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WESTSIDE - Why are there seemingly two sets of rules when it comes to parking citations here in Venice?
Pictured are numerous examples of permanent vehicles parked all over Venice that apparently shelter homeless individuals who do not receive any parking or vehicular citations while residents are ticketed for the slightest of infractions!
Why are the rules for some and no rules for transients parking illegally?
It’s a question that goes unacknowledged, ignored and swept under the rug as Venetians are expected to pay these rather expensive citations while others are seemingly above, or beyond the law!
Venice, long designated a containment zone for encampments and recreational vehicles that linger for weeks, months and in some cases years park without care or consequence, many dumping human excrement into street catch basins while taking whole portions of the sidewalk hostage to say nothing of the parking that is lost to the rest of the community!
Not only are these vehicles immune from being ticketed, but most have no tags, license plates, and other mandatory documentation necessary to operate on the road.
While residents for the most part abide by the law and move their cars, why is this culture of non-conforming vehicles accepted as somehow, normal?
And for those patting themselves on the back and taking victory laps for the so-called “progress” on the streets of Venice, take a second look!
There are more RV’s on the streets of Venice than ever before, and the count is well into the hundreds, and while many encampments have been relocated or cleared, this “two-steps forward, one-step back” approach doesn’t seem to be working and many resident have grown weary, throwing their collective hands in the air understanding that as long as Venice is the host to such schemes as bridge housing and other permanent “solutions,” this neighborhood will continue to bear the brunt of the homeless population here in CD-11 while neighborhoods like Westchester and the Pacific Palisades are politically protected from the ravages of the homeless crisis!
It appears obvious to me that containing homelessness, encampments and RV’s is now part of the norm and ironically part of the apparent solution.
Venetians are to be congratulated for being asked time and time again to shoulder a responsibility no other neighborhood in Los Angeles has been asked to do.
For we don’t even know the data, as to how many homeless are on the streets and living in these vehicles. That is information LAHSA was supposed to share months ago, but still remains a mystery and a secret to the public.
(Nick Antonicello is a thirty-year resident of Venice covering the encampment and vehicle dwelling dilemma here in the neighborhood. Have an encampment issue on your street? Contact Antonicello at [email protected].)
