Homelessness is on the rise in Venice, especially when it comes to people living in vehicles
One of Venice’s ubiquitous RVs recently burst into flames
Many who live in Venice will tell you there have never been so many people living in RVs, vans and cars parked on local streets. Now they have some data to back that up.
Amid the 16% year-over-year increase of homelessness within the city of Los Angeles brought to light by this year’s homeless count, the number of homeless people in Venice increased from 852 to 1,101 — a spike of 29% — according to newly posted Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority data.
A major driver of Venice’s growing homeless population was in fact more people sleeping in RVs, vans and cars, which increased by 65% (!) from 271 in last year’s count to 447 in this year’s count. People living in cars increased most, from 53 to 118 (122%); people living in vans, not so much (123 to 165, or 34%); and people living in RVs — the most visible of the three — climbed from 95 to 164, about 72%.
In other Westside neighborhoods, the number of people living in vehicles decreased. Even though overall homelessness went up 18% in Mar Vista (134 to 159), the number of people sleeping in vehicles went down — especially people in RVs, from 71 to 58. And as overall homelessness actually decreased in Westchester, Del Rey and Playa del Rey (more on that next week), so did the number of people sleeping in cars, vans and RVs — from 83 to 40 in Westchester-Playa, and from 41 to 24 in Del Rey.
Some of the Venice residents organizing in opposition to temporary homeless housing on the former Metro bus yard on Main Street complain that adjacent streets have become a free-for-all when it comes to people parking and living in RVs. Many are convinced that parking enforcement has basically stopped writing citations for RVs parked in Venice, thereby encouraging their continued proliferation.
One Venice resident tells The Argonaut she received a $93 parking ticket for blocking a bike lane near Main, but a bunch of RVs doing the same thing for days on end weren’t (and aren’t being) cited. After one of the RVs consistently parked on Main near Rose Avenue caught fire in late May — and the scorched hunk of metal just sat there for two days — she vented her long-burning frustration in an angry email to the council office and LAPD brass. “Are we living in Venezuela?” she asked.
Last week the Los Angeles City Council affirmed their belief in the city’s authority to impound vehicles for unpaid parking tickets or expired registration, voting 12-1 to oppose state legislation that would expressly forbid them from doing so. L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin, whose district includes Venice, cast the lone dissenting vote.
“The bill was a mixed bag,” Bonin explains in an email statement to The Argonaut. “The city should absolutely and unquestionably have the right to tow vehicles left unattended for more than 72 hours, but I do not think we should be impounding cars with too many unpaid tickets — unless and until we have a genuine and robust system for people of low income to get reduced fines or pay on installments. Under the current system, towing and impounding vehicles of people in poverty can cause job loss, additional economic hardship, and homelessness — and that is a stupid and counterproductive thing to do in the middle of a homelessness crisis.”
Bonin makes a solid big-picture point: Criminalizing homeless people over a parking ticket does them real harm, and it does not feel like justice for the government to be confiscating people’s homes over a flat tire or a dead battery. But for Venice residents who feel overwhelmed by hundreds of people living in vehicles, what appears to be a blanket city policy of looking the other way is testing some people’s patience and draining their compassion for the homeless.
Designated “safe parking” lots to serve Angelenos who’ve been priced out of brick-and-mortar housing could take a lot of pressure off highly impacted neighborhoods such as Venice. But in the nine years since the late L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl secured funding for an initial pilot program, safe parking has been implemented slowly and so far on a very small scale. You might say it’s time to shift this program into high gear.
We should add to the near-homeless count people living (well, hiding aboard) small boats in the Marina. There are a great number of them for the same reason as people live in RVs and cars: not enough income to live in a normal home. You can pick up a small sailboat for less than an RV and for just a few hundred a month you have a safe place to be, electricity, water and not to forget the marina’s toilets and showers at your disposal. It’s probably better than an RV and I reckon there are hundreds of hide-aboards in the Marina.
If this article strikes a chord, you better be paying attention to AB-516. That is the proposed state law that the city council voted to oppose last week. The proposal prevents peace officers from enforcing parking limitations. If it passes, parking on our streets is going to be a free for all. While I was happy to see our city council vote to oppose, that vote is irrelevant. It’s a state law that is being proposed. This is another in a line of crazy state laws being pushed by Scott Weiner because he thinks we all live like he does in San Francisco. There is no way the state should be dictating local land use policies. One size does not fit all.
Case- most marina boat dwellers work low wage jobs in Venice Beach serving the needs of Venice residents. Mar Vista is losing affordable housing so these serve workers are turning to RVs, boats, and cars.
Tracy- I urge you to refrain from suggesting parking will be a free for all implying car dwellers will clog up the streets. Currently, it’s Venice residents who claim their parking spots and are violating civil liberties by preventing beach goers from other parts of the county parking in their neighborhoods. The California coastal commission should look into AB 516. Venice residents are acting like children being bullyies who don’t want to share and justify their vileness by using extreme examples and bluntly making up lies about the people who are struggling in Los Angeles. They should count their blessings and then urge all employers to raise pay so that the people who drive them in uber don’t have to sleep on their streets. So that the bartender they love doesn’t have to sleep in a boat on the marina. So that their receptionist doesn’t have to sleep in her Honda. Ask yourselves how much of your own income was derived from cheap labor that causes homelessness next time you feel the urge to hassle a homeless person.
It’s time to change the power structure in Sacramento. This is the direct result of Democrat over zealous environmentalism that’s prevented enough homes to be built over the last 40 years to accommodate millions of poor immigrants being herded into this sanctuary state. Simple supply vs demand. Dems have been locked in for over 35 years and are creating a huge homeless melt down complete with drug use, crime, unemployment and a new crop of disease. Time for a change in Sacramento before anything good happens in California!
It’s Time to allow RV Dwellers to Park on Private Property with proper utility hookups. There are plenty of possible rent paying RV dwellers desperate for a safe full hookup place to park. If the cream of the crop were taken off the street and provided a place to live it might not be so tough out there on the street to find a parking space. Parking on private property does not cost the tax payer a dime. Why is there no one looking at this niche? Follow the money?
How about us long-time Venice residents who are frustrated with the outrageous increase in property values and living costs? and the gentrification of our little humble humanitarian haven by the sea?? It is quite ridiculous to think that just because YOU moved here and that YOU paid far too much for far too little that that gives YOU the right to determine the rules. What about trying a constructive solution for a change? Raising money for law suits to deny poor people assistance is just sad and sickening needless to say, disturbingly counterproductive. Why not spend that money WITH the struggling (mostly) non-profits that directly work with the situation. It is not a simple problem; there needs to be a true working towards understanding the complexities and intricacies of the problem. As the recent findings have shown, this is not a problem that is going away but growing. It is a public health crisis. It is time for the Haves to have their “Ikiru” moment and help the Have-nots.
Of COURSE BONIN WOULD VOTE NO – His neighborhood doesn’t allow RV’s to park there so this doesn’t effect him.
How I wish Bonin would just go away and quite ruining everything he touches.