Special City Council Meeting - September 8, 2026: ALPR & BCBS Site
Special City Council Meeting – September 8, 2026
The Eagan City Council held a workshop meeting on September 8, 2026, to receive a technology overview on Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) from Police Chief Amari and to discuss a proposed Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) site, presented by Opus Development. The meeting was informational and did not include public comment. No formal votes were taken; council provided direction to staff.
Discussion Items
- License Plate Reader Technology Overview: Chief Amari presented a detailed explanation of how Eagan Police uses ALPR technology, including fixed and mobile cameras. He emphasized that ALPR captures still images of license plates at specific locations and times, does not use facial recognition, does not track vehicles continuously, and requires human verification for any enforcement action. Data is automatically deleted after 30 days (the maximum allowed by state law is 60 days). Every search must be tied to a case number and an authorized law enforcement purpose. In March 2026, Eagan withdrew from the statewide data sharing network; no outside agency has open access to Eagan's data. Command reviews audits every two weeks, and an independent auditor reviews every two years. A public transparency portal is expected within 30 days. Chief Amari addressed concerns about immigration enforcement, noting that searches by other agencies (e.g., Metro Surge) occurred before March 2026 and yielded zero results from Eagan cameras. He stated that the department can and would refuse requests for immigration enforcement. Council members asked about vendor access (Flock/Axon), auditing, and data security. Councilmember Bakken expressed distrust of the vendor and requested independent IT verification of back-end access. Chief Amari agreed to facilitate that.
- Opus Discussion for BCBS Site: Opus Development presented a request to initiate an AUAR for the 42.4-acre BCBS property (excluding a separate soccer field parcel still owned by BCBS). Three scenarios were proposed: (A) base scenario – existing 440,000 sq ft office and daycare; (B) mixed-use – 425,000 sq ft business park, 348 high-density apartment units, 115 medium-density units (reduced from a previous June proposal); (C) all business park – 575,000 sq ft of single-story buildings. The AUAR would assess environmental impacts, traffic, infrastructure, and noise, and include two public comment periods. Council members discussed the possibility of including the adjacent soccer field parcel (owned by BCBS) in the AUAR to create a comprehensive plan and address neighborhood concerns. Councilmember Bakken suggested that shifting development north and preserving soccer fields in the south could be more palatable. Staff noted that including that parcel would require BCBS's willingness and possibly city funding. Council supported moving forward with scenarios B and C, and the early public scoping process. They directed staff to contact BCBS within the next 4-6 weeks to gauge interest in participating in the AUAR. The council also expressed support for conducting the AUAR prior to any comprehensive plan amendment, a departure from the typical process.
Key Outcomes
- ALPR Technology: The council received the presentation and asked clarifying questions. No formal action was taken, but Chief Amari committed to continuing internal oversight, independent audits, and the transparency portal. Councilmember Bakkin requested independent IT verification of Flock’s back-end access; staff agreed to arrange it.
- BCBS Site AUAR: The council provided the following direction:
- Support for conducting an AUAR on the 42.4-acre BCBS site (excluding the soccer field parcel initially), with the existing (base) scenario required by law.
- Support for including both the mixed-use (Scenario B) and all business park (Scenario C) scenarios in the study.
- Support for an early public scoping open house to allow community input on the scenarios.
- Directed city staff to contact BCBS within 4-6 weeks to explore whether the soccer field parcel could be included in the AUAR, and to report back to council with findings.
- Next Steps: Staff to initiate conversations with BCBS and prepare a follow-up report to council within 4-6 weeks. The AUAR process (if authorized) would then proceed, including public comment periods.
Meeting Transcript
Kui noite, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And we've got a um uh narrow but substantive agenda for tonight. So um I'll get right to it. Um Ms. Miller, are there any changes in general? No, Mr. Mayor. Uh Council, any changes each other? Yes, sir. Move to adopt the agenda as presented. Second. That's moved and seconded. Is there any further conversation on the agenda? Seeing none. Um all in favor, someone saying aye. I pose nay. Motion carries, and we have an agenda. Uh just want to check. Uh there are any visitors to be heard tonight on items not or not on tonight's agenda. Seeing none. Um I'll move right to uh our first item tonight. Uh first item is a uh license plate reader uh technology overview. Uh and uh Chief Amari is joining us as well as uh uh Deputy Johnson as well as other staff. Um so we want to get into uh this topic. I want to thank the folks uh who are here today uh for the um uh workshop meeting uh and those watching at home as well. Um I know that uh there's been a lot of community interest in the issue of automated license plate readers and ALPR technology, uh as the chief and I will probably refer to it tonight. Um I want to clarify what the purpose of tonight's meeting is. Tonight's meeting is a workshop meeting, uh, and it's a chance for the council to hear directly from uh the chief about how uh Egan Police is using ALPR technology uh and how our policies guide uh the use of that technology. Uh this is a city council workshop, but it's not a public hearing. Um and uh or a public comment session as well. So uh it's my hope uh that tonight will be educational for the council uh as well as for those attending uh and watching here at home, uh, so that we all leave a little bit more educated on what ALPR uh technology is uh and what it is not. Uh I look forward to listening to and learning from uh Chief Omari. Uh and um I understand he has a fairly thorough uh presentation for us um tonight. Uh as we get started, I do want to clarify what the council's role is in regards to ALPR technology. Uh the city council approves uh the city's annual budget and its capital purchasing plans uh and provides high level public policy direction. Operational decisions, including the selection of specific technologies are made by our professional level staff uh in individual departments. Staff keep the council informed about tech new technology. They often do demonstrations of that technology, such as body camera body worn cameras, drones, uh, or public-facing dashboards that are used for uh communication with the public on things like uh our comprehensive plan, etc. Uh and um uh I want to add and conclude with uh that while I am confident that uh ALPR is currently working as intended uh within the city of Egan. Uh I also understand the questions that it raises about privacy data sharing and oversight. Uh and I believe those are legitimate questions and issues for us to understand uh to take seriously uh and to question as well. Um and I believe the chief agrees. Um that's why I appreciate Chief Omari's proactive review uh in March of our police department's ALPR system settings, our policies, uh, as well as our data sharing practices. Uh that review led to, as he'll explain, uh disabling of the statewide sharing of Egan's ALPR data uh and strengthening safeguards around that access as well. Uh tonight's an opportunity for the council to better understand the technology, the choices being considered, uh and how the department is pro is approaching it uh and approaching its use uh responsibly. So chief, I want to thank you for being here uh and for your time and thoughtful work on the issue. I know that you uh and others on your staff have responded to a number of questions uh from the public on ALPR, uh, but I appreciate your being here tonight. Uh and maybe before you start, I believe uh Ms. Miller wanted to uh comment on some of the questions that the city has received um and the uh city's uh hopes in responding to those questions as well. Thank you, Mr.
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