The Hudl camera system is being considered for use at Somerville High School and Dilboy Field. — Photo courtesy of Hudl

By Jeffrey Shwom

The Legislative Matters Committee discussed three items, including use of sports camera technology at SHS, and two ordinance changes related to tree preservation and energy use and climate change. 

SHS presents case for camera use in high school gym

The school district’s athletic director shared a transparency report about future sports camera technology use in the high school gym. Amara Anosike, Chief of Staff of the school district, spoke at an April 1 Legislative Matters committee meeting about the interest in high school basketball and volleyball teams having access to Hudl Focus cameras in the high school gym and possibly at Dilboy Stadium. “Hudl is widely used across the state and in all schools in the Greater Boston League” and the city wants to meet regional best practices.

Per the Surveillance Technology Impact Report submitted by Director of Athletics Stan Vieira, a Hudl camera records sports games and practices, with cameras that “automatically follow the action, capture multiple angles, and upload video to a Hudl library.” The camera uses would be limited to “’boys’ and girls’ basketball practices and games in order for coaches to break down game and practice footage and statistics. This information will only be shared with the SHS Basketball coaching staff and Hudl,” which stores the data. “Nothing will be shared and everything will remain on the Hudl server.” There would be no audio recorded and the technology will not be used for live streaming.

Councilor Davis, who has children who use Hudl, wanted more clarification in writing if the cameras would run all time, who can turn them on, and what activities could be recorded. Councilor Strezo wanted to make sure adults using the technology were CORI and SORI checked (criminal offender and sex offender registries). The athletics department will make revisions and resubmit the report to the committee for review, with Councilor Davis stressing cooperation and a smooth approval to not hold up any contract negotiations with Hudl. The district wants to start using the technology in the fall.

“Better protect the trees” tree preservation ordinance discussed

City officials finally presented recommended changes to the Tree Preservation Ordinance, a year after a committee submitted comments. As stated by Vanessa Boukili, Senior Urban Forestry and Landscape Planner, the goal of the Urban Forestry Committee and the Urban Forestry Division working together on amendments was to “better protect the trees in this city.” The ordinance seeks to further protect public shade trees and city trees from damage during construction, create a tighter enforcement section to allow for maximum enforcement allowed by law, and further protect trees on private property.

Former committee member Chris Dwan had written a letter to the city in January 2025 disappointed that the mayor had not forwarded and did not include some recommendations to the council, which sparked a renewed interest from councilors. Dr. Boukili explained the ordinance’s journey from one department to the next, through inspectional services to legal and more.

The last major overhaul of the ordinance occurred in 2019. At that time, the changes that gained the most attention were the introduction of a permit process if a tree was deemed “significant” on private property and creation of the Urban Forestry Committee.

Refresh of Energy Use and Climate Change Commision

In another attempt to refresh and update ordinances, the Office of Sustainability and Environment put forth changes for the Commission on Energy Use and Climate Change. Director of Sustainability and Environment Christine Blais reviewed the recommendations to simplify the commission’s name to Climate Action Commission, broaden the language of the statute to meet the widening range of climate-related issues, and effectively doubling the number of commissioners (from seven to 13) while removing residency requirements for commission members. Legislative Matters expects a few tweaks to the proposed ordinance.