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April 21, 2026 Mayor Amezcua and Members of the Council City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Item 27 - AB 645 Speed Safety System Pilot Program Dear Mayor Amezcua and Members of the City Council, On behalf of Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD), we write to express our strong concerns regarding Item #27, which proposes a resolution requesting amendments to AB 645 to allow the City of Santa Ana (City) to establish a Speed Safety System Pilot Program (Program). We support prioritizing safe streets without surveillance. We appreciate the City’s interest in improving traffic safety and reducing harm on our streets, we too want to see safe streets. However, we urge the City Council to proceed with caution and take additional steps to evaluate alternative, non-surveillance based traffic measures before providing direction to staff that would advance the establishment of a Speed Safety System Pilot Program As outlined in the staff report, a Program would rely on automated camera and radar systems that capture images of vehicles and license plates to enforce speed violations. While this may offer one approach to addressing traffic safety, it also represents an expansion of surveillance technology that warrants careful consideration. When AB 645 was originally debated and passed in 2023, it faced significant opposition from civil rights and community organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Black Lives Matter California, and ACLU California Action1. These groups raised concerns about privacy, data collection, potential misuse, and the disproportionate impact automated enforcement systems can have on low-income, and immigrant communities. There are also implementation concerns. Cities like San Francisco have experienced delays and challenges in rolling out speed camera programs, raising questions about feasibility, cost, and effectiveness.2 In addition, data from other cities show troubling concerns. In Chicago, between 2015 and 2019, speed cameras ticketed households in majority Black and Latino ZIP codes at two times the rate of majority 2 KQED. “Just Over Half of SF’s Speed Cameras Are Operational. What’s With the Slowdown?” May 14, 2025. https://www.kqed.org/news/12039914/just-over-half-sfs-speed-cameras-operational-whats-with-slowdown. 1CalMatters Digital Democracy. “AB 645.” Accessed April 21, 2026. https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202320240ab645.