Fort Collins City Council July 28 work session: surveillance policy framework, psychoactive product licensing move ahead

Fort Collins City Council used its Tuesday, July 28, work session to advance two broad policy discussions: a citywide approach to surveillance technology and a local licensing system for age-restricted psychoactive products.

Council signaled support for a use-based framework for a city surveillance policy, with staff proposing rules that would apply across departments and be based on how technology is used rather than on individual devices. The discussion also pointed toward an accelerated public-engagement process aimed at producing a policy by Dec. 1.

Council also backed work on a broader licensing and enforcement plan for tobacco, kratom and other psychoactive products. Staff said youth access in Fort Collins is high and that state oversight has not been sufficient, and the proposed local framework would reach beyond tobacco and nicotine to cover other age-restricted products sold in stores.

Together, the two items showed council focusing on how the city regulates emerging technologies and products through broader city policy frameworks.