HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRA Request Determination of ExemptionCity of San Luis Obispo, City Attorney’s Office, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401-3249, 805.781.7140, slocity.org
March 12, 2024
CivilGrid
c/o Heidi Sides
1280 Lombard Street, Unit 104
San Francisco, CA 94109
Re: Public Records Request #24065 – GIS datasets of City water and sewer systems
Determination of exemption from disclosure
Dear Heidi Sides and CivilGrid,
In response to your request for “GIS datasets of your water and sewer networks to add to
[CivilGrid’s] database,” the City asserts that these records are exempt from disclosure under
Government Code §7922.000 because on the facts of the particular case the public interest served
by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.
The City is aware of the California appellate court's ruling in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court
(2009) 170 Cal.App.4th 1301, which held that, in response to a request made pursuant to the
California Public Records Act, the County of Santa Clara could not withhold from disclosure its GIS
basemap under the “catchall exemption” of the Act. There, the basemap contained geographic
elements such as “parcels, streets, assessor parcel information, jurisdictional boundaries,
orthophotos [aerial photographs], and buildings,” all readily discernable and observable from public
rights of way (Id. Fn 1.) Prior to the public records request, the basemap had been sold by the
County of Santa Clara to several public and private entities.
The request from CivilGrid, as we understand it, seeks records different from those compelled for
disclosure under County of Santa Clara. For one, the GIS datasets of water and sewer networks are
much more detailed and exact sets of information than the basemap at issue in County of Santa
Clara. Indeed, the City of San Luis Obispo makes basemaps available for free to the public via a
public map server on the City’s website. But the City has a strong safety interest in keeping secure
the locations and comprehensive connection data demonstrating the overall system configuration
of pipelines and equipment throughout the public system in order to prevent disruptions to the
City’s water supplies and/or threats to the City’s ability to treat wastewater.
Second, the City does not release comprehensive GIS datasets for our water and sewer networks to
the public by other means, either for sale or free of charge, because of the interest in maintaining
and protecting the public health, which is furthered by keeping this information secure. A member
of the public may obtain information on underground utilities prior to excavation by calling 811, but
the City has denied all previous requests for whole-system GIS information on the water and sewer
network infrastructure. When a contractor requests copies of GIS data sets related to the specific
area of their project, the City provides this information solely to the extent necessary to support
the project's design and construction and only in direct connection with an approved development
entitlement or construction permit. Providing this type of information on a location-by-location
basis, without depiction of connections to unrelated areas, does not pose the same threat as would
unfettered access to the City’s entire data set.
Finally, the confidential data is not segregable; unlike various elements of the GIS basemap at issue
in County of Santa Clara, all data requested by CivilGrid has security implications as discussed
above.
To the extent that disclosure of the requested records would reveal vulnerabilities to, or otherwise
increase the potential for an attack on, an information technology system of the City, the City also
asserts that the records are exempt from disclosure under Government Code §7929.200.
If CivilGrid is aware of any authority that compels disclosure of the requested records, or if other
public agencies have provided the requested records, the City is amenable to further discussions
about this request.
Sincerely,
Sadie Symens
Deputy City Attorney