March 29, 2024 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Los Angeles Renews Ban on Overnight Car Dwelling

LA City Council reinstates Section 85.02 of municipal code

By Sam Catanzaro

It is again illegal to sleep in a car on the streets of Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, July 30, LA City Council reinstated Section 85.02 of LA Municipal Code which prohibits individuals from using a vehicle for dwelling between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. on residential streets and any time within 500 feet of a park or a licensed school, pre-school or daycare facility.

On July 1, City Council let the ban expire before they went to recess, unintentionally giving people living in their cars a grace period.

In Culver City, according to section 7.03.242 of the city’s municipal code, “Except in a verifiable emergency, no person shall use any vehicle parked or standing upon any public street, alley, right-of-way, public park or other public property as a temporary or permanent substitute for a residence or dwelling unit.”

At a Los Angeles City Council meeting Tuesday a heated public hearing took place on the issue, with an overwhelming number of people speaking out against renewing the ban.

“We can sleep in ditches but we cannot sleep in our cars. There has to be a way that we can all work together. That there could be designated for the less fortunate to sleep in their cars while they get on their feet,” said Jose Garcia a veteran who was previously homeless for five years. “Not every homeless person is bad. And everybody deserves a second chance.”

Peggy Lee Kennedy, a member of the Venice Justice Committee, worried that renewing the ban would harm individuals who have the least in society,

“The City likes to think of itself as somehow doing this balancing act to protect the people that are housed by criminalizing and harming those who are not. That’s not a balance. You’re harming people that have the least amount among us,” Kennedy said. “Don’t just work with private developers doing long term efforts and over-the-top bridge housing efforts, that are going to house ten percent or less of the people.”

Mary Anne Curtis of the End Homelessness LA Campaign took issue with the difference in the way the fact that the City lets e-scooters park on the street but not unhoused individuals.

“Thousands of electric scooters are given priority parking on streets that people unhoused are being swept off,” Curtis said. “980 plus have died this past year and your response is to ban them from street parking?”

Despite the overriding public support against renewing the ban, City Council voted unanimously to reinstate Section 85.02 of the code, making the overnight dwelling in vehicles illegal immediately.

After Council voted, members of the public began chanting “shame on you” repeatedly, forcing City Council President Pro Tem Nury Martinez to instruct the Los Angeles Police Department to remove the protestors.

Councilmember Mike Bonin, who represents Council District 11 which includes Venice, was not present for the vote. In an email to Westside Today, however, Bonin said that he was unable to attend the Council meeting due to a medical issue but would have opposed the renewing of the ban, citing lack of progress with The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) Safe Parking Program,

“I would have voted against reinstatement of the ban on people living in vehicles. When the council revised 85.02 a few years ago, it was a temporary measure with a sunset provision, outlining where people could reside In their vehicles and where they couldn’t, while the city crafted a safe parking program. We have repeatedly extended the sunset while the city and LAHSA have lagged in creating safe parking for the thousands of people living in their cars,” Bonin said. “We need to be moving people out of homelessness – not into homelessness. If we tell people with no homes that they cannot live in their cars, they are going to wind up on the sidewalks in our neighborhoods, and get locked further into homelessness, becoming harder and more costly to help. It will set us back even further in combating homelessness.”

In his statement, Bonin called on the city to dramatically expand safe parking programs and offer people a secure and legal place to park with a pathway to services and housing.

“That means a dramatic expansion of safe parking at city-owned lots, and an urgent appeal to faith communities, nonprofits and businesses to offer space in their lots,” Bonin said.

In addition to banning sleeping inside a vehicle, the ordinance makes illegal possessing items that are not associated with ordinary vehicle use, such as a sleeping bag, bedroll, blanket, sheet, pillow, kitchen utensils, cookware, and bodily fluids. In addition, the law bans obscuring the vehicle’s windows and preparing or cooking meals inside or on a vehicle.

Violations of the law are punishable as an infraction, with the first violation not to exceed a $25 fine, the second not to exceed $50 and the third $65. Violators may be eligible for referral to a prosecutorial-led diversion program such as the Homeless Engagement and Response Team (HEART).

The ban will expire and be deemed to have been repealed on January 1, 2020, unless extended by ordinance.

in News
Related Posts

Cantonese Dim Sum Master Chef Tony Opens Hollywood Dim Sum at TCL Chinese Theatre

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Experience Exquisite Dim Sum Creations in the Heart of Hollywood 97 years after its founding, the TCL Chinese Theatre will...

Fleurs et Sel Bakery Opens Storefront in West Adams, Welcomes Customers Three Days a Week

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Indulge in Freshly Baked Cookies at the New West Adams Location Fleurs et Sel Bakery, known for its delectable cookies...

Easter Specials Guide: Brunch Spots, Desserts, and More in West Los Angeles

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Discover the Best Easter Eats and Treats in LA for Your Holiday Celebration Easter is almost here, so here are...

(Video) Director Adam Wingard Talks About His Influences While Making GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Director Adam Wingard Talks About His Influences While Making GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE at the Beyond Fest Screening...

Attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs Denounces Investigation as “Witch Hunt”

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

Legal Representative Criticizes Probe Amid Federal Sex Trafficking Inquiry An attorney representing Sean “Diddy” Combs criticized the investigation into the...

Culver City Police Department to Conduct High Visibility Traffic Enforcement Operation

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

Operation Targets Hazardous Traffic Violations on the West End The Culver City Police Department announced plans to conduct a high...

Historic Union Contract Ratified by Thousands of Hotel Workers At 34 Hotels

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

UNITE HERE Local 11 Negotiates Agreement Ensuring Wage Increases  Hotel workers, who spearheaded the largest hotel strike in modern U.S....

Human Rights Campaign’s Los Angeles Dinner Celebrates LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Unity

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Notable Figures Gathered to Champion LGBTQ+ Rights and Combat Discrimination By Aneesha Pappy  The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s...

California Bars and Nightclubs Must Offer Drug Testing Devices Starting July 1

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

New Law Mandates License Holders to Provide Drug Testing Kits to Patrons Beginning July 1, establishments with Type 48 licenses...

Opinion: West Los Angeles Needs to Care about Veteran Homelessness

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

By Kelly Kravchuk  Veteran homelessness is a public health concern that impacts my West Los Angeles community. As a USC...

Culver City City Council Recap: Bruce Lee Alley, Historical Discrimination Study, Women’s History Month

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Council Deliberates on Racial Equity, Infrastructure Upgrades, and Fire Department Strategic Plan The Culver City Council convened its latest session...

Federal Agents Raid Property Linked to Music Mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs In Holmby Hills

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Authorities Conduct Searches in Los Angeles as Part of Ongoing Sex Trafficking Probe Federal agents from the Department of Homeland...

Biden Signs Government Funding Bill with Ban on Pride Flags at Embassies

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

White House Vows Repeal Amid Controversy Over LGBTQ Provision President Biden signed a huge government funding package on Saturday, which...

Staples Store in Westchester Could Become a Senior Housing Complex

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

Redevelopment Plans Unveiled for Property Near LAX The current site of a Staples retail store near Los Angeles International Airport...

City of Los Angeles Pays Nearly Half a Billion in Liability Claims Over Four Years

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

LA Controller’s Report Reveals Significant Payouts from General Fund LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia has continued to audit the City...