The California Coastal Commission rejected the City's Venice Coastal Application to create OPDs, which is permit parking system being used to remove homeless people living in vehicles from many areas throughout the City of Los Angeles.

The OPD law, LAMC 80.54, is a permit parking program that is enforced only between 2AM and 6AM. Only people who qualify as a "resident," as defined by the rules of the OPD law, can purchase a permit. Also disabled plates are not exempt from this law. This is how the City and the NIMBYs remove RV Dwellers from a neighborhood.

The mainstream press has been covering the Venice RV and OPD issue routinely from the side of proponents of OPDs, but many Venice residents do not want the OPDs.

Beachfront rental property owners, disenfranchised walkstreet residents, business owners, homeowners, renters, and RV dwellers all came together at the Coastal Commission meeting to show opposition and state how the OPDs would adversely affect them or others.

Venice people do not want this permit parking program for a variety of reasons, which they proved by providing an incredible amount of public testimony that seemed like it would go on forever. A parade of more than a hundred concerned Venice personalities stepped up to the microphone and most spoke against OPDs. The Coastal Commission Staff was forced to stop accepting speaker cards.

Home owner, John Raphling spoke compassionately and pointed, “Where will they go!” knowing well that the OPDs would drive homeless people living in vehicles away from Venice and away from vital and life essential services provided in the Venice Coastal Zone.

The organizations that have actively opposed OPDs are the Venice Justice Committee and Media Group, Venice Food Not Bombs, Venice Town Council, Venice Community Housing Corporation, Venice United Methodist Church, Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness, Free Venice Beachhead, Venice Arts Council, National Law Center on Poverty and Homelessness, Public Counsel Law Center, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

Ultimately, the Coastal Commissioners were being asked to deal with homeless issues in Venice by approving an overnight permit parking program.

The Commissioners voted 9 to 1 (with 1 abstention) to deny the Coastal Permit Application for the Venice area OPDs.

Even though it was prohibited to clap during the Coastal Commission meeting, a spontaneous road of clapping and cheering occurred. People hugged each other and gave thanks.

People singing Pete Seeger's "We Shall Overcome" could be heard that day in Venice.

surrounded by big vans, RV's, cars, and no parking for those who also pay property taxes to park on the streets on which they live ?

This is not about helping the homeless.

This is about parking spaces available for more than those who have no place else to park conveniently.

This is not to harm or hurt or dispose of other people.

This is about wanting the privileges of some privacy around the home many have long and diligently paid for out of hard-earned wages...and houses kept up to par ...and a place close by to park for the homeowners, their families and friends, and not just other strangers who have no place else they prefer to park..

why not park in Mar Vista, or Palms, or Culver City, or Beverly Hills, or Westwood, or even Balwin Hills...

those who live in cars have enough gas to drive to these other close by neighborhoods too...and not been crunched up crowding only the Venice beach areas.

Why do they PREFER to use the costal beach areas to park overnight...not the daytime hours where many want the pleasures of beach swimming, walking, breathing ocean airs, etc. But during night hours, why so many many many vehicles accumulate in certain neighborhoods ?

That is part of the issue....not the disposables that may be left on the streets, sidewalks or the dogs walked and poop left on private lawns... not the loud radios during night hours in front of long-saved-for-housing-paying-ment-homes... not the in-and-out of slamming car doors at night hours...

It is so easy to say, help the poor by giving them the streets... as if they deserved more than others ?

It is so polite to pretend that we are all equal and the same when those who are elderly, have saved for long and worked diligently to now have some safety and cleanliness and neighborliness ...that they MUST share their streets with all those who have lost their incomes, their stability of residence, those who want to have what they do NOT own.

Sharing is easy to say and for those who want, it is easier to demand than for those from whom it is being asked to keep giving and sharing more...when they are not able or wanting to to the people 'on the street'....they want to share elsewhere...is that not ok too ?

My personal reason against OPD's were as follows;

I pay property taxes, trash taxes, phone taxes, and frankly, feel taxed to death as it is and do not want to pay another fee for something that should be handled by the city/county. Besides, right now its free. There are already laws in place that cover some of the infractions addressed, but just not enforced. We would just be throwing "good money after bad". If anyone should pay for permits, let it be those who park their RV's in our streets. Temporary permits for a small fee would ultimately keep those who are worth keeping and have those who abuse the system, move on. Besides, I do not want another thing in my life legislated by the city.

Those living in motor homes and RV's who use the area as a toilet need to be re-educated or ejected out of Venice. Why in world would we want to tolerate this behavior, it is unhealthy for Christ sake. We need a place where people, who come to Venice on holiday and who want to visit in an RV and live in their motor home, to park. Not everyone can afford housing at this time, but if they can afford an RV or motor home, they can certainly afford to pay a small amount/permit fee to their "spot" for short periods of time. Maybe people will appreciate them more if they paid a stipend for parking along with picking up after themselves. It is about respect - you can't get it if you don't give it!

For those who have parked their motor home and don't move it, there are laws on the books to have them moved. If you or I, as a Venice resident were to leave our cars in the street 24/7, we would be ticketed up the a and in time towed away. So what is the real problem here? I would say that lack of enforcement of laws already on the books and the extra money we are paying for police officers not used!