Solvang City Council moves to tighten rules on AI-enabled downtown surveillance cameras

The Solvang City Council on Monday night called for changes to an evolving surveillance program—as questions swirled and officials sought a better grasp of how the city s public-facing AI-enabled cameras work. “We need policies that define all of this,” Councilmember Mark Infanti said as Councilmember Elizabeth Orona led the push for more clarity. Had the city added functionality in recent months? Who owns the software? How often is the system employing artificial intelligence? How—and how easily—are features turned on and off, and by whom? In yet another complication, City Manager Randy Murphy told the council he considers the city’s three-year, $187,889 pilot of the six Verkada Inc. cameras installed so far by XIT Solutions a failure. “It’s been very minimal usage,” Murphy said, calling red tape stalling three more cameras along the state-owned and Caltrans-managed Highway 246, or Mission Drive, a big part of the problem. Solvang City Manager Randy Murphy said the city