Recommendation to request City Manager to report on any past discussions, memorandums, codes, ordinances, and regulations on the matter, as well as submit recommendations that would ban or limit long-term oversized vehicle parking citywide.
Thank you. And just because I think there's a few folks here for this item, I want to make sure we hear the item on the oversize vehicles, the RVs, which I believe is item seven. So if I can have Madam Clerk, please read item seven. Communication from Councilman Price, Councilmember Supernormal Councilwoman Mongo recommendation to request the city manager to report on long term oversize vehicle parking and submit recommendations that would ban or limit long term oversize vehicle parking citywide. Thank you. I'm going to now turn this over to the makers of this motion. I believe Councilwoman Suzy Price would be first. Thank you very much. I want to thank my colleagues, Councilwoman Mango and Councilmember Super now for signing on to this item as well as my other colleagues for entertaining this discussion this evening. This conversation is not new, and perhaps it's long overdue. The number of oversize vehicles we have, in particular recreational vehicles on city streets is a public safety, quality of life environmental issue that has an impact citywide. City Council offices have been contacted by several community groups and citizens regarding the parking of oversize vehicles. Constituents report that vehicles are parked in front of their homes and businesses for weeks or even months at a time, taking up valuable parking spaces, blocking view corridors and limiting access to driveways and alleys. In many cases, the occupant is illegally living inside the vehicle, although that is not always the case. Additionally, residents have observed several instances instances of individuals disposing waste from vehicles into stormwater drains, as well as reports of portable gas generators being used as a power source. Cities such as Lakewood, Paramount, San Diego, Bellflower and Torrance have imposed citywide bans on oversize vehicle parking. It's not just RVs that are an issue in this city. Boats, boat trailers, jet skis and motor homes advertising for various products are also an issue. I think it's very important moving forward in regards to this particular item for us to have an education on this issue as it's been presented to council before, if at all it has been presented to council before, and then some options in terms of how we could limit some of the issues that we've seen or mitigate some. So what are some of the options that would be available? Obviously, a city wide ban might be available, but are there other options that might be available that could eliminate some of the issues that we've discussed? I have a few questions for staff, and I'm not sure if staff is is prepared to answer these. And if not, maybe when the report comes back, the answers could be incorporated. Do we know how many streets in the city are currently signed for no oversize vehicle parking? I think we'd have to come back with those answers. And when you come back, is it possible to provide maps showing areas in the city where oversize vehicle parking is problematic? Yes, we certainly could. And also if there if staff could provide some recommendations on what constitutes a commercial vehicle in terms of height and length dimensions and weight, that would be helpful. We could certainly do that. Thank you. Again, this is merely asking for some information and data so that we can move forward from there and make the decisions that we think are going to address some of the issues that have caused problems for some of our residents. And, you know, a lot of people have reached out to our office in the last few days saying, you know, what about when we want to load or unload our RV? Certainly any recommendation that that comes back would hopefully include some reasonable provisions to allow people to actually use their RVs and be able to load and unload them. But we're we're really the heart of it here is long term parking over a period of time where it appears there's no other storage solution other than parking it on a residential or commercial corridor. So thank you. Thank you so much, Councilman Mongo. Over the last 18 months because this discussion started before I was sworn in to council. We've come up with some short term solutions in terms of eliminating the oversize parking on certain streets, and a lot of neighborhoods get concerned. Many of our much of our district borders a city that has banned RVs. And so we do have that overflow. We actually had the police department win ticketing these vehicles and our scanning their license plates identify how many were from within the city and how many were from outside the city. We have had numerous complaints related to individuals living in these RVs, and as we've tried to find resolutions, the cadre of RVs continue to move through the city. Your neighbor who has an RV that they prepare to go on a trip. Permits associated with residents, I think are a great idea that we need to make sure is available and being able to exercise our right to own vehicles and go on vacation and enjoy the habitat that we have around us in ability to go take our snowmobiles or our water crafts or RV camping and experience nature. And within that, to still protect the next door neighbor, the next door neighbor who can't get out of their driveway because they can't see because that RV just doesn't fit exactly in that that usable space or the neighbor who we've in many parts of our district, we've had to paint the curbs on the corners red so that we can see the stop sign that an RV could have blocks before. So we've put in a lot of No six foot and over parking near a stop signs. But I think that it's time that we look for a city wide solution. And so I appreciate the residents that are here from the fifth District who have been working through this item with us over the last 18 months. And I look forward to some interesting and encompassing alternatives from our city staff. Thank you. Councilwoman Gonzalez. I want to thank Councilmember Price, Mango and Councilmember Super Na for bringing this forward. I think this is a great item to just look into the research of of what this could be and manifest in two. And I think it is. I know in the West Side specifically, we've had many issues. A lot of our business owners have complained because there are RVs, oversize vehicles blocking their their place of business. And then what results is trash? You know, sometimes urination, other things that are a major issue for those business owners in addition to some other residents in the Willmore who've also complained. And it's just become a real big problem. I know in the Magnolia Industrial Group we've had to put up signs in certain areas and that only does so much to say that you can only park here for a certain time. And I think we've had at one point we had no overnight parking in one area, but a lot of the businesses were impacted because they do have overnight employees. So it becomes an issue. And I think Lakewood does have a really good plan in place. I, I know some time ago we looked into that and how that would work out here in Long Beach. So I just want to reiterate that it'd be great to look really look into Lakewood and their permitting system. I think they have it down pretty well. But thanks so much for this item. Thank you. Next up is council member Richards. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Councilwoman Pryce. And co-sponsors for this. So I'm going to rise in favor. I think it's definitely something to look look into. I think across town, there might be different issues, but still issues that warrant study and review around oversize vehicles. I can name very different stories in my neighborhood, in other neighborhoods where, you know, you might have vagrancy or homeless homeless folks who might rent rent an oversize vehicle or camper for hours or for a night. And it creates major issues. One thing I would say is I think even though it might they may it may be a city wide issue. It's very different for different portions of town. So whatever recommendations come back, I like that we ask for like a hotspot map that allows us to have localized solutions. I can think of an example where we had a parking circumstance, we were against a different city and there was construction happening in that city impacted us and it was too big of an issue to address our preferential parking ordinance. We created something very different that allowed us to move around with flexibility locally. So whatever comes back, I hope it allows us to be to have a tailored approach for these neighborhoods that may have very different issues, but all related to the same the same impact. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Supernova. Thank you. I just wanted to request the staff that they engage. The Cal State University, Long Beach Police. University police. My staff and I met with the university on Friday and actually spoke to President Connelly on Saturday about this topic. And they have some very interesting intel on this subject, and I think we should get their input. Thank you. We'll do that. Thank you, Councilman Austin. Thank you. I'll be really brief. I'm going to also support this. I want to thank you for bringing it forward. This this issue does we hear from our constituents all the time. It serves as a nuisance issue in many of our neighborhoods citywide. I'm just I just want to get some clarity on the the. The definition of over oversize vehicles. Are we talking about just RVs or are we talking about boats? Well, in terms of the item, we're asking staff to come back with a definition of what a commercial vehicle size height would would be based on other ordinances. But the problem really has stemmed from not just RVs, but boat storage and things like that. So it's multiple commercial vehicles. And do we know and just just out of curiosity, how many RV parks we have in the city of Long Beach? We'll come back with that information. Great. I would love to have that. And I'd also look at like to look at designated areas in the city where we could possibly designate areas that would not be impeding on neighborhoods and this quality of life for our residents and also for us to be mindful that these are these are oftentimes one step above homelessness. And they are homes for many, many, many folks who use them. So thank you. Thank you. Any public comment on this item? Please for. May we come forward and just make sure you say your name. And for the record, please, on the mic. Thank you. My name is Robert Cornwall. I live at 1920 Lees Avenue and the 15th Street, a street that runs north and south and and tees into a street called Fair Brook that runs east and west. The 17 homes on Lee's Avenue travel north to Fair Brook for access to Studebaker Road. The left hand turn coming from Lee's Avenue and approaching Fair Brook is immediately confronted. With a huge boat and trailer on the north west side of Hare Brook on the turn. This boat and trailer is 42 foot long, nine foot wide and 11 four inches high. Give or take to ensure they're on all my measurements. This vehicle at 6913. Fair Brook has been parked. That is stored. In front of this house for several years. It is seldom used for fishing. It's a large oceangoing vessel and has moved every week to Studebaker Road to avoid Friday sweepers. The boat is not hooked up to the three or 4 to 3 quarter ton tow truck most of the time. And on the opposite side of the street, on Fair Brook, right across from this boat, there is always a car parked directly on the other side. So that makes it very difficult to pass safely. We're asking the council to address the problem of parking storage, if you will, of such oversight vehicles in our area and possibly in other areas of Long Beach. And we're extremely happy to have read the press telegram. So you felt it was an important enough issue to discuss? The existing Long Beach code that we have seen on Stearns Avenue, which is a major contributing street that comes off of Studebaker Road and on other streets that like I think at Poitiers, they have a sign on this that has a municipal code ten, dash 22, dash oh 70, and it says that any vehicle 85 inches high, 80 inches wide and 20 feet long, that exists on other Long Beach residential 30 foot streets such as patios. Okay. So. The odd thing about it, when we as neighbors asked the owner of the boat why he stores this vehicle on the street, he has said he has a special permit. Well, I don't know what a special permit would be for a vehicle. You know, that is that wide, that high and that long. Thank you, sir. Time is up on the clock. Thank you very much. No, thank you very much. Next speaker, please. No shorter than he is. Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the council. And I would like to start off with thanking Suzy Pryce and Darrell, Sabrina and Stacy Mungo for bringing this issue forward to this council. This has been an ongoing issue, and Stacy has worked with our district for quite some time now. My name is Sherrie Perkins, and my husband and I have lived at 5255 East Wardlow Road. Well, probably for some of you were born, but we've been paying taxes for 47 years. When we first bought the home, it was a fixer upper. And we have worked very hard to make this a beautiful home. And I don't want to cry. I'm not trying not to. But it's very upsetting when you have these homeless people. And I agree with Senator, Counselor, Mr. Richardson that they have a problem, too. Okay. And this should be addressed as well. So when you bring your manager here and try to get some information, I would also recommend that you look at Huntington Beach as planned. They have an outstanding plan that they have put into place and it's working just fine. I would also recommend that you look at Los Angeles plan for the homeless that have been displaced because of their codes and try to work this thing, this whole issue as a whole package. But my special interest is Wardlow. Down the street where I live, there is a golf course, skylands golf course. And on both sides of the street there were at least 25 RVs, vans, trailers and different vehicles that have been making this their permanent home. They bring out their look. I want to paint a picture in your mind because it's hard to visualize this. You have. People living inside these homes with the curtains drawn and beware of the dog signs on the side. They have their barbecues set up, their lawn chairs set up in the evenings. They cook their meals, they watch TV inside in their comfort, and meanwhile, enjoying this beautiful golf course that we have. The rest of the neighbors are very fed up with this type of behavior. And recently I've made a study with some of the neighbors to see how they feel about it. And we seem to all be in agreement that something has got to be done about this. This has been going on since 2008. Before most of you people were involved with this at all. And as I said, we're pretty fed up about the whole thing. This is a safety issue. I'm very concerned about the golfers that try to cross the street there with all these trailers and RV park. People can't see them as they're trying to cross. There's two pedestrians in. Their type times. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Can I ask a question? Time is up. But what I will do is we will have some come over here to the side and we get your question answered. Okay. Okay. Thank you very. Much. Thank you very much. Mr. West, can we have someone go talk to this lady? Thanks, Miss Amy Borek will do that. Okay, sir, please come forward. Hi. How you doing? I'm Brett Lewis. I'm a fifth District resident, but I'm also glad to hear that this topic's being raised and kind of addressed. I'm kind of looking at it as like a two piece, maybe people with truly recreational vehicle that just aren't paying to have it stored. But there is a large amount I see of people on the verge of homelessness living in these RV's and just being able to look at it that way and addressing the situation. I can speak from having our business on the outer traffic circle. We deal with a lot of water thefts. If you kind of go when all the everyone's closed down or you come in when you're not really supposed to be working, there's a line, well, pots, pans, whatever, being filled with water. I mean, coming from Oregon, I feel for the people there. It's like something where we're contacting the police department about and stuff too. But I imagine if it's happening with us, probably where they're congregated, other places, there's probably a large amount of water theft to that business owner that they can see on their bills, too. So I think it'll be somewhat of a complicated issue in a way of the different circumstances, why the vehicles are there. But I just want to thank everyone for taking it under consideration, looking into it more. Thank you very much. Seeing no other public comment, take this back to the council. Councilman Mongo. I want to thank the residents who came out today and spoke. And I particularly want to thank Cheri because as a neighborhood leader who's involved in so many things in our community, I think that you've done an excellent job of prioritizing. Within your neighborhood association, I remember when we met. Your community had several issues that we needed to address. And one by one, through a community who is engaged together, we have come up with collaborative solutions. And I know that we can find that for this as well. And we want to make sure, as Councilmember Richardson and Councilmember Austin mentioned, that we're not just finding a solution that moves the issue. And I know that you and I have talked a lot about that because the issue started on Lakewood Boulevard and then it moved to Wardlow and then it moved to Studebaker. And as these vehicles move across the city, we're not finding a city wide solution. And so I think we've come to that time where where we're going to be able to get there. So thank you for your patience and your diligence in maintaining a community that's engaged on our issues. Thank you. Thank you. With that, we have a motion in a second. Please cast your votes. Motion carries. Thank you. We're going to do the two hearings and then go on to the regular agenda. I know it's been a long meeting. So what have you hearing? Number 2/1, then hearing number one. Then we have public comment and the agenda.