In a series of votes on November 7-8, the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve a series of motions, including:

L.A. To Ban Overnight Oversized Vehicle/RV Parking on The Westside

L.A. City Council voted to ban overnight parking between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. for oversized vehicles along certain streets in West and South L.A. in council districts 10 and 11.

The resolution states the move is necessary due to an “increased problem” where large vehicles, such as RVs, are often “parked overnight and constrict travel lanes, thereby creating dangerous situations.”

The Department of Transportation will also install signs prohibiting early-morning RV parking in the 10th and 11^th Council Districts.

The streets included in the ban are:

• Southside of Centinela Avenue between Wooster Avenue and La Tijera Boulevard
• Both sides of Lucille Avenue between Glencoe Avenue and Louella Avenue
• North side of Washington Place between Wasatch Avenue and Centinela Avenue
• Both sides of Stoner Avenue between Gateway Boulevard and Interstate 10
• Both sides of Crescent Park West between Crescent Park East
• Both sides of Crescent Park East between Crescent Park West
• Both sides of Millenium Drive between Veranda Way and Runway Lane
• Both sides of Runway Lane between Millenium Drive and Runway Road
• South side of Runway Road between Runway Lane and Dawn Creek
• East side of Dawn Creek between Runway Road and Bluff Creek Drive
• West side of McConnell Avenue between Millenium Drive and Bluff Creek Drive
• South side of Bluff Creek Drive between 12657 Bluff Creek Drive and Village Drive.
• Both sides of Lucille Avenue between Glencoe Avenue and Louella Avenue
• North side of Washington Place between Wasatch Avenue and Centinela Avenue
• Both sides of Stoner Avenue between Gateway Boulevard and Interstate 1
• Both sides of Crescent Park West between Crescent Park East
• Both sides of Crescent Park East between Crescent Park West
• Both sides of Millenium Drive between Veranda Way and Runway Lane
• Both sides of Runway Lane between Millenium Drive and Runway Road
• South side of Runway Road between Runway Lane and Dawn Creek
• East side of Dawn Creek between Runway Road and Bluff Creek Drive
• West side of McConnell Avenue between Millenium Drive and Bluff Creek Drive
• South side of Bluff Creek Drive between 12657 Bluff Creek Drive and Village Drive.
• Boden Street between Clyde Avenue and Carmona Avenue
• West Boulevard (overpass bridge) between West Adams Boulevard and West 23rd Street
• West 25th Street between Wellington Road and South Victoria Avenue

Council Votes to Implement 15-Mile Per Hour Speed Limits on Streets Near School Zones

Los Angeles City Council also voted to implement school zone speed limit signs to provide drivers with notice of the “15 Miles Per Hour When Children Are Present” regulation that allows enforcement of this speed limit by the Los Angeles Police Department for 494 street segments adjacent to 200 schools located throughout Los Angeles.   

Originally launched in 2012, the Safe Routes to School Program aims to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school.

The L.A. Department of Transportation reports that the initial estimate to authorize, purchase, and install the signs and posts at 200 schools on overtime is $750,000 and is budgeted within LADOT’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget.

Council Moves Forward on Hotel Housing Ordinance

The city council called for an ordinance that would require developers of new hotel properties to replace any permanent housing lost during the process.

Council members voted 14-0 to direct the city attorney to review the proposed law, work with city departments to finalize it, and present it to the council for approval.

The motion was drafted by the office of Council President Paul Krekorian and is co-sponsored by council members Hugo Soto-Martinez, John Lee, Katy Yaroslavsky, Traci Park, Nithya Raman, and Bob Blumenfield.

“This is really an important step forward for our city and for our tourism industry,” Council President Paul Krekorian said prior to the vote. “This motion that’s before you submits a draft ordinance to the city attorney so that the city attorney can report back to us with an ordinance that we will then be able to vote on.”

He added, “This ordinance would require developers to replace housing lost to hotel construction. It would empower community input for consideration of new hotel development and expansion, and its impact on communities.”

Unite Here Local 11 members, hotel representatives, and housing advocates voiced their support for the motion. Many acknowledged the proposed law would safeguard housing and benefit the hotel industry as well.

The law would replace a similar ballot measure, sponsored by the Unite Here Local 11, which was set to appear on the March 2024 ballot.

The proposed ordinance would also strengthen public oversight over short-term rentals and increase the supply of interim housing available to the city.

Specifically, the ordinance would require new hotel developments to obtain a conditional use permit.

The process for obtaining the permit would involve public review that would consider a proposed development’s impact on the existing housing supply and require developers to replace any housing that would be demolished or otherwise lost in the neighborhood, according to Krekorian’s office.

In addition, it would require hotels, proposed or existing, and short-term rentals, to obtain a police permit, through a process that would screen owners and operators of such properties for prior criminal activity or any history of creating a public nuisance.

Many homeowners and local motel and hotel owners opposed the motion. Many were concerned about the permit process.

Council Calls for More Regulations for Self-Driving Cars

Los Angeles City Council Members Traci Park and Bob Blumenfield introduced on Wednesday a motion that would establish regulations for self-driving cars.

“The last ten years have seen us evolve alongside the app-driven economy and its inherent complexities,” said Councilwoman Traci Park. “Autonomous vehicles present a parallel trajectory, and we’re poised to meet this challenge head-on, learning from past experiences.”

The motion called on city staff to compile a report within 60 days to outline state mandates that prevent the city from regulating autonomous vehicles and to find ways to leverage data collected by self-driving car companies, as well as any options to gain access to testing data gathered by entities utilizing autonomous vehicles on the public right-of-way.

Since 2014, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has received 671 autonomous vehicle collision reports.

Photo by efrederiksen on iStockphoto.com