City Council Fails to Pass One-Paragraph Extension of Car Camping Rules; Welcome Mat Out for Car Campers

The Chief of Police announced Friday to his officers that LAMC 85.02 - the ordinance that prevents car camping near schools, parks or in residential neighborhoods - had expired due to the inaction of the City Council to pass a one-paragraph extension of the law.

The implications are dire.  The failure to pass the extension opens the entire city to car camping anywhere - unless No Oversize Vehicle signage or permit parking is in place.  And the No Oversize Vehicle ban does not apply cars, trucks and vans.

Van Lord parking rental van on Andalusia Avenue

In Venice it will allow anyone - including registered sex offenders and child molesters, as well as felons - to live in vehicles next to parks, schools or on any one's front curb.

It also will prevent the LAPD from stopping the "van lord" from operating a van rental business on public streets that takes up a least 15 public parking spaces in the parking-starved streets around the Windward Traffic Circle and the Venice Post Office.  In the photo above, a rental van is being positioned on a block with five units - four apartments and a small house - which have no on-site parking so the residents depend on the availability of street parking.

Already I have seen two occupied vans owned by the "van lord" on Riviera that under 85.02 was a red - no car camping at any time - zone around Westminster Elementary School.

This inaction by the Council is an invitation for anyone and everyone to come to Los Angeles to live in their vehicles, dump their sewage and trash on our streets, and displace even more residents from nearby street parking.

If you are concerned about this situation, please write to Councilman Bonin's deputy and ask her to urge Bonin to pass the extension of 85.02 with an urgency clause:  morgan.bostic@lacity.org.