A new ban limiting vehicle dwellers from parking overnight, approved by the Los Angeles City Council unanimously last week, has begun in Venice after previous city laws were rolled back to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic-era shelter-in-place orders for the homeless nearly three years ago.
Los Angeles Councilwoman Traci Park of the 11th District—largely representing the coastal area of the city—introduced the resolution in March to prohibit “the parking of vehicles that are in excess of 22 feet in length or over 7 feet in height” between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. along several Venice streets.
The resolution instructs the Department of Transportation, which will enforce the new policy, to post signs giving notice of a “tow away, no parking” restriction for oversized vehicles within the specific hours. It’s unclear how much the signage will cost.
“This is an important step to improve traffic safety and uniform parking enforcement, which is a concern I have heard loud and clear from our community,” Park told The Epoch Times in a statement.
The result of relaxing some city codes in early 2020 that banned encampments in public spaces led to the expansion of homeless encampments across Venice as well as a proliferation of people living in RVs.
Oftentimes, some RV dwellers would disturb neighborhoods by playing loud music, littering, and engaging in alleged criminal activities involving drug dealing and prostitution, The Epoch Times has previously reported. Fires have also erupted from some RVs.
Residents have previously told The Epoch Times that the RVs would receive citations for parking illegally in Venice, but that a local homeless provider in the area would pay the fines.
Just three miles south of Venice, the Ballona Wetlands—an ecological reserve in Marina Del Rey—also has a row of RV dwellers with reports of fires and crime, which Lucy Han, a Playa del Rey resident and founder of Friends of the Jungle, a local environmental advocacy nonprofit, have been trying to get cleared for more than a year.
But addressing those RV dwellers has proven a difficult task due to red tape surrounding which jurisdiction—the city or the county—is responsible for cleaning up the reserve and providing outreach for the homeless in RVs living there.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Homeless Services Outreach Team told The Epoch Times previously they’ve been providing outreach along the wetlands for the last 10 years, but COVID-19 paused those operations and the issue worsened.
Park said her office is “aware of the challenges and actively working with the mayor’s team and appropriate departments to address the Ballona Wetlands.”
The city’s transportation department can make corrections or clarifications to the new resolution as they see fit. A citation will be given to anyone found in violation of the new restriction, Park’s office said.
