VNC Member John Clark Brown Discusses Action That Could Be Taken Against Illegally Parked RVs and OVs
(The following views are mine and not those of the VNC)
RVs and Oversized Vehicles (OVs) line the streets of Venice and other Council District 11 (CD11) streets because CD 11 Councilwoman Traci Park’s office does not direct the LAPD and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to aggressively ticket the RVs and OVs which it could do even if it lacks the resources to tow them promptly after ticketing. At least one other Council District (CD 12 ) follows a more aggressive ticketing and towing policy.
On September 7, I counted 18 RVs and Oversized Vehicles (“OVs”) on both sides of Washington Blvd. between Marr and Beach. This part of Washington was posted with signs which barred vehicles over 22’ long or 7’ high from parking there between 2am-6am.
I also spoke to six residents and the managers of 2 businesses on Washington (The Kinney near Marr and the Marina del Rey Qualify Cleaners across Washington from The Kinney.) They told me the RVs and OVs are parked continuously in violation of all the above signs. 2 huge OVs parked in front of the Kinney have been there for 3-4 years. All the residents complain the vehicles deprive the residents of parking for themselves and their guests. Various residents complain the vehicles’ generators create noise, their occupants dump trash and human waste in the gutters, enter private property for water, paint graffiti on utility poles, have short time visitors who apparently are dealing drugs and are an eyesore and impinge on the residents’ sense of privacy.
The same week I also counted another 29 RVs and OVs on North and South Venice Blvds., Pacific, Main and Grand. All these streets were posted with No Parking Between 2am-6am signs. While I was not there during those hours it was obvious the vehicles were permanently parked there, including during those hours. Undoubtedly, the residents on those streets have the same complaints as the residents on Washington.
The City has extensive legal authority to remedy this problem. Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) sec. 80.69.4 makes it illegal to park oversized vehicles between 2-6am on streets with signs which bar such vehicles from parking there during those times.
Secs. 1, 2 and 3 of Los Angeles Ordinance 181413 authorize the CD 11 Councilperson by letter to direct the City Department of Transportation (DOT) to post signs barring oversized vehicles from parking on streets designated in the letter between 2am – 6am California Vehicle Code sec. 22651(k) authorizes peace officers to remove vehicles parked in excess of 72 hours on streets where local ordinances bar such parking and authorize removal. Los Angeles has those ordinances. LAMC 11(l) authorize the City to remove illegally parked vehicles because they violate City ordinances and, thereby, constitute nuisances.
Despite all this legal authority, the oversized vehicles remain in CD 11. The reason they remain is because of the cumbersome procedures CD11 follows to remove them. Sean Silva, Councilwoman Traci Park’s Venice Deputy, explained these procedures to a CD 11 constituent as follows: “The scheduling of these operations [to tow illegally parked oversized vehicles] is primarily about aligning all the teams needed — the CAO [City Administrative Officer] and LAPD coordinate the two operators ' availability; LAPD must be present; the LASAN[itation] teams with certain skill sets and authorizations must be present to conduct the work and document their work; DOT [Department of Transportation] needs to be present for traffic control and they are a second impound authority alongside LAPD; and the site must be posted ahead of time per legal requirements. To line up all of these disparate elements of the process takes time, though not necessarily one month. We are usually working to schedule about three weeks out.”
Instead of this cumbersome procedure Traci Park should request the LAPD and the DOT to ticket all oversized vehicles parked on sign posted streets between 2am -6am even if the City does not have practical ability to tow them soon thereafter. The officers would go to posted streets between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m and ticket every vehicle parked in violation of those signs. One night they do Washington Blvd. The next night they do Venice Blvd and so on. Then they return to Washington Blvd and repeat the process. Ticketing by itself imposes significant sanctions, including fines, license renewal, insurance and credit problems and other penalties. Most importantly, it communicates that unlawful parking will not be tolerated. Thus, many of the vehicles may move once they are ticketed. Some of the residents on Washington told me the vehicle occupants are not “freaks” but are there simply because they want to live cheaply near the beach and no one is preventing them from parking there.
The “Broken Windows” theory of criminology (google Wikipedia Broken Windows Theory of Criminology) posits that simply maintaining and repairing property and forcefully communicating that unlawful conduct will not be ignored or tolerated can by themselves reduce such conduct.
This approach has worked in New York City and elsewhere. It could also work in Venice. At least it should be tried.
Clark Brown
Venice Neighborhood Council Board Member
