Lacey, WA Mobility & Curb Rules: Red-Light Cameras (2026)

Chapter 10.06 gives Lacey police the authority to use cameras for two violation types: stoplight violations and school speed zone violations. Authority runs to law enforcement officers of the City of Lacey and persons commissioned by the Lacey Police Chief. Two limits apply. Cameras are restricted to the intersection of two arterials and school speed zones only. And a camera can take pictures only of the vehicle and its license plate, only while an infraction is occurring, and the pictures cannot reveal the face of the driver or of the passengers. The City must also clearly mark every location with signs telling a driver he or she is entering a zone where an automated camera enforces traffic laws. The chapter authorizes use; it does not say how many cameras are installed.

The notice process is in § 10.06.020. A notice of infraction is mailed to the registered owner within fourteen days of the violation, or to the renter of a vehicle within fourteen days of establishing the renter's name and address. A rental car business gets written notice first and has eighteen days to name the driver or renter under oath, state under oath that it cannot tell, or pay the penalty. The officer's certificate based on the photographs is prima facie evidence. Under § 10.06.030 the recipient can respond by mail or request a hearing.

Section 10.06.040 creates a prima facie presumption that the registered owner was in control, and it can be overcome only by a sworn written statement or testimony that the vehicle was stolen or in the care, custody, or control of another person. Under § 10.06.050 these infractions are not part of the owner's driving record under RCW 46.52.101 and 46.52.120 and are processed like parking infractions. Section 10.06.070 keeps an officer's power to cite the person in control of the vehicle directly.