L.A. giving car owners ‘the boot’ & even towing after 3 or 4 unpaid parking tickets

From:  Kim Newman

I wanted to tell you my recent story with five tickets. I walked out of my house one afternoon to go to work and my car was gone. I thought it had been stolen, but in fact after an hour on the phone being transferred and put on hold by the police department, I was told my car was not stolen, but in fact was in the impound for having multiple parking violations.

Our lovely governor started a new program called H.P.V meaning habitual parking violators! They do not boot cars anymore! My cousins friend works for the city and says they will not boot anymore, only tow because the city makes more money. If you do not get your car out immediately the fees start racking up daily. I had two old tickets I did not know about from an old address and three here in Venice making me meet the required violator standards and get towed! It cost me $1,036 plus wage loss from trying to go pay the tickets across town before 5pm and then get to the tow yard with proof of payment. On top they don’t tell you that you need your registration when paying off the tickets, so then you have to go back to the tow yard to get your registration out of the glove box. This took a total of three days seeing as the took my car in the afternoon I was unable to do anything after 5pm.

The best thing to do my cousins friend said is check every three months. What a bummer.

I have been in financial crisis ever since this happened.

Kim

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/la-looking-at-giving-drivers-the-boot-after-3-or-4-unpaid-parking-tickets.html

L.A. looking at giving car owners ‘the boot’ after 3 or 4 unpaid parking tickets

January 28, 2010 |  9:15 am

Los Angeles city officials say they would like to give cars “the boot” after owners rack up three or four unpaid parking tickets, instead of five as the law requires now.

The idea is outlined in the city’s proposed 2009-10 State Legislative Program, which it plans to submit to the Legislature to show its support for a bill that would change the current state vehicle code by reducing the number of unpaid parking citations required before a vehicle may be impounded.

The proposal is now in the hands of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whose approval for the legislative recommendations is needed by Feb. 1.

In cases where five or more tickets are outstanding, Los Angeles applies the wheel-locking device called the Denver boot, or impounds the car until the tickets are paid. But that number is “unacceptably high” and is an “overly lenient policy that discourages vehicle owners from paying their parking citations in a timely manner,” according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

The threat of being given the boot after just three or four unpaid parking tickets would make owners more likely to pay their citations on time, increasing the amount of parking fines collected by the city, the department’s analysts said.

It would also bring more money to the city through impounding and booting fees. The city collects $19 million with the current parking code. If the number of parking citations is reduced to four, the city would increase its funds by nearly $26 million. If it is reduced to three, the change would result in an additional $61 million.

– My-Thuan Tran

ROSENDAHL ACTS TO EVADE COASTAL COMMISSION RULES BANNING OVERNIGHT PARKING

MOTION Made by CD11 BILL ROSENDAHL on December 15, 2009

California Vehicle Code Section 22507 authorizes cities to prohibit or restrict the stopping, parking, or standing of vehicles, including vehicles that are six feet or more in height (oversize vehicles), during all or certain hours of the day. State law also allows localities to issue a permit or permits that exempt residents and their guests from these prohibitions or restrictions.  In 2006, the City adopted an ordinance (CF#05-0207) adding a new Section 80.69.4 andamending Sections 80.76.2 and 89.60 of Chapter VIII of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to prohibit or limit parking of oversize vehicles on certain streets between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Specifically, Section 80.69.4.(a) defmes an oversize vehicles as one in excess of 22 feet in length and over 84 inches in height.

For more go here:

http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2009/09-3036_mot_12-15-09.pdf

Secret Meetings Held By Rosendahl?

From: Rick Selan

Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2010 22:30:09 -0800

Dear Captain Hiltner and CD11 Councilperson Bill Rosendahl,                1-08-10

Enclosed are two letters about meetings held by CD11 Bill Rosendahl to which I request the agenda and minutes as it affects the safety and communications  of the Venice-Mar Vista community. One speaks of a meeting today; one speaks of a meeting two days ago.  Did these meetings truly exist or was this community and Oakwood and all of Venice  again tampered without notification of what was happening? There is a failure to communicate by CD 11 and it needs to be addressed immediately. I am here to address an issue that appears to be dealt with in back rooms rather than with the people. This is wrong!

Strangely, I received two calls yesterday that there was a meeting on Wednesday with CD11 Rosendahl and 100 people attended  but no one knew where the meeting was held. Did police and Officer Skinner  meet with the 100 individuals attending this meeting? Where was this meeting?

The meeting  supposedly was to get input from residents to remove all the RV’s in Oakwood. Yesterday, according to seniors,  Officer Teresa Skinner and four officers and 2 trucks began ticketing RV’s and placing notices on RV’s  informing them they have 72 hours to move their vehicles. Police, according to  seniors, were checking vans to see if people were living in them. Also a senior informed me that police were placing Ordinance 4502 signs on RV’s stating you can’t live in your vehicle. Yesterday’s activities, according to seniors,  were on 7th between California and Broadway upsetting community.

Today there was an ugly robbery in Penmar. Was this related to the alleged meeting and the police action without notification?

There could not have been a meeting today as the letter at the bottom states  as activities started a day or two ago with the police activity in Oakwood. Are these RV’s and individuals being moved out of Oakwood being coming into Penmar and Mar Vista without out advanced notice to Penmar/ Mar Vista  by CD11 or VNC or MVCC or Police ?  Why wasn’t the Oakwood/ Penmar/ Mar Vista community  contacted about this demographic change in population? 

You appear to be less than fair in communications to all Venice and Mar Vista from what appears unilateral decision making. I hope you might prove me wrong, but I sadly do not see it coming.  

Peace.

Rick Selan

IS COUNCILMAN BILL ROSENDAHL COLLUDING WITH SUPPORTERS OF OPDs IN VENICE?

– On Fri, 12/18/09
To: Mark Antonio Grant, Special Deputy, City Council Seat 11 Rosendahl, LA Human Relations
From: Rick Selan, Educational Advocate
Re: A Closed Session Meeting Between CD11 Bill Rosendahl and Department of Transportation on OPD ?

Dear Mr. Grant,
As you serve as the special Deputy for Council person Bill Rosendahl, might you please verify a few points that were shared with me by a community members yesterday.

1. She stated she watched on television a meeting which included Mr. Rosendahl and the Department of Transportation. When the issue of OPD’s in Venice came into play, the commissioners and Mr. Rosendahl went into a closed door session. Is this accurate or not accurate?  If not accurate, please make the necessary changes to make it correct.

2. Has CD 11 Bill Rosendahl been in closed session(s) with the Department of Transportation regarding OPD’s in Venice?  If so, what is his position and might you send a copy of the minutes of the closed meeting or a summary with the results of any votes taken?.

Please be as accurate as possible as this is an emotional issue in Venice.

Peace. Rick Selan

VICTORY FOR PUBLIC BEACH ACCESS!

VENICE ACTION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Karen Wolfe (310)460-9644
Christopher Plourde (310)701-0652
veniceCA@yahoogroups.com

VICTORY FOR PUBLIC BEACH ACCESS!

Venice residents cheer California Coastal Commission for reaffirming its stand against restricting overnight parking, Councilman Bill Rosendahl and the Venice Neighborhood Council for seeking real solutions despite lawsuit by so-called Venice Stakeholders Association

November 18, 2009, Venice, Calif–Venice Action, a diverse group of Venice residents, salutes the California Coastal Commission for adopting its revised findings in support of its previous denial of the applications submitted by the City of Los Angeles to establish overnight parking districts throughout Venice. The overnight parking districts were originally sought in order to prevent people living in vehicles from parking on Venice streets. The Commission, after a public hearing on June 11, 2009, determined that the proposed overnight parking districts would adversely affect coastal access and would exclude the general public from parking on the public streets. The Commission found that there are alternatives that would accomplish the goals without adversely impacting coastal access.

One such alternative has been working its way through the Los Angeles City Council guided by Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes Venice. Rosendahl’s proposal, which passed through the Homelessness Committee with Councilmember Jan Perry’s support, would change current law to allow council districts to designate discrete areas where people staying in vehicles can lawfully park overnight.

“Criminalizing people who live in their cars and campers is wrong,” Rosendahl was quoted as saying in an Argonaut newspaper article. “What we need to do is to find places where people living in their cars and campers can go
to get proper outreach support and wraparound services.”

Venice Action commends Councilman Rosendahl for taking this progressive stand in tackling some of the social problems of homelessness on a regional basis, rather than pushing the homeless from “neighborhood – to-neighborhood.”

Further, Venice Action applauds the Venice Neighborhood Council for voting to support Councilmember Rosendahl’s City Council motion. The issue has remained in the news because of a lawsuit against the Coastal Commission brought by a group calling itself the Venice Stakeholders Association (VSA). Recently, VSA was joined by the right wing, anti-environmental Pacific Legal Foundation which has attempted for years to dilute the safeguards of the California Coastal Act. This partnership finally brings clarity to the real intentions of the VSA which have been obscured by confusing legal maneuvers and misleading public statements by VSA’s spokesperson, Mark Ryavec.

“The saying goes that if you put three Venetians in a room you’ll get four opinions,” said Venice Action spokesperson Christopher Plourde. “That’s reflective of the creativity and diversity of our community. Venice Action believes that Venice can and should be the place where we create solutions that the rest of the world will follow, not where we follow the stale,
failed solutions of master planned communities.”

VENICE ACTION is a group of residents of Venice, California who would rather be surfing, jogging, cycling, dining, shopping or otherwise enjoying Venice’s many charms.

“If Jesus were bodily present today, he would be working not just for, but with the people sleeping on Skid Row, being displaced by gentrification in Boyle Heights and Downtown LA, and being told they cannot even sleep in their cars in Westside LA.”–Roger Cardinal Mahoney

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SAT. OCT 3 ~ OPENING CELEBRATION OF NEW VENICE BEACH SKATE PARK

PRESS RELEASE FROM COUNCILMAN ROSENDAHL’S OFFICE

http://www.councilmanrosendahl.com
City Hall (213) 473-7011 West LA
(310) 575-8461 Westchester (310) 568-8772
Contact:  Nate Kaplan-(213) 473-7011 
                             
Rosendahl TO CELEBRATE GRAND OPENING OF VENICE BEACH SKATE PARK

Public Invited
 
Who:            Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl
                        Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
                        Jon Mukri, general manager of the Dept. of Rec. and Parks 

                        Gary Lee Moore, City Engineer
                        Geri Lewis, exec. director of Venice Surf and Skateboard Assoc.
                        Jesse Martinez, professional skater
                        Jay Adams, professional skater
                        Tony Alva, professional skater
                                               
When:                   11:00 a.m. Saturday, October 3, 2009

Where:            On beach near the “Graffiti Walls”  and existing skate dance area near Windward Avenue and Ocean Front Walk Venice Beach , CA 90291
                       
*Media parking available at the Venice Beach Basketball Courts

What:              Councilmember Bill Rosendahl will join professional and amateur skaters from around the country to celebrate the grand opening of the long awaited Venice Beach Skate Park .
 
The Venice area is widely credited as the birthplace of modern skateboarding and skaters have long frequented the Ocean Front Walk area.  When the City of Los Angeles renovated Venice Beach in 1999-2001, skaters demanded the City honor that legacy and build an official skate park.  City officials responded, and this weekend a new 16,000 square foot skate facility now joins the many other distinctive attractions that are part of Venice ’s landscape. 
 
Design input from local skaters and skating professionals helped make the Venice Beach Skate Park one of the most challenging arenas for skaters to ride. The facility rivals other skate parks around the world but stands out as one of the only skate parks located on a beach.

The $2.4 million project was paid from a variety of City funding sources secured by Rosendahl and his predecessors:   Quimby Funds, Damson Oil Facility Restoration Funds, Venice Area Surplus Real Property Trust Funds and Capital Improvement Expenditure Programs.

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WOMAN THREATENED ON 6TH AVE., VENICE

Lisa is an artist/activist who is running as a Green Party candidate in the 2010 State Assemby election

September 16, 2009

I parked on 6th street around 6:30am between California Ave and Santa Clara on the east side of the street in my van.  I was parked there because I was going to have coffee, read a little until Vera Davis opened, and then go inside to use the internet and talk to my friend.  Around 7:45am I heard a loud knock at my side door. I opened the door and found a man in his late 30’s, about 5′8″, stocky build, clean-shaved, dark hair and brown eyes.  He was holding a large cup of coffee.  He looked at me with hatred and said, “There was a time when people used to camp on this street. You’ll be leaving later today.” I said, “What’s your name? My name is Lisa Green.” He said in disgust, “Dave.” 

 He continued to glare at me attempting to intimidate me. He continued, “You do not park here. What do you have to say about that? This street isn’t for campers. Go camp somewhere you belong – not here like property owners.  I ask, “What are you asking me specifically?”  Then I say, “I parked here around 6:30am, and will be going into Vera Davis when it opens. I got here early.”  He said, “No you didn’t. Your windows are fogged which means you’ve been inside the vehicle for awhile, and fogged the windows (actually it wasn’t condensation – it was sea mist from working on the beach everyday).  Then he walks to the front of the van and says that the front is not warm.  I repeat, “I came here at 6:30am. I will be going into Vera Davis when it opens.”   He said, “Then park in front of Vera Davis.”  I say, “You are a very angry person. What’s your name?” He says, “Park in front of Vera Davis [in a louder even angrier voice]. You know bad things happen to people around here that park here. Do you know I have a big dick?” 

I look at him not reacting to his insanity or showing fear, “Oh, a big dick. You sound like a very sick person.”  And he continues, “Yes bad things happen to people here – park somewhere else. Then he leans down to my dog and says looking at him with hate, “bad things happen.”  So I  ask,”What’s your last name sir?”  He looks back at me with a vile hatred, cold, angry, insane eyes. I say, “you’re very troubled and you think you’re brave.”  He says, “no I’m not brave, I’m crazy” [continuing to try to scare me]. I say, “Well you’re not as crazy as I am.  You have made a very bad decision here doing this sir.”  (Meaning I am not going to allow this person to harass and threaten me with sexual abuse, with physical abuse, with animal abuse, etc without reporting him}.  “So what is your last name sir?”  He tells me I can call him “sir”.  He continues to stare at me with hatred.  His attempts at intimidating me are failing and it is making him more upset.  I tell him he’s a very sick person. Psychologically damaged. Very angry. Very weak heart. He should get some help.  He tells me bad things happen here to people’s things too.  I say yet again. “I am going into Vera Davis when it opens.”   He says to park in front of Vera Davis.  He huffs at me, slams my van door which brushes against my shoulder and shuts violently in my face.  Then he storms off,  crosses the street, and heads north on the west side of the block.   I immediately feel it is in my best interest to get my video camera, so I fail to watch him to see if he enters a home directly across from the public street I parked on around 6:30am.  After finding the camera, I grab my note pad, and document the conversation.

It takes me quite a while to recall all of the threats this man, claiming to be “Dave”, made. I remain in my vehicle, deciding instead I’ll run an errand and not leave my dog in the van, while I run into Vera Davis.  Frankly, the dog nor I have any business being threatened or possibly harmed by a psychotic living on that street.  Around 9:30am I drive off. 

Lisa Green

STAKEHOLDERS OF VENICE

A group of Venice stakeholders have formed the Stakeholders of Venice group, an unincorporated association, to address urgent community issues and the need for fair and honest representation in the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC). 

Venice stakeholders as defined by VNC. 

Stakeholders of Venice Blog

VNC RECALL PETITION

A petition has been started by Rick Selan of Venice Neighborhood Activists Coalition (VNAC) to recall those officers of the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) who refuse to address grievances, and ethics violations, filed against the VNC by concerned Venice stakeholders. 

If you are a Venice stakeholder and agree with this petition, please add your signature by September 15, 2009 and tell your neighbors and friends!.

VNC RECALL

B. Recall: Recall is the procedure by which Voting Members may remove an elected Officer. Any Voting Member may put forth a Recall petition by presenting a petition to the Secretary with no less than two-hundred (200) signatures of Voting Members supporting the motion.

1. Receipt of this completed petition by the Secretary shall trigger this item being scheduled as an action item on the Agenda at a separate Election Meeting to be held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than ninety (90) days following receipt of the completed petition. Notice of the Recall petition, including the name of the Officer subject to Recall, shall be made in all public meeting notices and announcements for the upcoming meeting at which the Recall shall be voted on.

2.  Removal of the Officer by Recall requires a three-quarters (3/4) majority vote of the Voting Members present and voting at the Election Meeting, not to be less than two-hundred (200) votes in favor of the Recall.

Based on the fact that the VNC Executive Officers continue a grievance policy and ethics violations permitting the VNC Rules and Elections (Grievance) Chair to rule unilaterally on grievances filed against himself, the VNC Grievance Chair, and deny these grievances as non-actionable based on prejudice; and that according to former VNC Member Dexter O’Connell, the appointed VNC Parliamentarian “bamboozled” the grievance process causing an elected member to resign; my signature below following the procedure above requests a recall election of VNC President Mike Newhouse, VNC Vice President Linda Lucks, VNC Secretary Joe Murphy, VNC Treasurer Hugh Harrison, VNC Outreach Officer Mark Saltzberg, Communication Officer Sean Kelly, LUPC Chair Challis Macpherson, Rules and Election Chair Ira Koslow and appointed Parliamentarian Ivan Spiegel.”

Go here to add your signature: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/RECALL_VNC

If you would like to sign a paper petition and/or collect signatures, please contact Rick Selan ASAP!  THANKS!

CHALLENGE TO PORTLAND’S [HOMELESS] CAMPING BAN MOVES FORWARD

Homeless Encampment in Oregon called "Dignity Village"

 by James Mayer, The Oregonian  Tuesday August 04, 2009, 5:19 PM

A federal judge has dismissed some claims in a lawsuit challenging Portland’s anti-camping ordinance, but allowed others to continue. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken means the case stays alive. Aiken, in ruling on the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, rejected claims that the ordinance violated the plaintiffs’ right to travel, but allowed the claim that the ordinance violated their constitutional right against cruel or unusual punishment.

The suit seeks suspension of the city’s anti-camping ordinance that prohibits camping on any public property or right-of-way and an ordinance that prohibits setting up any kind of structure on public property without a permit. The class-action suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Portland by the Oregon Law Center, a nonprofit legal aid organization, on behalf of four homeless Portlanders and “all others similarly situated.”

The suit alleges that police officers have arbitrarily moved homeless people from place to place, excluded them from parks and cited them for camping and trespassing, even though they can’t obtain housing or adequate shelter in Portland. They also have been cited by police for gathering their belongings under tarps and in bike trailers.

 ”Punishing homeless people for sleeping outside is placing the burden of the lack of sufficient housing squarely on the shoulders of those who can do the least to remedy this problem,” the suit says.

The city argues that the ordinances are aimed at conduct and not the status of being homeless, but the judge ruled that the plaintiffs could present evidence that the city has criminalized being homeless, citing a U.S Supreme Court decision that threw out a Los Angeles ordinance that made it a crime to be a drug addict.

The judge also allowed the plaintiffs to present evidence that the city violated their right to equal protection of the law in singling out homeless people. The judge rejected a claim that the ordinance violated the plaintiffs’ right to travel to and around Portland, noting that the city has no policy or program of excluding homeless people from certain areas.

James Mayer:  jimmayer@news.oregonian.com

FREE SPEECH IS A RIGHT NOT A LOTTERY PRIZE!

PRESS RELEASE  ~  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Date: 8/03/09

 Venice Beach Boardwalk Coalition (VBBC) challenges City of Los Angeles Permit/Lottery on Venice Boardwalk

On June 24, 2009, Seattle Center’s permit regulations, imposed on street performers, were overturned in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by an 11 member “en banc” panel of judges, including Judge Harry Pregerson, father of Judge Dean Pregerson, who, the City of Los Angeles claims, presided over the creation of the current LAMC 42.15 ordinance that regulates the Free Speech Zone (FSZ) on the west side of Venice Boardwalk.

 Seattle’s law, requiring a permit to engage in [individual] speech: “constitutes a dramatic departure from our national heritage and constitutional tradition,” according to Judge Marsha Berzon, writing for the majority opinion. Additionally, the City of Seattle required free expressionists (artists, performers, politico’s, etc) to wear badges, refrain from soliciting gratuities, stay away from captive audience and work only in designated sites. Similarly, in the Venice Boardwalk FSZ, the City of Los Angeles requires free expressionists to purchase a permit and enter a lottery; just to have a chance to win an opportunity to exercise their First Amendment Free Speech rights, in city specified “designated spaces” in the FSZ, in accordance with city rules, including wearing badges.

VBBC free expressionists are demanding that the City of Los Angeles rescind the unconstitutional permit/ lottery and remove all “unprotected” retail commercial vending operating under the current LAMC 42.15.  As Judge Marsha Berzon writes: “It is our belief that the protections afforded by the First Amendment are nowhere stronger than in streets & parks, both categorized for First Amendment purposes as traditional public fora. In such fora, the government’s right to limit expressive activity is sharply circumscribed. Among traditional public fora, parks [such as Venice Beach], are especially important locales for communication among the citizenry, as they have immemorially been held in trust for the use of public, and have been used for purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions.”  Furthermore, VBBC claims that these important protections should not be subverted to allow the “unprotected” retail commercial vending that currently proliferates in the FSZ, driving out expressionists such as artists, activists, performers, politicos and others with a real “protected” message.

For more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Venice Beach Boardwalk Coalition spokesperson, Lisa Green and other free expressionists, please call 310 391-7686 or email at lisaaverde@yahoo.com. If you publish or use this information please inform us so we can monitor, and send you additional pertinent information to your community.

Contact: Lisa Green   ~  Cell: 310/391-7686  Email

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