Society LA Has Criminalized Poverty By Making It Illegal To Sleep In Cars and RVs

Welcome to our Community
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Feel free to Sign Up today.
Sign up

Zeph

TMMAC Addict
Jan 22, 2015
24,355
32,126
Raising rent prices and low wages have resulted in thousands of people across the city of Los Angeles becoming homeless, many of them now living in cars and RVs if they were able to keep it together that well.


According to the most recent counts by the KPCC, there are at least 7,000 people live in their cars in Los Angeles.

Many of these people still maintain jobs and try to live the most fulfilled lives that they can, but they are constantly facing problems from authorities.

It is such a common issue that many churches have opened up their parking lots to people living out of their cars. For example, the New Beginnings Counseling Center opened up their parking lot for a “Safe Parking program,” which was intended to provide a safe and welcome parking place for people living out of their cars. Unfortunately, under new legislation passed in Los Angeles, programs like this will be illegal, because sleeping in cars and RVs have been entirely outlawed.

Under the new laws, it is illegal to sleep in a car or RV that is parked in a residentially zoned area from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Areas within one block of a park, daycare, or school are entirely off limits. Fines will range anywhere from $25 to $75 which is impossible to pay for most people in these situations.

In 2014, LA lawmakers attempted to pass a similar bill but it was shot down in a federal appeals court. The judge in the case ruled that the legislation was “broad enough to cover any driver in Los Angeles who eats food or transports personal belongings in his or her vehicle. Yet it appears to be applied only to the homeless.”

The policy is up for debate and reconsideration in July, where homeless advocates are expected to strongly protest for an appeal.


Policies like this can have disastrous consequences, in Canada where laws like this have been implemented for some time, one man racked up over $110,000 worth of fines for essentially being homeless.

Last year, The Mind Unleashed reported that the city of Seattle was planning to set up razor-wire fencing to keep homeless populations from camping. Then, earlier this year we reported that San Francisco was using Robots scare homeless people away from encampments and report them to police.

Not soon after that, the city of San Francisco spent $8,700 installing large boulders under overpasses to prevent homeless people from setting up camps. There were numerous homeless encampments in the area until they were recently forced out of the area, and now the City’s government is doing everything they can to keep the camps out of the area.

LA Has Criminalized Poverty By Making It Illegal To Sleep In Cars and RVs
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
It is such a common issue that many churches have opened up their parking lots to people living out of their cars. For
So looks like that is still allowed

Under the new laws, it is illegal to sleep in a car or RV that is parked in a residentially zoned area from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Areas within one block of a park, daycare, or school are entirely off limits


I lean towards cars being private property and RVs being private property. So if you want to sit in your car or sleep in your car whatever.

On the other hand, I don't live there and may not recognize the total scope of the problem. If people are pulling into my neighborhood every night by the dozens, taking up street parking, and essentially camping out in front of my house, I'd feel pretty unsettled about that.
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
The new version of 85.02 prohibits living in a car or RV within one block (500 feet) of licensed schools, pre-schools, daycare facilities, or parks. It also prohibits living in a vehicle at night on any residential street. The new rule is a test. It is scheduled to expire on July 1, 2018, at which time it will be reviewed by the City Council and a more long-term decision made.



The reference to 2014 is apparently incorrect.
Until 2014 Los Angeles had a blanket ban against this anyway per a quick Google search. In 2014 the blanket ban was knocked down but the courts and they tried to reenact it in a limited fashion.

This current bill is the limited fashion.
 

Yossarian

TMMAC Addict
Oct 25, 2015
13,489
19,127
Poverty can also mean = too many people in one place. And that's what they're trying to battle. It is not fair to the poor, but they're the first targeted. The rent and housing prices go up not because of some grand scheme to rid of poor people, it is demand. It's the other side of an economically succesful and growing city. It can happen nation wide if more and more people flock this way for the jobs, etc. LA and San Fransisco are mere warnings.
 

Pitbull9

Daddy
Jan 28, 2015
9,832
14,130
Cue matt Serra meme


No just kidding

Zeph @Zeph you seem to care a lot about a lot of issues, do you do anything to help your community or get involved in these issues somehow?
 

Truck Party

TMMAC Addict
Mar 16, 2017
5,711
6,851
Poverty can also mean = too many people in one place. And that's what they're trying to battle. It is not fair to the poor, but they're the first targeted. The rent and housing prices go up not because of some grand scheme to rid of poor people, it is demand. It's the other side of an economically succesful and growing city. It can happen nation wide if more and more people flock this way for the jobs, etc. LA and San Fransisco are mere warnings.
I don't know much about LA, but San Francisco is absolutely intentional. Restricting building w/ 'open space' laws & imposing rent control on the new apartments that can be built to the point where the builder would be much better off investing in something else has had the same results from California to Cairo. Housing prices before the 70's in San Fran & surrounding communities were in-line with the national average until politicians began their 'affordable housing' crusade, rent & housing prices quickly shot up to 4 times the national average. Whether you buy the politicians good intentions or take a more cynical view, San Fran has done what they could to restrict the supply of new housing
 

Yossarian

TMMAC Addict
Oct 25, 2015
13,489
19,127
I don't know much about LA, but San Francisco is absolutely intentional. Restricting building w/ 'open space' laws & imposing rent control on the new apartments that can be built to the point where the builder would be much better off investing in something else has had the same results from California to Cairo. Housing prices before the 70's in San Fran & surrounding communities were in-line with the national average until politicians began their 'affordable housing' crusade, rent & housing prices quickly shot up to 4 times the national average. Whether you buy the politicians good intentions or take a more cynical view, San Fran has done what they could to restrict the supply of new housing
Well, it is intentional because now they can ask double for housing of what once was. Blame rich people moving in. Or let's just say, that is the free market. Es normal. Gentrification. Not saying it is a bad or good thing, because you can't complain about a city doing well and increasing in value. I think people don't expect there to be victims, but there always are. Poor go first of course. That counts for anywhere in the world.
 
M

member 3289

Guest
In New Jersey sleeping in a rental car is the most common accommodation for travelers.
 

Truck Party

TMMAC Addict
Mar 16, 2017
5,711
6,851
Well, it is intentional because now they can ask double for housing of what once was. Blame rich people moving in. Or let's just say, that is the free market. Es normal. Gentrification. Not saying it is a bad or good thing, because you can't complain about a city doing well and increasing in value. I think people don't expect there to be victims, but there always are. Poor go first of course. That counts for anywhere in the world.
govt's severely restricting supply is not a free market
 

Enock-O-Lypse Now!

Underneath Denver International Airport
Jun 19, 2016
11,742
19,623
There's an entire "war on homeless" occurring.
Benches, alleys, etc all getting spikes and dividers.
There a point to cleaning up and not having people camping everywhere, but without associated shelters, it often seems cruel.
Very interesting, so LA has a major issue, I wonder how many other major US cities are facing this same problem.

I was recently in Maui, Hawaii and noticed a huge homeless population just wondering around.

A local told me there was some sort of Government program that was relocating homeless people from cities like Detroit and San Fransisco and placing them in Hawaii ..I don't know how true that is, but Hawaii certainly does have a large population of homeless.
 

HEATH VON DOOM

Remember the 5th of November
Oct 21, 2015
17,281
24,721
Maybe if the people living in their cars would stop shitting in the streets ruing it for people this wouldnt happen.
 

Jesus X

4 drink minimum.
Sep 7, 2015
28,766
31,292
L.A county is an enormous place there are actually a lot of places that arent these places:

"Under the new laws, it is illegal to sleep in a car or RV that is parked in a residentially zoned area from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Areas within one block of a park, daycare, or school are entirely off limits."

they will probably drive the bums off into the warehouse areas or manufacturing areas which outnumber the " residential zones" or the inland empire a.k.a "New California"


they kicked the homeless out from the camps they had by the 710 fwy and the bike trail is a lot nicer now it used to be like mad max down there.
 

RaginCajun

The Reigning Undisputed Monsters Tournament Champ
Oct 25, 2015
36,970
93,842
In Portland Oregon there are homeless camps everywhere. This is a problem in most major cities.
 

kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
Part of LA's ongoing gentrification project. Decreasing homeless visibility and eventually shipping them out of town is necessary to sustain spiking rents and home values. The LA area, despite cries to the contrary, has plenty of available space and housing, but speculators and realtors have driven the prices out of reach and public reclamation to shelter the homeless is inadequate. The homeless population had surged 75% in recent years and of that population, 3/4 live in trailers, cars, or makeshift housing. There's little political will to do much else besides build more housing, but ultimately it won't end up in the hands of people who need it most.
 

SongExotic2

ATM 3 CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. #FREECAIN
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
39,772
53,672
Poverty can also mean = too many people in one place. And that's what they're trying to battle. It is not fair to the poor, but they're the first targeted. The rent and housing prices go up not because of some grand scheme to rid of poor people, it is demand. It's the other side of an economically succesful and growing city. It can happen nation wide if more and more people flock this way for the jobs, etc. LA and San Fransisco are mere warnings.
So the rent has gone up on people's personal cars?
 

BeardOfKnowledge

The Most Consistent Motherfucker You Know
Jul 22, 2015
60,547
56,268
Part of LA's ongoing gentrification project. Decreasing homeless visibility and eventually shipping them out of town is necessary to sustain spiking rents and home values. The LA area, despite cries to the contrary, has plenty of available space and housing, but speculators and realtors have driven the prices out of reach and public reclamation to shelter the homeless is inadequate. The homeless population had surged 75% in recent years and of that population, 3/4 live in trailers, cars, or makeshift housing. There's little political will to do much else besides build more housing, but ultimately it won't end up in the hands of people who need it most.
It pretty drastically effects the middle class too. It's funny, the same people who talk non-stop about wanting to uplift the "poor minorities" sure as fuck don't want them to be anywhere near them.