A judge has ruled that the city of Los Angeles cannot move forward with a program that would allow local officials to remove and dismantle more recreational vehicles the city deems a nuisance.<\/p>\n
The city planned to roll out a new state law that gives L.A. County authority to dispose of abandoned or inoperable RVs worth up to $4,000. The previous threshold was $500.<\/p>\n
Some city officials who support the new law say L.A. must have the tools to get unsafe and unsanitary RVs off the streets for good.<\/p>\n
But opponents argued<\/a> the law does not apply to the city of L.A. \u2014 only the county \u2014 and that the city\u2019s \u201cillegal\u201d actions would harm vulnerable Angelenos who live in RVs, according to court documents.<\/p>\n Learn the ins and outs behind L.A.’s housing crisis.<\/p>\n Sign up for Building Your Block, a seven-issue newsletter course from LAist that explains the obstacles around housing development in L.A. and what you can do to make things better.<\/p>\n In a new ruling issued Thursday, Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin agreed with the opponents. The judge said the new law \u201cprovides no such authority to the City of Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n The backstory<\/p>\n The ruling stems from a legal challenge by a coalition of housed and unhoused residents in West L.A. around the city\u2019s implementation of Assembly Bill 630<\/a>, which became law Jan. 1.<\/p>\n The L.A. City Council voted in December<\/a> to approve a motion<\/a> instructing various city departments to \u201cimmediately implement\u201d the law.<\/p>\n The CD11 Coalition for Human Rights<\/a> then asked a judge to intervene<\/a>, claiming L.A. is \u201crecklessly charging ahead\u201d with a program it\u2019s not authorized to execute, according to court documents.<\/p>\n What the officials say<\/p>\n Councilmember Traci Park, who introduced the council motion in October, told LAist previously that nuisance RVs create health and safety issues that put entire neighborhoods at risk. Park said residents want solutions, not frivolous lawsuits.<\/p>\n Shayla Myers, an attorney with Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, told LAist after the ruling Thursday that the lawsuits aren\u2019t frivolous when the petitioners keep winning.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is incredibly unclear why the city did not simply accept the plain language of AB 630 and instead forced our client to go to court, wasting court resources, city resources at a time when the city doesn’t have resources to spare,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto\u2019s office did not respond to LAist\u2019s requests for comment on the city\u2019s implementation of AB 630.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next<\/p>\n L.A. Mayor Karen Bass proposed AB 630 in partnership<\/a> with Assemblymember Mark Gonz\u00e1lez, who introduced the California assembly bill. Gonz\u00e1lez said in a statement to LAist last month that his office is \u201cworking with our partners to clarify the law to ensure the City can fully implement AB 630.”<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez has introduced another bill, AB 647<\/a>, that would expand the language of the law to include \u201cany public agency\u201d within L.A. County.<\/p>\n