Basketball Hoops, Parking Boats, Murals, Signs and the Law

Community activist Lisa Sarkin is answering questions about the history, government and problems in our area in this You Ask..Studio City Patch Answers column. She often knows who to call, and where to go to get things done. Send your questions to editor  or leave it in the Comments section below. Thanks!

Of Hoops and Boats and Covered Cars

Dear Lisa:

Are there rules about parking boats on the street?  Are mobile basketball hoops allowed to be kept in the street? Are covered cars allowed to be parked on the street?—Sincerely, K.L.

Dear K.L - Basketball hoops are never allowed to be "parked" on a city street. Boats and other objects on wheels may be parked on a city street for no more than 72 hours. If it is moved before the end of the 72 hours, even a foot, it is legally parked.

When is a Sign a Mural—or Not?

Is this ordinance being enforced equally in all communities against all murals? I don't think it is.

There is a wall mural on a building on the northwest corner of Vanowen Street and Sepulveda Boulevard. The subject of the mural is a fulgent (aka STACKED) Latina lady wearing a purple bikini and nothing else except a purple sombrero and purple cowboy boots.

Obviously, this mural is an attempt to gain attention through the use of sexual innuendo. Get the mural police to Vanowen Street and Sepulveda Boulevard and enforce the law! This mural is salacious influence on the children of Van Nuys.

—Bill George

Dear Bill,

No, the sign ordinance is not enforced unequally.  Different parts of the city fall under different codes. The 2002 City of Los Angeles Sign Ordinance prohibits murals on private property. The ordinance was recently upheld by court action.

Specifically, the Ventura/Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan prohibits murals because it does not allow them.  (And this particular sign is not in Studio City, nor is covered by that Specific Plan.)

What this means is that SPs (Specific Plans) are usually more restrictive than city ordinances, so the SP would have to specifically allow murals. If the SP is silent on a subject, which theVentura/Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan is, the Los Angeles Municipal Code is the rule of law.

Senior Housing Project Update? 

Lisa, what is happening with the proposed senior housing project atoff of Whitsett? I read a little about it  a few months back and I am curious to know whatever came of it.—Thanks, Kelly C.

Dear Kelly – Many, many mitigations and approvals have to go through the City Planning Department and the City Council before this proposed project could be started.  The property is now zoned agricultural which would have to be changed to residential.  The community has shown over the years to oppose this change.  

The has proposed the Los Angeles River Open Space as an alternative [www.studiocityresidents.org] retaining the open space without a residential component.

Thanks for the Questions,

—Lisa