took a look at the area, and as far as for the um they gave a range of percentage of the units, and their suggestion was the range for two two bedrooms is 25% and we are at 30% and then for three bedrooms it's zero to 5% of units and we're at the 4%. So, we're on the higher end of all those unit suggestions um in this analysis for the area. Thank you.

Council President George, anything or? No, I just really appreciate your follow-up on that and and announcing that publicly so that we could all be aware of that. Thank you for your due diligence. Thank you so much. Any other questions before we go to the public hearing? Okay, sounds good. Thank you so much. Just a note once again, 8C2 here is designated as a public hearing item pursuant to ARS section 9-462.04.

Anyone providing testimony or written comments on this item is required to declare whether they are being compensated to testify or submit written comments. When called to speak, you will be asked to state your compensation declaration for the record before providing your comments. So, is there anyone in the audience wishing to speak on this item? If so, can you please get my attention at this time? Yes, Mr. Markham. Please come forward. You have 3 minutes.

Um aloha mayor and to the rest of the city council. Um I really do like this one. Um we do need more um housing out here. Um but I want us to realize that there's only one thing in Phoenix um and it's for people with disabilities um and we need more things like that for us. Um like assisted living. Like we need this stuff for people with disabilities. Just for disabilities. Like this we need an apartment for us. So, um yeah, so that's all. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Anyone else in the audience wishing to address the council on item 8C2, please get my attention. Okay, seeing none I'll close the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Council, any further comments or questions on this item? Okay, seeing none I have a motion to approve from Council member Garland and a second from Council member Amberg. If there's no final questions, please vote. And that item passes 7-0. Congratulations.

All right, next up I'm going to take one more item out of order here, which is item 8C4, which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance addressing public health, safety, and welfare by amending chapter 26 of the Tempe City Code relating to police and adding a new article 6 related to the use of automated license plate reader technology. All right. Let's go first of all here to the public testimony portion here.

Um I know we had a couple of people who spoke earlier, but um Madam Clerk, but I know we had some other speakers I believe who had signed up, so I'll go to the second screen here. Okay, so the first speaker I have this evening is Caitlin Contreras. Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Mayor Woods and Council, for the record, my name is Caitlin Contreras with the ACLU of Arizona. We have members and supporters across Arizona including here in Tempe.

I appreciate the Council bringing forth this issue and grappling with the complexities of civil rights and civil liberties. This is just the beginning of that conversation. ALPRs record where we go, when we go, and who we go with. Over time, these records can map a person's life cataloging people even before they have been convicted of a crime, violating their due process constitutional rights.

That has real consequences for privacy rights outlined under the Fourth Amendment and for freedom of association, speech, and religion outlined under the First Amendment. These consequences fall hardest on immigrants, communities of color, and anyone who may someday be on the wrong side of those in power or those who have power. Across the country, and even here in Arizona, this data has been misused and abused.

Tempe is right to act to protect its residents and visitors right to privacy before that happens here. I want to be candid about the draft and how we got here. The initial language that this started that this conversation started with began as a clean clear and clean prohibition. And the purpose section of the draft being considered tonight still reflects that.

However, exceptions were added that are broader than they need to be and if litigated could be seen as a direct conflict of being {quote} liberally construed in favor of privacy of citizens traveling through and upon the streets and highways of the city, {end quote} from the ordinance. Specifically, I want to bring attention to the subpoena exception. It doesn't ask what prompted the process and a subpoena requires no probable cause nor a judge's approval.

Council members have a duty to uphold the Constitution and lowering the bar from a warrant to a subpoena reneges that basic duty. The Supreme Court has been wary of this kind of trap from Silverthorne Lumber, which barred the use of subpoena um built on unlawfully obtained information, to Carpenter, which required a warrant for location records. Section 28-76 allows unfettered IOLPR use as long as the city didn't {quote} request or direct the query.

In Carpenter and again in June um in Chatree, the Supreme Court declined to extend third-party doctrine to digital digital location data, holding this information doesn't lose constitutional protection just because a party outside the government holds it. The exceptions in this ordinance lean on the very assumption that those cases rejected.

And section 28-60 shields employees who rely on guidance from department or city attorney, which put the puts those being regulated in charge of defining the rules. This outlines a clear separation of power issue. The regulated are defining their own rules from the regulating branch. Um well, however, this should not stop the council from voting yes.

Ordinance 2026-46 is a foundation and the decommissioning, data destruction, audit, and whistleblower protections are meaningful protections on their own. Policy making is an iterative process and waiting for the perfect version means your residents are without meaningful civil rights uh protections. Tempe has been a a leader in other areas and has a chance to be a leader now. Please take it. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Ms. Contreras.

Councilmember Nickels, I do have a few quick questions. The first one I would just want to ask, are there any reports on the effectiveness of ALPR technology? Mayor, Councilmember Nickels, yes, there's been a report from the FBI, which was done in Atlanta, Georgia, and that's important to note because it is the most surveilled city in the country. Um that has more than 28,000 cameras. ALPR use did not help to solve any crime.

In 2021, ADP had a 53.4% homicide clearance rate, and in 2025, the department had a 40 48% clearance rate, which was its lowest homicide clearance rate between 2021 and 2025. Additionally, in 2021, the Atlanta Police Department had a clearance rate for vehicle thefts of 9.9% and that clearance rate dropped to 4.9% in 2023 and 3.9% in 2024. And then one last one. Are there any other proactive ways to reduce crime rates that don't involve mass surveillance as far as your organization is aware?

Um Councilmember Nick- Excuse me, Mayor, Councilmember Nickels, there are plenty of proven and effective ways, some of which we do advocate for. Um some of the effective ways um including include brighter street lights, clearer sightlines in neighborhood murals. Um in New Newark, new LED street lights linked to a 40% reduction in nighttime violent crime. In Detroit, neighborhood public arts um, linked to fewer young people being victimized by gun violence.

And researchers have said that a physical sign of the neighborhood um, researchers say that art is a physical sign of neighborhood attention and local caring.

If urban design isn't um, something that the Tempe would like to pursue now, there are other ways such as um, youth pro youth job programs, which have led to a 35% fewer arraignment for violent crimes and 29% fewer property crimes over 17 months in Boston, 36% fewer arrest rates among youth um, offered jobs in Philly and in New York City found that participation also reduced morality and incarceration rates. So, there is a path that does not include mass surveillance. Thank you very much.

Thank you. All right, next speaker I have this evening is Catherine Doran and she's virtual. Hello. Um, this is Catherine Doran, Tempe, Arizona. And I would like to say first um, to be concise before I add my own comments, I second everything that the previous speaker just said. And in the event that the city council would like to support uh, an expanded public arts program and a youth job program, that would be awesome. Um, I would totally vote to raise my own taxes for that.

Um, to add a few more things, um, I do support this ordinance as an important first step. I hope that you will all support it. I would very much like to see you expand on it, expand on its protections in the future. I am especially concerned um, Okay. On on two fronts, one the privacy anti-mass surveillance front and one the sheer inaccuracy fronts.

Um, on the privacy privacy, sorry, mass surveillance fronts, um, I continue to be concerned about the ability for Tempe or the Tempe Police Department to end up with ALPR generated quote unquote evidence in the event that an outside jurisdiction obtains that and we have not directly asked for it.

I do not believe that in the US given that we are all under the same constitution, I do not think that the the basic civil liberties that should protect Tempe residents from warrantless surveillance should end at our city boundaries.

And in the same way that I would very much hope that you'd all be absolutely appalled at the idea of for instance using evidence gained via torture performed by an outside jurisdiction, I hope that you would also not consider people living or working outside of Tempe to necessarily have lower basic fundamental human rights protections and civil liberties protections than people within the city.

So I would love, although I realize this may not be feasible, to see a rule banning us from collaborating with any outside jurisdiction which has lower standards than we do for maintaining people's basic constitutional freedoms including for mass surveillance without a warrant.

For the accuracy fronts, um although I'm not terrified of cameras in parking garages, given that in the I believe it was the October 1st virtual presentation by Council Member Nichols, oops, I'll finish this briefly, that he made the point that ALPR systems aren't perfectly accurate, I'm wondering just how accurate the parking garage ALPRs are and how often someone gets a fee for parking in a garage that their car never entered.

And I'm wondering could we just hire people to go through cameras cameras on footage taken of license plates in city-owned parking garages instead of having LPR. And now I'm done. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Okay, the next speaker I have this evening is Eric Fowler. Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Good evening, mayor, council members. Close. Okay. Good evening, mayor, council members.

I'm Eric Fowler, chair of the Maricopa County Libertarian Party. This will probably pass unanimously tonight, and tomorrow's headline will call Tempe the first city in Arizona to ban license plate readers. I want the record to show what this ordinance has been butchered into from its origins as a strong full ban. Councilman Nickols brought you the ban that residents asked for. Nearly 70% of the people who answered your survey support a full ban.

Then the city attorney took the draft to the police department. Six drafts later, it stops Tempe from owning cameras and running zone searches. That's really great. But it doesn't stop Tempe from using the tracking data. Two weeks ago, a federal judge in Oklahoma threw out this search. And this is a picture from her opinion. A deputy ran a car's California plates for no other reason, and through Flock, and it came up with this entire month of her life and her travels.

More than 50 sightings on a heat map heat map, each with a photo. The federal judge called it indiscriminate mass surveillance, and threw out the evidence. Under this ordinance, Tempe can still get that. The city attorney's October 7th memo says that an officer can ask a neighboring city for any information or data about a car. He can use the plate data that comes back as long as he doesn't specifically ask them to run an ALPR query. Scottsdale runs 85 cameras right next door.

Tempe just has to let somebody else press the search button. The city attorney is your appointee. He works for the council, but that memo reads like it was written by and for the police department. As for accountability, an officer can just say, "I didn't know." Or he can point to a supervisor, another agency, or that memo, and then the city has the burden to prove otherwise if there's a case of misuse. Ignorance of the law becomes the defense, but only for the police.

I asked for a misdemeanor last time. That's still not here. We got exemptions, loophole, and a good faith shield that you could drive a squad car through. The police department is an executive branch, and you guys are supposed to be the check on it. Here the department is being regulate Here the department being regulated helped write its own regulation. Residents get the headline, and the department gets to keep the data.

If this passes tonight, please make sure you require the department to publicly report every time it uses or receives ALPR data under these numerous exceptions. If the exceptions are as narrow as you've been told, that report should be short. Tempe did turn off its camera, and that was really the right thing to do. But a backdoor written into the city code is still a backdoor. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, the next speaker I have this evening is Diana Alvarez.

Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Good evening, Mayor Council. My name is Diana Alvarez, a Tempe resident speaking on behalf of Arizona AA and HPI for equity tonight. Automatic license plate readers, ALPRs for short, have existed for decades, but the rise of artificial intelligence and mass surveillance has radically changed how these camera systems operate and are utilized in cities across the country.

Issues around ALPRs have attributed Flock systems as the problem, and we are grateful that that contract was ended. But, the focus should be at on the issue at large, which is the ALPR technology itself. The reality is these camera systems do not prevent crime, have not sufficiently proven to reduce crime, are an infringement of the Fourth Amendment, create massive data sharing and privacy concerns, have been misused, and are flawed in their accuracy.

As previously mentioned, Atlanta has the most ALPRs in in any city across the country. Yet, FBI data shows virtually no impact to Atlanta PD's ability to solve crime with some clearance rates like homicide, robbery, miscellaneous larceny, and shoplifting decreasing um clearance rates decreasing in a 5-year span. There have already been reports on ALPR flaws and accuracy. Flock, for example, touts a 93% accuracy rate with around 20 billion scans per month.

Approximately 1.4 billion scans are misread monthly. According to research published by the Electronic Founda- Frontier Foundation and the ACLU, Flock license plate readers misread the state on 10% of license plates, which compounds the mis- hits and stops made by local police jurisdiction. Current ALPR systems passively aggregate a digital dragnet, which violates our privacy and again is an infringement on our Fourth Amendment rights.

As we know, the right to abortion is no longer constitutionally protected in the United States. We're We're concerned that this system could theoretically help criminalize people traveling to states like Arizona where these repro- reproductive health services are available. Lastly, I would be remiss not to mention the data impacts of AI data the mentioned impacts of AI data centers on our climate.

Data centers require devastating amount of water and increase the temperature of the areas in which they're located. As the state faces tough decisions around water, we should strive to be good stewards of this precious resource. Thank you to the council for meeting the moment by addressing the concerns of ALPRs in our community. Technology is not slowing down and this type of leadership is what we need to ensure our laws and ordinances are keeping up.

We believe that the cost majorly outweighs the very few, if any, benefits of these systems. As AI continues to rapidly evolve, we should be proactive in ensuring our communities are kept safe from these unproven systems. For that reason, we believe ALPRs should be banned for and to protect our communities and our civil rights. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, the next speaker I have this evening is Noah James Markham. Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes.

Um aloha, mayor, and to the rest of the city council. My name is Noah James Markham, and um I would like to talk about ALPR. I think it was last meeting that the council member Doreen really talked about her concern with the legislation that council member Bobby was talking about, and it made me feel like I'm not going to be safe now because of his legislation.

And so, whatever Doreen Garland uh does, I would vote that way because Tempe needs to be protected and no defunding the police because I respect my law enforcement. And another thing I heard that there was a city in China that uses all of their um city um with Flock cameras, and uh it doesn't matter to them in with the residents there, and I disagree with uh President Xi, but you know, Flock cameras work. Also, Governor Katie Hobbs respects each and everybody's cities decision on flat cameras.

She hears everyone. And I haven't heard anything bad about Tempe with flat cameras. All I'm hearing is the excuses about different states. What about Tempe? I I'm I'm so confused. So, um yeah. Marla, thank you so much. Thank you. Okay, the next speaker I have is Nathan Taylor-Taft. Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Uh hi, my name is Nathan. Can I lower this? Yes. All right, thank you. Uh my name is Nathan Taylor-Taft.

I live in Chandler and I'm a student at ASU's Tempe campus. I spend a lot of time with organizations and mutual aid groups in the city. I direct East Valley Unite with numerous members in Tempe and I consider myself part of the community. To be absolutely clear, the city has already claimed it won't be using ALPRs. This ordinance would codify that. Over 70% of the people who filled out the city survey say they strongly support the ordinance.

According to separate statewide polling, about 2/3 of Arizonans oppose ALPR use. And when going into detail, the vast majority of those want the complete elimination of ALPRs. Uh when this ordinance was introduced, 26 people spoke in support of it and only two spoke against it. The council represents those who live, work, and go to school in Tempe. Your constituents could not be more clear. If passed, this would be the first ban on law enforcement use of all ALPRs in the country.

Tempe should lead the way. The police will claim that ALPRs are essential to solve a variety of cases, but no independent studies back that up. They'll claim that their internal policy prevents misuse, but we know that is false. They'll claim that only authorized officers can search the data and only with a legitimate reason, but we know that is wrong too.

They might even claim that ALPRs track vehicles and not people, which is would also be a lie given various companies' ALPRs can identify people, sort them by sex, race, ethnic ethnicity, height, weight build scars marks tattoos etc. Or even combine existing capabilities with facial recognition. Police have been incentivized by companies like Flock to mislead councils into not ending ALPR agreements, as this ban would do.

Don't listen to those who have a clear conflict of interest or speak disinformation at the expense of the voices of your constituents. One of the few exceptions to the ban allows receipt of ALPR data if given to the city pursuant to a search pursuant to a search warrant. The Fourth Amendment exists to insert to ensure the privacy rights of everyone in the country and that if the government wants to violate those rights, they need a warrant.

I've heard it framed that forcing the police to get a warrant to access ALPR data is just a burden and slows them down. It is not unreasonable to expect police to have a valid reason signed off on by a judge before your basic rights are violated. Opinions opposed to that are incompatible are incompatible with the Constitution. If officers don't need to obtain uh warrant and they just rely on internal policy, things go wrong and that's exactly what we've seen.

I'm not sure how the police chief expects anyone to believe that the Flock search that listed {quote} ATL No Kings Protest {end quote} as the reason was not related to the No Kings Protest, but I think it's been made exceptionally clear that misuse of ALPR systems is rampant and given that guardrails already exist, they are not effective and we simply need to ban unconstitutional surveillance technology.

That's why this ordinance should be passed to ban the city from using ALPRs as the vast majority of Tempe is demanding and make progress towards requiring a warrant if an entity from another city wants to provide ALPR data and hopefully a complete ban. We can't give up our essential civil civil liberties for the convenience for the convenience of police officers. I hope you vote yes to uphold the Constitution, stick to your word and actually represent your constituents. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. And the next speaker I have this evening is Ethan Froylan. Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Mr. Mayor, city council, members of the audience, my name is Ethan Froylan and I am a student of Arizona State. I come before you to speak on ordinance 8C4 that will be voted on today.

Flock and other automatic license plate readers ALPRs have been taking over neighborhoods, tracking our movements, and building an elaborate database about where, with who, and what we do. We have already dismantled our contract with Flock, which is a step in the right direction. But, it doesn't matter if it's Flock, Axon, or any other company is showing up on our streets. They all share the same problems. They are trying to profit off of invading our privacy.

The issue at hand is ALPR technology. We have all seen the news stories of the errors this technology has made, leading to the false detention of innocent citizens, and reports questioning the efficacy. It has been brought up that this issue should not be considered a privacy issue since we already do provide much data to companies. That should not, however, be a reason to provide even more data for these companies who use it without our consent.

These companies are impeding on our constitutional and civil rights. City Council, you hold the power to rein in this mass surveillance technology, and I yield the rest of my time. Thank you. The next speaker I have is Surya Prakash. Is Surya Prakash here this evening? Okay. That is all the speakers then that I have on this item. Is there anyone else in the audience this evening who wishes to Yes, Mr. Justice, please come forward. Please state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council. My name is Darlene Justice. I've lived in Tempe for 64 years. I'm very concerned with the banning of the automatic license plate technology in the city of Tempe. I am respecting I am asking that you consider continuing this proposal or rejecting this.

I would recommend that Tempe would could rather be the leader to gather other leaders from nearby Arizona cities and then to develop the very real safeguards with stern consequences for any and all who attempt to misuse this data or to sell the information from this very helpful and powerful technology.

The value of technology has already been justified with many criminals who have been arrested, kidnappers, and sexual exploitation criminals have been tracked, stopped, and arrested while their victims were being saved. It was on the news just recently. They were stopped by flock cameras. Hit-and-run offenders have been caught. Stolen vehicles have been found and given back to their owners.

The technology has the ability to not only track criminals, but also to alert police in certain circumstances with certain license plates. I have been told that Tempe could just use their own traffic cameras. These cameras are merely like taking a Polaroid picture. Sometime later, the information is captured and turned into a letter sent to the victim who did something wrong. Hit-and-run offenders have been Pardon me. They do not Okay, the cameras do not alert or track.

Tempe has a few cameras in the parks. They do not have resolution that the cameras that are possibly being banned tonight. Why am I so concerned about this subject? Early in the United States exploration of space with man flights, when the first astronauts returned to Earth, their communications were lost for some time because of the curvature of the Earth as they came in. There was a program, the TDRSS program. This is many years ago, tracking data relay satellite system.

This program was first started with three satellites that allowed people on Earth to talk to the astronauts and vice versa. These were three satellites that were put out in geosynchronous orbit around the Earth. That was the beginning of some tracking data. Things can be used for the right purposes. I am trying That's enough of that. I'm trying to point out that to that we need to take the technology that can be used for good.

Technology, however, needs support from human development and intelligence. We need to use our own intelligence. The tools of data collecting, tracking, and relaying are very powerful. They can be beneficial with the correct leadership. I'm sorry, that's time, Ms. Justice. I'm sorry. much. Thank you so much. Okay, let's see if that's all of the speakers I have signed up for this evening. Is there anyone else who wishes to address the council this evening? If so, can you get my attention?

Yes, please. Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Hello. My name is Isabel Hogan. Um I live here in Tempe. And I was just writing some things that I was thinking of while everyone was speaking that I wanted to share. Um I think this is a really great first step, but still not the root of the issue. It's the fact that these AI data farms continue to be built, and you guys decide where our money goes. So, it's should reflect what we want.

Um a lot of government workers keep thinking they are working for their boss or the president, but they work for the people, and this is what the people want. And it might make a lot of people's job easy who they're trying to stop crime, and it might not be misused in Tempe, but that doesn't mean we should wait until someone finds out it's been misused. Plus, statistically speaking, if it's just flawed, this causes unnecessary injustice.

Security, transparency, safety is what people are asking for, and I bet these officers would want that privacy when they get off work, too. This is not the root of the problem. It's the fact that our money got this many water-draining buildings in a drought of a state is the problem. Someone brought up social media earlier.

Like, people who use it knowing how much information they take somehow makes this any less privacy invading, but one does not cancel out the other, and I think that those who stand behind this ban would want our social media and all search engines to be exactly transparent with what and when and where our information is being used.

You and the Tempe Police Departments have more than enough resources and local activists here willing to work with you to decrease crime, because that is all what we want. Lastly, there was one thing I was confused There was another judge here last time and she was saying something about how if we did pass this, it would stop our Tempe police from working together with other security measures. And um I don't know if that's true.

Um but I personally think that we should be able to work together without using their ALPR um material if that is the case. And lastly, please post this ordinance in more layman terms for a lack of misunderstanding or loopholes in the future. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Appreciate it. Okay, is there anyone else in the audience who wishes to address the council on this item? If so, could you please get my attention at this time? Yes.

Please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Hello, city council. My name is Ash Keen and I'm a student at Arizona State University. I don't have a speech prepared for today, but I'd like to approach you as just a resident of the city of Tempe tonight.

I'm a I'm a student at Arizona State University and in my everyday schedule, I've seen five separate Flock cameras which will monitor me going to and from classes, to and from restaurants which I frequent every day with nothing with no intentions but to live out my normal day. I There is a camera on my path to Noble Library where I go to study. There's a camera on my path to the restaurants where I go and I hang out with my friends after practice or after or after class.

And there are cameras posted outside of the dorm where I live. These cameras serve nothing except They aren't on any streets. They serve no purpose except to monitor the students every day coming and going. There are plenty of cameras within Arizona State University campus buildings. There are dozens and dozens, there are hundreds of cameras that can be used in case of crimes that have been that Flock cameras have been described to act against.

Arizona State University is not an insecure campus by any means. And yet, there are still at least 30 cameras on campus which are actively monitoring the student body population. Why do we need these cameras? We already have cameras. We already have meth- methods upon methods of monitoring the students, monitoring for crimes. The The university does everything that it can to prevent crimes on campus.

Arizona State University, this the places where Flock cameras are are some of the safer parts of the campus. They're the walkways that that tens of thousands of students walk on every day. There's no reason that these cameras should be here except to monitor the student body. These cameras serve no purpose except to violate our privacy. There are already existing cameras in many in in the many businesses and establishments all across Tempe which can serve to monitor crime.

These Flock cameras are an extension of those that is quite frankly unnecessary. This is why I was glad to hear that the city of Tempe removed the Flock cameras that we were using previously. And why it concerns me to hear that there is potentially a code that could allow for the potential that the that if we don't pass this code today, we could potentially see these Flock cameras in our city again. Our city is not an unsafe city. I My parents would have never let me move here if I if it was.

So it's genuinely concerning to see this level of monitoring. And it is concerning as an everyday citizen. Citizens like me cannot help but wonder what these cameras are being used for aside from crime. And we've already seen in the news how they've been misused by the wrong hands. I believe that they can be used for good. I only ask one question. Are they? Thank you for your time. Thank you. Appreciate it. Kitty, is there anyone else in the audience wishing to address the council on this item?

If so, can you please get my attention? All right. Seeing none, I will close the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Um Councilmember Nickols? Yes, I have a few things to say. I'll just start with this. Promoting safety means protecting personal privacy. The pursuits of liberty and freedom upon which the whole of American political theory rests are inseparable from this truth.

Our Constitution enshrines this truth in its fourth amendment, and I'm proud that today, almost exactly 1 year after I first stood before this council as a private citizen to call for the cancellation of our Flock contract, Tempe has the opportunity to lead not just the state, but the nation in reaffirming this truth through local legislation prohibiting the use of automated automated license plate readers as statistically ineffective and unreasonably invasive artificial intelligence technology.

To everyone who has participated in the development of this ordinance, whether through legislative research, legal writing, public comment, completing the survey, attending input meetings, sharing information with friends and family, or any combination of the same, thank you for your cooperation and engagement over the last 2 months.

Your commitment to civic engagement, speaking truth to power, and fighting for progressive policies in the age of corporate capture is truly inspiring, and I know you will continue to fight the good fight. Thank you so much. Is there anyone else here? Okay, I see you. Let me just acknowledge the motions here. So, there is a motion to approve by Councilmember Nichols second by Councilmember St. George. Any further comments or questions from you? I see Councilmember Vice Mayor Chen. Comments?

Yeah, do you want to keep going or do you want that now? Well, then the motion's on the table. So, we just we're going to take additional comments now. So, I'll recognize you. Great. Thank you, Mayor. I like Councilmember Nichols um value individual rights liberties privacy. I want to also live in a safe environment uh in a safe community. I have heard from and we hear every year from our residents and our other stakeholders how important community safety is to them.

People don't choose to study in a city that's not safe. I agree. People don't want to live and go to school and create businesses in a place that's not safe and where their rights are not protected, also. I agree with all of those things. I think it's important to have safeguards when using technology, all technology, right? It's actually natural intelligence that creates the artificial intelligence.

Technology was created by us, by people and it is um guided by what we want and what we want the outcome and objectives of technology to solve for. There have been There has been data where this technology has solved crimes. And there is the existence of the possibility that it could also prevent some crime as a deterrent. That's why we have alarm systems in our homes. I agree with much of what's been written in the in the ordinance.

I like the safeguards and having consequences for inappropriate use of this technology. I think that's very, very important. Here's a however. However, I think the way it bans the wholesale use of technology seems a bit short-sighted to me. We created technology. We can adjust technology. We can make rules about how to use technology to help us. I agree. We don't want this to harm us or hurt us.

But I won't be supporting this ordinance because of the wholesale ban, I think it's a bit short-sighted. But I appreciate the work involved and the exploration and the open discussion. Thank you. Thank you, Vice Mayor Chase. Councilmember Thank you, Mr. Mayor. First I want to thank Councilmember Nickels for listening to my concerns that I expressed in the last meeting and and addressing them in this ordinance.

So I'm going to be voting yes, but I do want to kind of talk a little bit about some of the things that we heard today. Um absolutely know whenever I use my Starbucks app that they're going to track me, but the difference between that and this to me is that I'm choosing to download those apps and I'm choosing to give them that information. Whereas if you're just driving on a street, you're not you're not doing that.

Um the other one is and this is one of the concerns that Councilmember Nichols addressed in in in this version of the ordinance. Um I absolutely think that these Flock cameras are a violation of the Fourth Amendment, but if the police come to my door and they knock on it and they don't have a subpoena, they don't have a warrant, and I let them come anyway, it's not an unlawful search and seizure cuz I'm letting them in. At that point, it's lawful.

So, I'm very happy that uh you addressed that in this this version. Thank you, Councilmember Bamberg. Uh next up, Councilmember Garland. Hi, thank you, Mayor. Um I really appreciate um the comments from our speakers that came in and talked about this issue. Um I really value and respect um what Councilmember Chen and Amber have said also.

What um I wanted to say was, you know, um last time this was brought to us, I had said that I would not support that ordinance that came through the way that it was written.

Um I felt that it was like a a bridge too far for us to to be able to allow our officers to to work not only if we don't have the ALPR system in our community, but we're really really hand strap us if we were trying to work in a multi-jurisdictional um case um and within our community, but that it were that would they would be pulling together for the safety and the well-being of our residents of the residents in the other cities around us.

So, I had a number of concerns um about um that ordinance. I will say that um Councilmember Nichols heard those concerns, heard concerns from other others, and I have to um give him kudos for listening and being respectful in those conversations of not just wanting to listen to challenge, but to listen to challenge, but also to try to understand. So, reading through this ordinance, it is considerably different than the one that was before us before.

So, I I I can support this, which the last one I was not going to be able to a support support. I don't like the idea of taking away um tools that might help protect our community, but I think we have an opportunity to do something different here. And as the technology changes, this allows us to consider what the technology might be in the future for other um concerns or other things we might be bringing before us.

But again, I just want to say, Council Member Nichols, I um I really appreciate your hard work, and I really appreciate the fact that you listened to everyone, and that you really worked hard with our staff um to come up with an ordinance that now I can support. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next up, Council Member St. George. Thank you, Mayor.

I I too want to thank Council Member Nichols, um his assistant Morningstar, and and everybody who came to the table to come up with the the ordinance draft that we have tonight. It was months in the making, so many conversations both with the public, with all of our internal departments, to to come to something that everyone could feel good about. And and most of most of us support tonight. Um and so, I want to thank you.

I want to thank the Tempe Officers Association, our police department, our legal team, all the work that Council Member Nichols and his office has done to and to meet the public and to meet this moment, because this the opportunity we have before us tonight to be the first city in Tempe to ban um ALPRs. It And I want to thank everyone who came out to speak to both sides of this issue tonight.

Um but also thank Councilmember Amberg for bringing up the fact that when we're using these, I mean, I don't order food from this, but I am on social media that I you know, I'm opting in. And in fact, today I I sat there and kind of opted out of a lot of things cuz I was going through a you know, a Samsung safety thing, you know, how I could not share all that data. Um opt out of that, you know, we have those options here.

But there have been multiple Supreme Court cases who have reiterated and established that people do have a reasonable right to privacy when out in public. That has been established. That is what the Fourth Amendment is about. They have reinforced that in recent years. So uh for me, I am supporting this because I think it is the right thing to do.

I think that we have the opportunity to be at the forefront of what I believe is going to be a larger movement as we see bands like these happen around our state and nation. So, thank you for this work and I will be supporting it. Thank you so much. Next up, Councilmember Keating. Uh thank you, Mayor. Um so thank you for those who came and spoke at the last two months of meetings. Councilmember Nichols.

And uh I do appreciate as others things have been as other councilmembers have said, um I was where uh Councilmember Garland was at and I know that you're aware of that um after the last meeting. I had concerns around all the things that were brought up by Councilmember Amberg, Councilmember Garland, Councilmember Chin, Vice Mayor Chin, and others, right?

And so, I do appreciate you going back and working with um the TOA, the B Officers Authority, working with our police, working with our city attorney to have something that is a little bit more palatable to the council. Um one of the things that I've one of I used to play um Civilization IV quite a bit. And there was there was those tech quotes. And one of my favorite one quotes ever is is about governing, and it says politics is the art of the possible, the plausible, the art of the next best.

And we see that time and time again up here on the dais, not only things I've done that that we've all done, that there takes a certain amount of give and take in order to to govern effectively.

So, I appreciate you taking that approach and bringing back something to the council that we can support and that it that is um in my mind um effective, but not as not as divisive, and gives um our our police department some of the securities that they need to ensure that um if there's an active situation in the city of Tempe, that they will be able to um you know, serve and protect the community in a way that that we are accustomed to, in the way that they've done um so outstandingly in the past.

So, I'll be voting yes. Uh thank you, Councilmember Nichols, and um with that, I think we're done, right? Well, I'm done, excuse me. Okay, Mayor. Mayor. Yeah. And this has nothing to do with ALPRs. Um I'm going to have to leave after this vote due to my blood sugar issue here. So um I just want everyone to know that. Uh I stayed so I could get this vote over with, but I do have to leave. So, thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Keating. That I'll be very, very brief with my comments.

Just wanted to thank uh Councilmember Nichols for working with our staff in the uh weeks and months uh on this ordinance. And the two things that for me were addressed in this ordinance uh were the concern about being able to work with in sort of multi-jurisdictional task forces. We obviously have situations where we're dealing with uh gang-related activity, drug activity, and things of that nature.

And our department many times has to work with other police departments and other entities, uh not just simply statewide, but frankly nationally. And the new ordinance will allow them to do that without being impeded, and frankly that gave me a lot more comfort.

But the biggest thing that I was concerned about, and Councilmember Keating kind of covered this in his statement, too, was making sure that there was not liability for our police officers, for the men and women of the Tempe Police Department when they were attempting to do do their jobs every day, which many times are dangerous, but they do them exceptionally well all the time, and I applaud them for the work that they do.

But the But you know, I think what was addressed from the draft that we had before to the draft that we have now is there isn't that liability for those officers when going out into the field every day and doing their jobs, and for me that was really paramount. And I address I appreciate the fact, Councilmember Nickels, that you worked with to address that and come up with language that I could be comfortable with, so I will also be supporting this this evening.

With that said, any final comments from anyone? All right, that being said, once again the The motion was made by Councilmember Nickels and then seconded by Councilmember St. George for approval. Please vote. And that item passes 6-1 with Vice Mayor Chin voting no. Okay. Okay now please no clapping. Okay, we're going to go to Now I'm going to go back to the I to the agenda in order. All right. I probably, Mr.

Anderson, just for the benefit here, will read this again just to make sure, cuz I know I jumped around a little bit. All items listed on the non-consent agenda will be considered separately on a item item number eight for those in the audience and watching at home. Agenda items scheduled for introduction and first public hearing will be heard, but will not be voted upon at this meeting. Agenda items scheduled for second hearing and final adoption will be voted upon tonight.

Council members who may have a conflict of interest may abstain from voting on a matter, and the city clerk will provide the council members with the disclosure form at this time. Public hearing items subject to Arizona Revised Statutes Section 9-462.04 are designated as public hearing item pursuant to ARS Section 9- 462.04 in the item title.

A A who gives testimony or submits written comments on a designated item must declare whether they have received compensation in any form to testify or submit written comments.

First item under this section is 881, which is to approve and authorize a resolution to introduce and hold the second and final public hearing to receive public comment and authorize the activities and proposed funding within the Community Development Block Grant Action Plan substantial amendment for fiscal year 2026-2027 and request authorization to proceed with all actions necessary or appropriate to implement and administer these plans. Council members, any comments or questions on this item?

Okay, seeing none. Uh there's been a motion made by Council member Begay and a second by Council member Amberg. Please vote. And that item passes 6 to 0 with Council member Keating absent. Next item under this section is 882, which is to adopt a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign amendment one to an intergovernmental agreement with the Regional Public Transportation Authority for the purchase and supply of transit services for fiscal year 2026-2027.

Council members, any comments or questions on this item? I see there's been a motion to approve by Council member St. George with a second by Council member Begay. Any final comments or questions? Seeing none, please vote. And that item passes 6 to 0 with Council member Keating absent.

The next item under this section is 883, which is to adopt a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign operations funding agreement number 19 with Valley Metro Rail Incorporated for the purchase and supply of light rail and street car transit services. Council members, any comments or questions on this item? Can I go back one? I did that The motions went off the screen before I could read them. Okay, there's been a motion made by Council member St. George and a second made by Councilman Nichols.

Hearing uh no other comments or questions, please vote. And that item passes 6 to 0 with Councilman Keating absent. The last item under this section is 884, which is to award a construction contract to Tem-Con Concrete Construction LLC for project number 5401417A, minor concrete improvements. Let's see, there's been a motion made by Councilman Amberg to approve. Is there a second? And that second is made by Councilman St. George. Any comments or questions from Council?

All right, seeing none, please vote. And that item passes 6 to 0 with Councilman Keating absent. Next up here, non-consent agenda on ordinances and items for introduction first hearing. The items under this section will be read and introduced tonight, but no substantive votes will be taken. The second hearing and vote on these items is scheduled for November 5th, 2026.

First item under this section is 8B1, which is to introduce and hold the first public hearing to adopt an ordinance authorizing the city manager to execute a third amendment to the rooftop lease agreement for the lease of city-owned commercial property located at 525 South Mill Avenue in Tempe, Arizona, subject to approval of the lease terms by the city attorney. Let's see here. This is also a public hearing item.

So, if there's any public testimony on this item, can you please get my attention at this time? Okay, seeing none, I'll close the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Council, any comments or discussion? All right, hearing none, the second and final public hearing on this item is scheduled for November 5th, 2026.

The last item under this section is 8B2, which is to introduce and hold the first public hearing to adopt an ordinance authorizing the partial abandonment of the 8-foot irrigation facilities and public utilities easement and the 3-foot typical service easement for underground utilities located west of McClintock Drive and south of Warner Road for 9239 South Oak Street as the Diaz residence. This is also a public hearing item. So, if there's any public testimony, can you please get my attention?

K, seeing none, I'll close the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Uh Council, any comments or discussion? K, seeing none, the second and final public hearing on this item is scheduled for November 5th, 2026. The last section on the non-consent agenda is ordinances item scheduled for second hearing and final adoption. So, votes on these items will be taken tonight.

First item in this section is 8C1, which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance for a zoning map amendment from RO to CSS for approximately 0.34 acres for assisted living training school located at 1843 East Southern Avenue. The applicant is Precious Living LLC. K, this is also a public hearing item. Uh does anyone have any comments or questions? Well, actually, not comments, questions. Does anyone have any public testimony on this item?

If so, can you please get my attention? K, seeing none, I'll close the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Uh Council, are there any comments or questions for the applicant here? None? Okay. So, no comments or questions here. All right. We had a presentation. You want a presentation? No, no, we had We got Right. So, just as a note, uh Vice Mayor Chin was reminding me to tell the public we did have a presentation on this item previously for public transparency purposes.

Thank you for reminding me to say that. All right. So, with that said, seeing no other comments, I have a motion to approve by Council member St. George with a second by Vice Mayor Chin. Please vote. Is there a roll call of I think the button I don't know what's going on. All right, let me do this then. Um, I'm going to just take a roll call vote just to be safe here. Council member St. George? Yes. Council member Amberg? Yes. Vice Mayor Chin? Yes. Council member Nickols? Yes.

Council member Garland? And I vote I as well. That item passes 6 to 0 with Council member Keating absent. The next item under this section is 8C3, which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance for a zoning and development code text amendment for section 3-409, group group homes for adult care, persons with disabilities, and child shelter, and part 7 chapter 1 definitions for clarifications and related updates in conformance with Arizona State Senate Bill 1473.

The applicant is the city of Tempe. This is also a public hearing item. So, if there's anyone wishing to address the council on this item, please get my attention. Seeing none, I'll close the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Council, any comments or questions? Seeing none, there's been a motion made by Council member Garland to approve it a second by Council member St. George. Seeing no other comments, please vote. And that item passes 6 to 0 with Council member Keating absent.

The next item under this section is 8C5, which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance to transfer cash from fund 56 fire capital to fund 52 general obligation debt service fund in fiscal year 2025-26 and fiscal year 2026-27. This is also a public hearing item. So, if anyone has any public testimony, could you please get my attention at this time? Okay, seeing none, I'll close the public testimony portion of the public hearing.

I see there's been a motion to approve made by Council member Amberg with a second by Council member Garland. Any final comments or questions? All right, seeing none, please vote. And that item passes 6 to 0 with Council member Keating absent.

The last item on the section is 8C6, which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee to negotiate a power distribution easement to Arizona Public Service Company over certain city-owned land located at 34 East 7th Street, Tempe, Arizona 85281 and authorizing the city manager or to execute an easement agreement and related documents. This is also a public hearing item as well.

So, if there's any public testimony from any of the audience, please get my attention now. Seeing that, I'll close the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Council, any comments or questions? Seeing none, this will be a motion made by Council member St. George with a second by Council member Garland. Seeing that there's no comments on this item, please vote. And that item passes 6 to 0 with Council member Keating absent.

That brings me to item number nine, current events, council announcements, and future agenda items. Just as a note here, too, council members may request that agenda item be added to a future council meeting, but in accordance with the open meeting law, there should be no discussion on the item other than to clarify the request. Council members, if you ever request to add an agenda item for a future council meeting, please select the request to speak button in the member app.

I'm going to start this evening first with our council member who is virtual, that's Council member Garland. Any announcements or future agenda items? No announcements, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next up, I'm going to look to Council member St. George. Also none tonight. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next up, Council member Nickols. I have Tomorrow I'm going to Not tomorrow, on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

I have office hours at the Tempe Connections Cafe at the Tempe Library. Anybody who wants to come by and talk, please please do. Thank you, Council member Nickols. Next up, Vice Mayor Chin. No announcements. Thank you. Councilmember Amberg. I just want to wish my mom a happy birthday. Her birthday is Sunday and she's giving herself the fantastic present of flying to Paris to go see the Saints play.

And my announcements this evening is I want to hang out with Councilmember Amberg's mom and go to Paris. All right. Other than that, I'm going to go to item number 10, public appearances. Once again, the rules for speaking during the second public appearances period are the same as stated earlier for the first public appearances period. As a reminder, each person may speak only once during public appearances.

If you spoke during the public appearances period earlier tonight, you may not speak again during the second period. Speakers have up to 3 minutes and I'm going to look to the back. Mr. Martinez, please come forward, state your name and city of residence. You have 3 minutes. Tempe taxpayers Tempe Okay, let me know when you're ready. Okay, let me stop this. Reset. Okay uh Tempe Tempe taxpayers deserve answers regarding the city issues related to so-called crisis manager Mr. David Leibowitz.

I mean him no disrespect. After I posted his unredacted Tempe invoices online, I re-free received a frantic text message from David Leibowitz. He requested that I not post his address uh home address, which his invoices did not say were his home address. Accordingly, his street address was promptly redacted and uh Mr. Leibowitz's golf selfie photo was used instead. Mr. Leibo has been public about his mental health problems and his need for psychiatric medications.

As a city of Tempe consultant, hopefully Tempe the Tempe employee assistance co-program can assist Mr. Leibowitz as if he's in need of assistance. He seemed possibly terrified. A preliminary review of Mr. Leibowitz's invoices and his public record disclosed some concerning items. Mr. Leibowitz's hourly rate for for his services, if you want to call it that, are three to $400 an hour for working less than 20 hours a month many times.

By comparison, our city manager Rosa Schowsti earns $370,000 per year, which equates to $178 per hour. No wonder Rosa wanted a raise. Since he was hired right after the current city manager, Mr. Leibowitz has banked around $250,000 over the last few years. According to the Maricopa County records, in 2014, a man named David S. Leibowitz had an IRS lien for the failure to pay federal taxes in the amount of over $117,000. This information was provided to the city.

My public question to the city is this the same David Leibowitz that Tempe has paid over $250,000 over the last 3 years? That's a question. This is not agendaized, so we can't engage in discussion about that, so Do you have a time frame when I can get that answer because the public needs to know? It It's not on the agenda, so we unfortunately can't engage on that question. Okay. Thank you so much.

Uh anyone else wishing to address the audi- uh wishing to address the council, please can you please get my attention at this time? Okay, seeing none, I will go ahead and close that and move on to item number 11, which is adjournment. The next regular city council meeting will be on November 5th, 2026. There being no further business this evening, this meeting is adjourned. Thank you so much, everyone. Have a great night.