CINCINNATI — A majority of Cincinnati City Council voted to require parking lots to install more cameras to deter crime, particularly gun thefts from cars, with the final vote set for the full council meeting on Sept. 30.
The council’s budget committee voted 8-1 for the ordinance despite objections from several parking lot owners, including the Chavez family, prominent political donors in the city. Councilmember Seth Walsh was the lone no vote.
A version of the ordinance backed by Mayor Aftab Pureval would require both garages and surface lots to have either cameras, a full perimeter fence or around-the-clock attendants. A competing version sponsored by Councilmembers Meeka Owens and Seth Walsh exempted surface lots, but council members favored the mayor’s broader version.
“I think we do need cameras,” said Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney. “We need to know what’s going on in those lots. We need to deter crime and find out who’s breaking into cars when they do. There are too many guns out there.”
Several council members said regulating parking lots is one of the few levers the city has against gun crime, noting that both county and state appeals courts have ruled the city cannot override state law that bars local municipalities from regulating firearms.
The ordinance aims to reduce the number of guns stolen from vehicles. According to Cincinnati Police Department statistics, an overwhelming majority of stolen guns in the city are taken from cars.
