Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:27:25 -0400
Reply-To: Christopher Gronski <gronski@GMAIL.COM>
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From: Christopher Gronski <gronski@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: stealth camping article
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Here's the entire article for the benfit of the archives...
Christopher
Venice considers curbing its parked population
By MARTHA GROVES, Los Angeles Times
July 19, 2008
LOS ANGELES
The pleasant climate and quirky vibe of Venice, a coastal neighborhood of
Los Angeles, have long attracted the wealthy and destitute alike. Poets,
painters and movie stars mingle with itinerant surfers and scruffy street
dwellers in one big colorful tableau.
But in recent years the enclave's laissez-faire attitude has faded, in large
part because many Venetians who once prided themselves on their
unflappability have gotten fed up with the dozens of dilapidated cars,
recreational vehicles and campers that line their narrow residential
streets, providing shelter for people who have lost their jobs, want to
break into show business or simply enjoy living near the beach.
In addition to tying up much of the neighborhood parking, residents say,
some RVs are hotbeds of drug use and prostitution. Residents report that
occupants defecate in alleys, party into the wee hours and dump waste into
gutters and storm drains. For a time, a man named Butch was leasing four
parked RVs, none of which he owned, to a succession of occupants.
Some residents are pressuring the city of Los Angeles to restrict overnight
parking on neighborhood streets in the hope of recapturing the curbs and
reducing visual blight.
In a further sign of a shift in attitudes, the Venice Neighborhood Council
recently declared that sleeping on the streets in vehicles of any kind was
inappropriate. The council established a committee whose stated task is "to
end vehicular living on city streets." Such thinking represents a marked
departure for the council, which four years ago had an agenda that included
stopping gentrification, building more low-income housing and helping the
homeless.
The change is long overdue, said one Venice activist. "This particular
community has not stood up the way others have and said, 'Sorry, you can't
poach here. It's unacceptable to live on our streets and defecate in our
gardens,' " said Mark Ryavec, co-chairman of the new committee. "What's
going on is that a new majority in Venice is saying we really do not accept
this."
For months, he and other activists have been pushing Councilman Bill
Rosendahl, who represents the area, to find a solution to what has seemed an
intractable problem. Rosendahl said he has been studying programs in Santa
Barbara and Portland, Ore., that provide overnight parking spaces and
services for RV residents.
In Los Angeles, it is illegal to live in vehicles on public streets, but
police say the law is difficult to enforce. Officers must be able to peer
inside vehicles for evidence that people are cooking and sleeping in them,
but savvy occupants simply refuse to open the door.
The larger issue, Rosendahl said, is how to ease the situation for residents
without stepping on the rights of individuals who choose or feel forced by
circumstances to live in cars or RVs.
"Where do these campers go?" he said. "Society has to find ways to put them
in places that don't criminalize them. It's challenging not just for me but
for other cities and regions."
Nikoletta Skarlatos, a Hollywood makeup artist, considers herself a
dedicated Venice denizen willing to endure a variety of urban ills to live
in the funky community. Increasingly, however, she views her eclectic pocket
as squalid and unlivable.
Some days, rusty RVs and campers line both sides of her block. Noisy
transients gather at the corner dry cleaner, and inebriated indigents harass
her. Topping all that is the daily ritual of cleaning up human feces by her
garage door.
In April, Skarlatos led Rosendahl and two dozen neighbors on a tour of the
streets and the H-shaped alley that many of them share. Residents pointed
out signs on nearby commercial blocks that prohibited overnight parking.
"Why do they get them and we don't?" they asked. (Rosendahl later
ascertained that they were counterfeit and had them removed.)
When Rosendahl began listing his accomplishments on homelessness, residents
shouted him down. "These people are not homeless," Skarlatos said. "They are
here because they want to live near the beach and not pay taxes.
"They have plants and dogs and cats and beds and curtains and bicycles
attached and TVs and radio and music," she added. "That to me is not a
homeless person."
Many RV dwellers say they subsist on Social Security or disability checks
and view mobile living as better than being in a shelter. Some have jobs,
cell phones and e-mail accounts.
Frank August, 57, who works occasionally as a salesman, was standing outside
his motor home one recent evening. Years ago, he paid $1,500 a month for a
Venice apartment, but he has lived in the vehicle since he adopted an ailing
pit bull and could not find a landlord who would rent to him.
"It's got everything, from wood floors to solar panels," he said of the
motor home, which August said he parks on commercial blocks to avoid
offending neighbors.
Under prodding from residents, the city of Los Angeles is considering
whether to impose "overnight parking districts" throughout much of Venice.
Critics say the program, which allows permit-only parking from 2 a.m. to 6
a.m., merely tends to move the problem.
At a contentious hearing in June held by the city's Bureau of Engineering,
activists spoke on both sides of the issue. Critics said restricted parking
proposed for five zones in Venice, including Skarlatos' area, would limit
public beach access.
In a letter to the bureau, Steve Clare, executive director of the Venice
Community Housing Corp., contended that restricted parking would deny access
for late-night fishing on Venice Pier, late-night grunion observation and
"the simple pleasure of walking along the Ocean Front Walk and the Venice
canals."
He also called the proposed limits "a not very thinly veiled scheme to
eliminate homeless people with vehicles from our community."
Rosendahl said the overnight parking districts should be in place by late
August, unless they are appealed to the California Coastal Commission.
(c) 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
On Sat, Jul 19, 2008 at 8:53 PM, Evan Martin <7martinn@gmail.com> wrote:
> not Friday and I'm sure at least a few have seen this article but thought
> I'd throw it out there:
>
> http://www.startribune.com/nation/25629904.html?location_refer=Most%20Viewed:Nation
>