Thursday, June 14, 2007

Unlimited Cats and Cars

In LA, cars are like cats: unlimited.

We got an email from a reader that asked about the number of cars that a person can own:
I want to know what to do about my neighbors who have five or six cars parked on the street, most of them don't work or they are selling them. Meanwhile, my friends and family has to park in the next block and walk down the street at night to the house.
The inconvenience of having a lot of cars owned by one homeowner is similar to the experience of living next to a cat lady: the number allowed is unlimited. In Los Angeles, there is no restriction on the number of cats one can own on one premises (unless it turns into hoarding). But, with dogs, one property can only have 3 dogs on the property/premise without being required to apply for a kennel permit of $130 (and a bureaucratic process of review). With cars, you can own as many as you want as long as you follow the parking and storage rules set forth like not storing a car on the street, or storing on private property within public view or parking in the front yard, etc.

So, how to deal with the car collector/dealer on your street? Contact Building & Safety or the neighborhood prosecutor in your area. They will know how to deal with it in your area.

And how to deal with too many dogs or the hoarding of cats? Call 311 and ask for Animal Services.

13 comments:

Mayor Sam said...

Zach,

So if a person is following the law why is there any need to call in a neighborhood prosecutor or LABS?

In America we have the right to buy legal items as much as we are able to.

If a person is doing things like parking in front of someone's driveway, parking in front of fire hydrants, red zones, handicapped spots, etc. throw the book at them.

But if he's legally parked and not encroaching on private property leave him alone.

Unknown said...

Freedom of ownership does not equal freedom to be a douche. If someone owns 6 cars and is taking up all the parking, they should be required to house the vehicles on their own property.

In this case s sounds like some of the cars are non-operational -- in which case they might be a pubic eyesore.

What I really want to know is how to we get all the smoke belching old disgusting school buses fixed up or off the roads.

Anonymous said...

I believe that a car can be ticketed and/or towed if it remains parked on any street in LA for more than 72 hours without being moved.

This is to prevent non-operational vehicles being stored on the street.

If someone owns 6 cars, moving them all every 3 days would be a pain. I'm sure that if you call the city's parking department you would be able to get at least some of them moved off the street.

Anonymous said...

Now what can we do about all the out of state license plates cloggin up my morning commute!!!??!??

Mayor Sam said...

On the other hand someone who owns six cars could also be paying six times the reg fees and six times the gas tax, giving them six times the rights to the city streets.

This is one of the reasons in my view why preferential parking should not be allowed. We all pay into the same pot for roads, we should have equal access to park on publicly owned streets.

Anonymous said...

The emailer said most of the cars don't work. Sounds like a junk yard to me. You can buy all the junk you want, but parking non-operating cars on the street lowers residents' property value, which lowers property taxes, which probably is more than a few reg fees.

Anonymous said...

It's illegal to store inoperative vehicles on a residential lot (and most commercial lots for that matter). It's illegal to park in the front yard. It's illegal to store inoperative vehicles on the public street (regardless of duration) and it's illegal to leave a car parked in the same place on a public street longer than 72 hours.
Building & Safety inspectors (for violations on the property) and Parking Enforcement (for street violations) should know how to handle this situation--it comes up all the time. I can only presume that the complaintant would have to be fairly persistent in getting them to take it seriously.
This neighbor sounds like an ass.

timquinn said...

I have five inoperative cats. They do nothing all day and complain if dinner is late. Is there any city agency that takes care of this? ;-)

Anonymous said...

tim, call City Council.

Sahra Bogado said...

Mayor Sam,

We all pay into the same pot for roads, we should have equal access to park on publicly owned streets.

You are either a communist or an idiot, and you'd need to be literate to be a communist so maybe I can rule that out. Public roads are most cetainly not the place to store your car on the public dime.

I pay taxes on my Cessna - why can't I park it in front of my house? I pay taxes on my backhoe, why do I have to pay extra fees and taxes to store my backhoe! I am being unfairly taxed!

Your suburban sense of entitlement about having your neighbors subsidize your "free" storage of a car on the streets is obnoxious.

Anonymous said...

I live on a street with limited parking (one side). I try to park in front of my location, but sometimes, due to other activities on the street, I am forced to park next door or a few houses down. IS there any ordinance/law that gives neighbors the right to assert ownership of the street in front of their house or is it public and I shouldn't worry about the nasty notes I get every time I have to park there?

Anonymous said...

I need to find out about getting a kennel license and can't find anything about where to go. You mention that the cost is $130. Could you post where someone can go to get one of these kennel license?

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Get a kennel license here laanimalservices.com You can't get a kennel license on a residential property or within 500 feet of one. You must be on commercial, industrial or agricultural property.

You can have a maximum of three cats and three dogs per dwelling in LA City.

mayorsam, funny to see you posting here. you really get around