Venice Action Alliance is made up of residents of Venice who work together to solve community problems. Our objectives include maintaining Venice as a vibrant, inclusive and diverse community. Venice Action believes in combining prudent, appropriate and compassionate law enforcement with workable solutions that benefit the community and its residents while avoiding the further and gratuitous victimization of people who find themselves down-and-out in this difficult period of time.
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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently expressed his opposition to a deal that would have allowed Venice residents to create overnight parking...Here is the Mayor's letter in its entirety. Mayor's Non-Signing
“What we are being asked of is to approve a restriction in the Venice area. That restriction, in my view, does in fact limit access and I’m not convinced we need to do that at this point,” Coastal Commissioner Mark Stone said.
http://argonautnewspaper.com/articles/2010/06/17/news_-_features/top_stories/2v.txt
By Dennis Romero, LA Weekly
The issue has been a political fault line in Venice, often with newer homeowners backing parking restrictions in an effort to keep RVs and other potential outsiders at bay, and longtime, liberal residents saying permit parking in the community would not reflect its open, bohemian roots and would restrict access to the coast.
The group Venice Action Alliance praised the commission's 6-3 vote as a move that would preserve access to the coast:
http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/city-news/venice-overnight-parking-1/
By Martha Groves, Los Angeles Times
June 12, 2010
"We were essentially rehearing the original permit requests," Wan said. "What the city was trying to do was use preferential parking to solve their social problems. They need to deal with their own social problems."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-venice-20100612,0,2002637.story
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2010, Venice, Calif.— The Venice Action Alliance today lauded the decisive 6-3 vote by the California Coastal Commission to reject the City of Los Angeles' second attempt to impose overnight permit parking districts on Venice. The group, part of a broad coalition of Venetians supporting solutions instead of restrictions, called it a triumph of wisdom and good policy.
"The Coastal Commission once again recognized and carried out its mandate to protect coastal access against attempts to make the beach less available to the general public," said Chris Plourde of Venice Action.
“The problems created by homelessness in Venice are real," added Plourde, "and we look forward to working with all Venetians to put a real solution that addresses the needs of all--a Safe Parking program--into place.”
The decisive vote followed a 4-1/2 hour hearing at the Commission's meeting held at the Marina del Rey Hotel in Marina del Rey, the same site where overnight permits were rejected the first time almost exactly one year ago. As many as 99 people signed up to testify, more than three-quarters of them in opposition to the permit scheme. Presentations by the City of Los Angeles, the Venice Stakeholders Association and the Venice Action Alliance set the stage for the long public session.
"No one with an open mind could have sat through that array of technically cogent and sometimes moving testimony against permit parking and come away thinking it was a good idea," said David Ewing of Venice Action. “We completely support the need to deal with bad and criminal behavior amongst vehicular dwellers and the general population and will keep working with the City and others in the community to find effective ways to do so. Permit parking isn't one of them."
"The arguments for permits came across like pleas for using parking restrictions to fight crime," said Karen Wolfe of Venice Action, "while those against permits sounded like a community trying to defend its diversity and a tradition of embracing the public.”
The issue was back before the Commission thanks to a lawsuit by Venice Stakeholders Association, which is now expected to go back to court as a result of the Commission's decision to reject permit parking. That lawsuit is currently backed by the City of Los Angeles and the Pacific Legal Foundation, the latter a notorious antagonist to the Coastal Commission having filed or participated in many lawsuits attempting to constrain the Commission's authority to protect the California coast.
Venice Action will continue to work with Councilmember Bill Rosendahl's office, and invites the Venice Stakeholders Association to join them, to expedite the creation of a "safe parking" program intended to get vehicle dwellers off residential streets in the community and begin moving them toward services and housing opportunities.
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Tell them that beach access is important to Venice and the solution to a problem is not to impose restrictions on the residents.That all of Los Angeles needs to find a compassionate and humane answer to the homeless that also protects and supports the needs of the homed and Venice is ready and willing to find that solution. But OPDs are not that solution. We don't need to place impositions on access for the rest of Los Angeles to accomplish this. Tell them that you think this is a bad settlement, that it weakens their ability to protect our coast, that it imposes an unnecessary burden on the residents and would not offer the solution that the few are seeking.
It impacts everyone who goes to the beach--whether it's for a day of fun with your kids, dinner or a glass of wine with friends, or if you live in our colorful community.
There has been a movement by a small secretly-funded group to heavily restrict parking in Venice, creating what the LADOT calls "essentially gated communities," all in an effort to get RV’s off our streets. That's not what Venice is about. It's always been a welcoming place. If you've read enough, sign the petition now! http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-permit-parking-in-venice.html
If you want more info, read on:
·Venice residents are being tricked into restricting YOUR access to the beach.
·You won’t be able to park for free on Venice streets.
·You might not be able to find spaces at all because residents will get preferential parking. Unless they move their cars out of your way at 5am, you’ll be waiting in line at beach lots and paying top dollar for a day at the beach.
·You won’t be able to park in Venice at all overnight.
IF YOU LIVE IN VENICE:
·OPD’s are a regressive tax on renters and low income residents.
·OPD’s create virtual gated communities (according to LA DOT).
·OPD’s are expensive – the fees only cover 47% of the cost and the fees ALWAYS go up.
·Walk Streets don’t get a vote at all for their block.
·OPD’s only save your space from 2-5am. They don’t solve business parking congestion or free up your parking at the end of the day.
·Even if each block gets to decide, the domino effect will be endless. If your block says no, but the next block says yes, your neighbors and their guests can park for free on your street instead of paying to park on theirs.
·Forget spontaneity! – you’d better plan ahead to have any overnight guests so you have a permit for them.
Sign the petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-permit-parking-in-venice.html
This Thursday, come to the CCC hearing and tell them No! Do not restrict public access to Venice Beach! Marina Del Rey Hotel, 8:30am 13534 Bali Way, Marina Del Rey
If you can’t attend Email the CCC: cposner@coastal.ca.gov and sign the petition now. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-permit-parking-in-venice.html
Special interest groups attempting to circumvent the long-respected protections of the California Coastal Act have found a disturbingly effective tool in the term “nuisance abatement”—many with the help of the right wing, anti-environmental Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF).
Under the provisions of the Coastal Act, cities get leeway to restrict beach access if they’re doing so in order to address a “nuisance”. Four recent cases demonstrate the argument.
In the most recent instance, the Venice Stakeholders Association has argued in its pending lawsuit against the Coastal Commission, that restricting public beach access is necessary to address the nuisance of homeless people sleeping in vehicles on nearby streets. The nuisance claim is new in the VSA case, brought in after the PLF joined their case.
In
Last month, Dana Point filed suit against the Commission when the panel said the city exceeded its authority by closing a beach access pathway in a luxury gated community. That city is claiming the closure is an attempt to reduce crime.
The nuisance abatement argument was also made in Laguna Beach when the city passed an ordinance in March 2010 to shut down its beaches between 1am and 5am, claiming it was an attempt to reduce the number of calls to the police regarding beach camping and vagrants. The Coastal Commission intervened stating that such a change in beach use required the city to file a CDP. In March, Laguna Beach compromised with the Coastal Commission, exempting certain recreational activities like jogging, fishing and diving from the ordinance, but also putting on the record their refusal to accept the CCC’s jurisdiction in the matter.
Venice Action is concerned about this trend.
“Unless it’s clearly defined, ‘nuisance’ is in the eye of the beholder,” said Venice Action spokesperson Chris Plourde. “This trend could justify everything from parking restrictions to dress codes at the beach.”
The
a. Appeal No. A-5-VEN-08-343 (City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Transportation, Los Angeles) Appeal by Peggy Lee Kennedy et al and Executive Director, Peter Douglas from decision of City of Los Angeles granting permit to City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Transportation to establish Overnight Parking District No. 523 (in the Venice area) with early morning parking restrictions, exempting vehicles with District No. 523 permits, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County. (CP-LB)
b. Application No. 5-08-313 (City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Transportation, Venice) Application of City of Los Angeles, Dep. of Transportation to Establish Overnight Parking District No. 523 (in the Venice area) with early morning parking restrictions, exempting vehicles with District No. 523 permits, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County. (CP-LB)
c. Appeal No. A-5-VEN-08-344 (City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Transportation, Los Angeles) Appeal by Peggy Lee Kennedy et al and Executive Director, Peter Douglas from decision of City of Los Angeles granting permit to City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Transportation to establish Overnight Parking District No. 526 (in the Villa Marina area) with early morning parking restrictions, exempting vehicles with District No. 526 permits. City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County. (CP-LB)This is the last agenda item for the day but it could be moved elsewhere. We will let everyone know asap. Please attend. Everyone is important.
