Town of Mammoth Lakes | Facility security cameras
Mammoth Lakes adopted a non-police camera policy in 2026. It lists one existing facility camera and 22 proposed cameras, requires signage, prohibits audio, and sets 365-day retention.
How it happened
- Decision
Council adopts facility-camera policy
The Council adopts the policy 5-0. Appendix A lists one existing Community Recreation Center camera and proposed cameras at the Town Yard, Civic Center, and Arts & Cultural Center. [1]
What the Council adopted
The Town Council adopted the Security Camera Policy on March 18, 2026.[1]
Appendix A lists one existing camera at the Community Recreation Center. It lists three proposed cameras at the Town Yard, 14 at the Civic Center, and five at the Arts & Cultural Center. Those labels are preserved: the policy does not establish that all 22 proposed cameras are installed.[1]
What the policy requires
The policy covers public and quasi-public areas at Town facilities and expressly excludes Police Department equipment. It prohibits cameras in privacy-sensitive spaces, including restrooms, locker rooms, and private offices, and it prohibits audio recording. Signs are required before installation.[1]
Access requires individual credentials and must be auditable. The policy bars personal use, harassment, discrimination based on protected characteristics, and infringement of First Amendment rights, subject to its stated safety and law-enforcement provisions. A third-party host may not share the data without written Town permission.[1]
The stated retention period is 365 days, and footage is subject to California Public Records Act requests. The Town Manager may amend the policy and Appendix A, so the March 2026 list is a dated baseline rather than a permanent inventory.[1]
Questions
- How many Town facility cameras are listed?
- Appendix A lists one existing camera at the Community Recreation Center and 22 proposed cameras: three at the Town Yard, 14 at the Civic Center, and five at the Arts & Cultural Center. [1]
- Does this policy govern police cameras?
- No. The policy expressly excludes devices used or administered by Mammoth Lakes Police. [1]
- Can the cameras record audio?
- No. The policy prohibits audio recording or surveillance. [1]
- How long is footage kept?
- The policy sets a 365-day retention period. [1]
What we do not know
- Which proposed cameras have since been installed, accepted, activated, or removed?
- Which vendors, camera models, video-management products, and hosting services are used?
- What do access-log audits, deletion verification, complaints, and public-records procedures show?
- When and under what procedure may MLPD or another agency receive Town-camera footage?
What you can do
Show up
Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Mono County.
What we have documented in Mono County →Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense →Sources
- 1. Mammoth Lakes resolution adopting Security Camera Policy, March 18, 2026 · Meeting record · · accessed · archived copy
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