Who owns the street?

A commenter asks:

"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?"

The answer is simple: Ignore the notes - there is no ordinance or law that gives ownership to the street fro private use, unless the street has been vacated and withdrawn from public use (which the commenter should know as their property would most likely be behind a gate as is the case with the Laughlin Park community of Los Feliz). Technically, every street is "owned" by the adjacent property owners to the center line (half the street is "owned" by each side), but there is also a City-owned public easement that makes it open and free to the general public. Even so, the property owner must keep is clean and free of obstruction so that the public can utilize it. This also goes for the sidewalk (LAMC 56.08). So, park anywhere on the street you like; everyone has the same right to park on the street unless otherwise officially posted.

This also raises an issue being examined by the Echo Park community: can LAUSD close Marathon Street for the construction of their new school (9a)? Technically, once they own both sides of the street for their new school site, they can petition the City to close it because they "own" both sides. There is a formal "street vacation" process that the City goes through led by the Bureau of Engineering, but the community indicates (with confirmation from the Council Office) that the process has not yet been followed. LAUSD has been temporarily and permanently closing streets relative to school safety and construction for some time, but always with permits. They have the right to do so on Marathon, if they follow the process.