Here’s the story so far: Last year the City Council repealed its law against sleeping in cars, which it more or less had to do because the Ninth Circuit told them they couldn’t enforce it anyway. Then in November they passed a new version of the law, published as LAMC 85.02, which supposedly corrected the last version’s problems. The new law, according to guidelines published by the City of Los Angeles, purports to allow living in a vehicle under these circumstances:

• Between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. – more than one block (500 feet) away from licensed schools, pre-schools, daycare facilities, or parks.
• Between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. – in non-residentially zoned areas which are more than one block (500 feet) away from licensed schools, pre-schools or daycare facilities or parks.

When the law was passed last November, CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin was quoted in the Times to the effect that these restrictions would leave half the streets in the City open to homeless car dwellers. More recently, the incomparable Gale Holland reported that, not only did the official City map only show about 10% of our streets open, but that that estimate didn’t even take into account so-called block-by-block restrictions. According to Gale Holland, Mike Bonin used this insufficiency as a reason to hurry along his proposed Safe Parking program, which would open up some City property for homeless parking. So I decided to look at these weirdly specific¹ block-by-block restrictions, which seem to have been passed almost exclusively post-Desertrain, from 2015 on. Read on for statistics and links to all of the Council Files.

There have been 71 of these specific restrictions considered by the Council since 2015. Amazingly, fully 25² are in CD11 and were moved by Bonin. Another 16 were seconded by Bonin. Thus, Mike Bonin had a hand in more than 57% of oversized vehicle parking restrictions moved in Council since 2015. These ordinances have no legitimate purpose other than harassing homeless car-dwellers into moving somewhere else. They generally pass through Council undiscussed, unnoticed, and unopposed. They are turning out to be a primary means of harassing and criminalizing homeless people who live in cars, and Mike Bonin’s unseemly enthusiasm for these laws puts the lie to his oft-repeated claims of empathy.

Here are reports, generated by the City’s Council File Management System, listing all such motions since 2015:

• Oversize vehicle restriction motions since 2015
• Oversize vehicle restriction motions since 2015 moved by Mike Bonin
• Oversize vehicle restriction motions since 2015 seconded by Mike Bonin

And here’s a list of all of them with links to the Council files:

17-0107 — West Opp Street / King Avenue / Frigate Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
17-0106 — North Van Ness Avenue / Sunset Boulevard / Melrose Avenue, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
17-0105 — Mesmer Avenue / Hammock Street / Culver Drive, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
17-0047 — San Fernando Road / Goodwin Avenue / Colorado Boulevard / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
17-0040 — Tobias Avenue / Cedros Avenue / Willis Avenue, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1444 — Reedley Street / Snowden Avenue / Sparton Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1400 — Nordhoff Street / Parthenia Street / Lennox Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1399 — Victory Boulevard / Odessa Avenue / Petit Avenue, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1398 — Truesdale Street / Reedley Street / Canterbury Avenue, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1397 — Tuxford Avenue / Morella Avenue / Penrose Street, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1380 — Beatrice Street / Westlawn Avenue / Grosvenor Boulevard et al / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1379 — Culver Drive / Inglewood Boulevard / South Centinela Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1319 — Venice Boulevard / Normandie Avenue / Vermont Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1269 — Louella Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1265 — Pacific Avenue / Ironside Street / Mast Street, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1216 — 200-500 North Fries Avenue / 300-500 North Marine Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-1215 — Louvre Street / Sutter Street / Norris Street / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1203 — East Lanzit Avenue / South Main Street / South Avalon Boulevard / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1162 — South Grand Avenue / West 59th Place / West Gage Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-1108 — Moore Street / Maxella Avenue / Beethoven Street, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1107 — Culver Drive / Bray Street / Westlawn Avenue, et al. / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-1067 — Frigate Avenue / Papeete Street / Robidoux Street, et al / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0967 — Lillian Way / Cole Avenue / Cahuenga Boulevard, et al / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0966 — Walnut Avenue / Glyndon Avenue / Lucille Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0947 — Lake Street / Morningside Way, et al / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0893 — 240th Street / Frampton Avenue, et. al / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0892 — Huntington Drive / Maycrest Avenue / Van Horne Avenue, et. al / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0882 — Huntington Drive / North Avenue 66 / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-0867 — South Hoover Street / West Adams Boulevard / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-0866 — 1300 Block of 31st Street / Menlo Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-0571 — South Kenter Avenue / South Bundy Drive / Sunset Boulevard / San Vicente Boulevard / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0570 — Main Street / Westminister Avenue / Clubhouse Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0542 — Prospect Avenue / Superior Avenue / Victoria Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0541 — South Western Avenue / West 182nd Street / West Paseo Del Mar / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0517 — Culver Drive / Westlawn Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-0444 — West 220th Street / Normandie Avenue and South Vermont Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0436 — Foreman Avenue / Toluca Lake/ Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0435 — Pickford Street / Hi Point Street / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0414 — South Western Avenue / West Manchester Avenue / West Century Boulevard / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-0362 — Rose Avenue / Sunset and Frederick Avenues / Establishment of Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
SUNSET AVENUE / ROSE AVENUE / LINCOLN BOULEVARD /COUNCIL DISTRICT 11 / OVERSIZE VEHICLE
16-0242 — RESTRICTIONS
16-0237 — South Figueroa Street / West 190th Street / East Victora Street / SR-91 Freeway / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-0236 — Exposition Boulevard / West Pico Boulevard / Tennessee Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restriction in West Los Angeles
16-0213 — Eagle Vista Drive / North Figueroa Street / Median Street / North Avenue 63 / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0196 — Vesper Avenue / Cedros Avenue / Tobias Avenue / Tiara Street / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0195 — South Peck Avenue / West 28th Street / West 31st Street / San Pedro / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-0190 — 500 Block of Patrice Place / South Figueroa Street / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
16-0186 — West 59th Place / 10th and 8th Avenues / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
16-0117 — South San Pedro / East 83rd / East 82nd Streets / Oversize Vehicle Restricted Streets
16-0058 — Montana Avenue / Gretna Green Way / Amherst Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
15-1517 — Stanmoor Door Drive / West 89th Street / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
15-1516 — Isis Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restrictions
East Lanzit Avenue / South San Pedro Street / South Main Street / Establishment of Oversize Vehicle Restricted
15-1463 — Streets
15-1328 — Wellesley Avenue / Council District 11 / Oversize Vehicle
15-1214 — Figueroa Street / Avenue 49 / Woodside Drive / Establishment of Oversize Vehicle Restricted Street
15-1124 — Establishment of Oversize Vehicle / Tampa Avenue
15-1119 — Addison Street / Louise Avenue / Aldea Street / Oversize Vehicle Parking Restrictions
15-1072 — Electric Avenue / Milwood Avenue / Palms Boulevard / Oversize Vehicle Restricted Area
15-0800 — Grosvenor Boulevard / Jefferson Boulevard / Oversize Vehicle Restricted Area
Vassar / Oxnard / Califa / Topanga / Owensmouth / Marylee / Warner Ranch Park in Woodland Hills / Establishment
15-0748 — of Oversize Vehicle Restricted Area
15-0725 — Napa Street / Garden Grove Avenue / Etiwanda Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restriction / Council District 12
15-0674 — Oversize Vehicle Restrictions / West of 3rd Street / South of Gaffey Street
15-0483 — Establishment of Oversize Vehicle Restricted Streets / Council District 12
15-0453 — Oversize Vehicle Restriction / 189th and 190th Street / Patrice Place / West Albertoni Street / Figueroa Street
15-0452 — Restriction Oversize Vehicle / Northern Boundary of Pacific Coast Highway / Anaheim Street / Alameda Street
15-0451-S2 — McConnell Avenue / Various Streets in Council District 11 / Oversize Vehicle Restricted Area in Del Rey
15-0451-S1 — 90 Freeway / Various Streets in Council District 11 / Oversize Vehicle Restricted Area in Del Rey
15-0451 — Oversize Vehicle Restriction / Streets in Del Rey
15-0088 — Topham Street / Yolanda Avenue / Wilbur Avenue / Establishment of Oversize Vehicle Restricted Area
13-1351-S6 — West D Street / North Marine Avenue / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
13-1351-S5 — North Broad Avenue / East Harry Bridges Boulevard / East Anaheim Street / Wilmington / Oversize Vehicle Restriction
Tuesday, January 31, 2017

1. For instance, consider one that I recently wrote about in some detail:
   
   …the City Council…hereby prohibits the parking of vehicles that are in excess of 22 feet in length or over 7 feet in height, during the hours of 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. on the following road segments:
   • Lillian Way between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue
   • Cole Avenue between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue
   • Cahuenga Boulevard between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue
   • Eleanor Avenue between Cahuenga Boulevard and Vine Street
   • Romaine Street between Cole Avenue and Vine Street
   • Willoughby Avenue between Cole Avenue and Vine Street
   • Waring Avenue between Cole Avenue and Vine Street

2. That is 35.2% of all such restrictions in the entire City of Los Angeles.