Altadena town council chair Gino Sund has sent this explanation around to the newsgroups, and we're sharing it here, regarding proposed oversize vehicle parking restrictions:
Neighbors,
The proposed overnight parking restriction on oversized vehicles i.e. large recreational vehicles, buses, large boats, etc. has already generated a good amount of community input. Most of the respondents are in favor of the proposal. Some residents do not fully understand what is being proposed and why.
Please let me spell out the problems we have been, and are, facing in Altadena and detail the proposed solution.
The problem: For some years, commercial operators and others have been storing large vehicles on the streets of Altadena. With the imposition of parking restriction in neighboring cities, there has been an increased incidence of these vehicles being stored in Altadena. Most of these vehicles belong to individuals and companies from other cities, but some were and are Altadena residents.
This large vehicle storage on our streets has caused concerns about blight, safety, lowered property values and inconvenience to our residents and has generated many ongoing complaints to the Council and law enforcement. If owners move these vehicles, even just a couple of feet once every three days, nothing can be done to prevent the storage of these vehicles on our streets. In many cases, even if they were not moved every three days, the cost of an occasional parking ticket was cheaper than the cost of legally storing the vehicle. Therefore, the problem persisted.
The solution: The proposed solution is to place parking restrictions on certain types of vehicles in our community and to increase the fines for violation to a meaningful level.
What has been done? Last year, an ordinance was passed prohibiting the overnight parking of commercial vehicles in excess of 10,000 lbs. anywhere in Altadena from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. That ordinance has been a very successful tool for the Sheriff and the CHP in reducing and almost eliminating the warehousing of big rigs in Altadena.
What still needs to be done? While the problem of the large commercial trucks is being addressed, there is still a problem with other large vehicles being left on the street for long periods of time. Therefore, we need to equip our law enforcement agencies with a tool to deal with these problem large vehicles.
What is proposed? The proposed ordinance is based on ordinances already in existence in other unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County. It would do the following:
·
Prohibit overnight parking (10:00 p.m to
6:00 a.m.)
of any vehicle larger than a specific size (height, length, width)
except by
permit.
·
(Single or multiple) night permits will be
issued to Altadena residents only, for parking in
front of
their property.
·
A resident may apply for (X) number of permits
per
(month or year).
·
The permits will be available at the Altadena
Sheriff’s station and will cost ($x)
What is the goal? The goal is simple, to get the out of town large vehicles now being stored in our neighborhoods off the streets of Altadena and to give neighbors redress from the handful of Altadenans who store large vehicles on the street. At the same time, we want to allow for recreational vehicle owners to have a convenient way to pack and prepare their vehicles for use or maintenance. We would also like to accommodate guests of residents who arrive with recreational vehicles.
What this is not This proposed ordinance has nothing to do with cars, pickup trucks, SUVs and the like. It does not increase the number of parking enforcement officers, nor does it expand their hours of operation. Except for the positive benefits of the ordinance for all of Altadena, it will literally have zero effect on 99.9% of our residents. No more that a couple dozen residents and an unknown number of non residents will be affected.
What the Council would like We would like resident input to help craft the ordinance to make it effective in riding our streets of the problem while minimizing the burden of our residents. What do you think of the concept, the number of permits per month, the cost, and should there be permits for multiple nights.
Thank you for your time.
Gino Sund
Altadena Town Council
