County to study impact of LA city’s renewed parking enforcement for RVs

With the city of Los Angeles preparing to resume parking enforcement of RVs and other large vehicles being used as living quarters, Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they want to ensure the move doesn’t lead to a spillover of such vehicles into unincorporated areas.

The Board of Supervisors backed a motion by Supervisor Hilda Solis asking county public works officials to report back in two weeks with recommendations to ensure the city’s actions don’t lead to a migration of RVs onto county streets.

“The city of Los Angeles opting to restart enforcement will undoubtedly have an impact on unincorporated areas in the county,” Solis said in a statement. “That is why I’ve introduced this motion — to prevent spillover effects on our unincorporated residents and to ensure that those living in RVs have the resources needed to find a more permanent housing solution.”

The city of Los Angeles suspended enforcement and towing of vehicle dwellings in March 2020, when the city declared a local emergency in response to the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic and growing homelessness crisis, relaxing enforcement for all parking violations. The city resumed general enforcement in October 2020, but vehicles that officers believed were being used as dwellings were exempt.

According to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, vehicle dwellings were exempt from enforcement so “the unhoused did not meet additional burdens during a health crisis.” Officials noted that the definition’s broadness has led to abandoned vehicles not being impounded either.

The Los Angeles City Council voted earlier this month to resume parking enforcement of such vehicles on May 15. Enforcement began immediately for RVs deemed to be hazardous.

Solis noted that many parts of the city border unincorporated areas, including East Los Angeles and Willowbrook, which could suddenly find themselves inundated with large vehicles as people living in them try to avoid the city’s enforcement efforts.