Legal Push Urges Swift Enforcement as Nuisance Concerns Grow
By Clark Brown
Three weeks ago the City successfully removed the RVs and OVs lining Washington Blvd. by posting No Parking Signs and ticketing and towing them. Now they are returning.
On June 27 I took these pictures of two huge OVs. The tan one is parked in front of the Kinney and the black one is parked on the South side of Washington across from Grayson Avenue. Both had been continuously parked at these same locations for months before the City removed them as reported in Yo! Venice.
The OVs are an immediate threat to Washington and everyone who lives, works and visits there. For their presence sends a clear message the City will not enforce its laws. This will promptly encourage more illegal RVS and OVs to invade Washington and its nearby neighborhoods. The “Broken Windows” theory of criminology (google Wikipedia Broken Windows Theory of Criminology) posits that ignoring unlawful conduct encourages more of the same. Conversely, enforcing the law encourages everyone to obey it.
LAMC 71.02.3 authorizes the City to tow and impound unlicensed vehicles. It states in part:
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person…to … park any vehicle…on any street…within the …City … without a permit… by an authorized governmental entity in the State of California.
(b) Violation of this section will subject the violator to impoundment of the unlawful vehicle by the City of Los Angeles and is deemed a misdemeanor.
(c) Whenever any peace officer, public officer or employee of the City of Los Angeles arrests any person for violation of this section, the officer or employee shall impound and retain possession of any vehicle used in violation of this section until a court of competent jurisdiction or an officer or employee of the City of Los Angeles shall release said vehicle.
California Vehicle C. sec. 22651 authorizes the City to remove a vehicle which is unlicensed and parked in excess of 72 hours:
(j) If a vehicle is found illegally parked and there are no license plates or other evidence of registration displayed, the vehicle may be impounded until the owner or person in control of the vehicle furnishes the impounding law enforcement agency evidence of his or her identity and an address within this state where he or she can be located.
(k) If a vehicle is parked or left standing upon a highway for 72 or more consecutive hours in violation of a local ordinance authorizing removal
LAMC 88.13 (a) states:
“ (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to park… a vehicle in any parking meter space,… without immediately making or causing to be made a lawful payment at an applicable parking meter….”
In addition to all the above these OVs and others like them constitute nuisances as defined by LAMC sec. 91.9002, which authorizes the City to promptly abate any nuisance. The section states a nuisance includes “Any use of land that jeopardizes or adversely affects the public health, peace, or safety of persons residing…in the surrounding area;…” LAMC sec, 11.00 (l) authorizes the City to promptly abate nuisances.
Venice wants the City to enforce its laws against the returning RVs and OVs on Washington. On June 17 the Board of the Venice Neighborhood Council passed a motion requesting the City to enforce the law on Washington entitled “Motion For Prompt And Effective City Action On Unhoused Persons Rvs And Ovs On Washington Blvd Between Abbot Kinney And Beach.”
In sum, the City should follow the VNC’s motion and promptly use its ample legal authority to immediately cite and tow the returning OVs before they encourage the
return of others.
Clark Brown is a member of the Board of the Venice Neighborhood Council. The views expressed above are his and not necessarily those of the VNC.
