90045 RV Fix
As I mentioned in my last post, the City is not legally able at this time to outright ban people from living in vehicles, so don’t wait on the City for your 90045 RV fix.
But if you’ve got some RV bad apples parked in your neighborhood, you are not without recourse. Your options differ, depending on whether or not homes front the street where you want the restricted parking.
For example, I worked with a group of neighbors (calling ourselves the “RV Working Group”) to get restricted parking signage on Manchester between Sepulveda and Emerson. That stretch of Manchester does not have homes fronting it, but there are homes backing up to that street that suffered mightily with a batch of bad RV actors. In our case, we went with the no frontage, no overnight parking alternative.
No Homes Fronting The Street – No Overnight Parking
If you don’t have houses or businesses fronting the affected street, your 90045 RV fix is signage for “no overnight parking.” You don’t need signatures from property owners, as you do with the other sign restrictions, but you do need to gather documentation of health, safety and/or criminal violations. Once gathered, you send your documentation, with an explanation of your problem, to your LAPD Senior Lead Officer (“SLO”). After reviewing your documentation and finding that public safety and/or welfare is at risk, LAPD will request the signs from DOT. Make sure that your description references “vehicles” and not “RV’s,” to minimize the controversy around the RV’s.
If you live west of Sepulveda, your SLO is Ruben Garcia. His email address is 33236@lapd.lacity.org and his cell phone is 310.622.3978. If you live east of Sepulveda, your SLO is Sophia Castaneda. Her email address is 35080@lapd.lacity.org and her cell phone is 310.622.3976.
(update February 2017: Sophia Castaneda is now the SLO for west of Sepulveda and she’s taken over Ruben’s phone number of 310.622.3978. Her email remains 35080@lapd.lacity.org. For east of Sepulveda, Karwon Villery is the acting SLO. His phone number is 310.622.3976 and his email address is 38717@lapd.lacity.org.)
When you send your documentation and description to your SLO, cc both Anna Kozma, Mike Bonin’s Westchester Deputy, at anna.kozma@lacity.org, and the RV Working Group at RVworkinggroup@gmail.com. Both Anna and the Working Group will do what they can to support your application with LAPD.
Once the LAPD acknowledges the health, safety and/or criminal violations associated with your request, a letter is sent by LAPD to LADOT asking that department to install the signs. This is where Mike Bonin’s office has been particularly helpful. I’ve heard of neighbors waiting a year for signs. The RV Working Group got the first installment of the Manchester signs pretty quickly with support from Anna.
Homes Front The Street – No Oversize Vehicle Parking
If you have homes (including apartment buildings) or businesses fronting the street where you want your restricted parking, your 90045 RV fix is to petition for the posting of signs that say “No Parking, 2 am to 6 am for Vehicles Over 7 Feet High or Over 22 Feet Long Except By Permit.”
The petition requires that 67% of the affected properties/businesses sign the petition. Why a petition? Because you want to restrict your neighbors’ (i.e., other property owners’) parking of oversize vehicles, as well as the outsiders.
Call Mike Bonin’s Westchester Deputy, Anna Kozma, at 310.568.8772 to get the petition and details on what happens once you have the signatures.
Sewage Dumping
If you spot an RV dumping sewage, call Watershed Protection and ask for Environmental Compliance. They take sewage dumping very seriously as an environmental hazard and they will send somebody out immediately. Call 323.342.6006 between 6:30 am and 4 pm, and 213.485.7575 between 3:30 pm and 1 am. Go here for information on the correct RV dumping protocol, in case you’d like to share it with the RV dweller. 😉
Other Possible RV Restrictions
If you think more stop signs or red curbs might be your answer, submit Department of Transportation requests through DOT’s website. Look for the orange “I want to” button on the upper left. You can also submit requests through the 311 system, through either the website or the app (apple or android).
To follow up on your stop sign, red curb or related request, contact our local DOT Western District Office:
1828 Sawtelle Blvd., Room 108
LA, CA 90025
310.575.8138
ladot.westerndistrict@lacity.org
If you don’t get help from DOT by following the guidelines above, call Anna at 310.568.8772. Anna told me that she prefers phone calls over email. If she’s not available, you can also ask for Nancy, Westchester’s Constituent Advocate at that same phone number. Anna absolutely wants to know if you’re having problems getting a response to your City requests. She will share your concerns with Mike and he can use the information at budget time to get more resources allocated to our community.
Abandoned RV’s
If you think an RV has been abandoned, use this link to report online or call 800.ABANDON (800.222.6366).
Commercial Vehicles
Commercial vehicles are not permitted to park on residential streets. If you come across a commercial vehicle that is parked in an unsafe or obnoxious manner, call parking enforcement at 213.485.4184 or 818.374.4823. Vehicles blocking driveways can be impounded if the blocked property owner meets the enforcement officer at the driveway and states that s/he cannot get out of the driveway due to the offending vehicle.
So, there you have it! Everything you need to know to get rid of RV’s that are making a nuisance of themselves. Got questions? Do you think the 90045 RV fix information provided here is helpful? Let’s chat in the comments below.
Living90045.com 