The motion that passed 3 December states:

Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) Section 56.11 states: “No person shall leave or permitto remain any merchandise, baggage or any article of personal property upon any parkway orsidewalk. Provided, that boxes, barrels and other receptacles for merchandise may be unpackedand their contents removed upon parkways or sidewalks.”

Recently, there has been a decided increase in individuals and businesses storing personalproperty on City sidewalks, often in large amounts and for extended periods of time. This hascaused pronounced visual blight and impeded access for pedestrians, especially for the disabled. The presence of this property has reached the point of causing public health and safety issues and interferes with the purpose of our sidewalks – safe and convenient passage for pedestrians. Recent court actions have significantly hampered the City’s ability to remove items from itssidewalks and parkways, exacerbating this problem considerably.

Sidewalks should remain unobstructed so that the City’s residents and visitors have a safe andpassable route of travel. The City has a strong interest in guarding against visual blight andpublic health and safety hazards which may occur when sidewalks are excessively anduncontrollably used to store personal property. It is imperative that the City of Los Angelesseek to amend this LAMC Section, mindful of recent court actions and requirements of public notice and interim storage, in order to enhance its efforts to keep its sidewalks clean, passableand appropriate for pedestrian travel.

I THEREFORE MOVE that the City Attorney be requested to draft an amendment to LAMC Section 56.11 to enhance the City’s ability to ensure sidewalks are available for their intendedpurpose and set forth a clearer, faster, and simpler process for removing unattended propertyfrom our sidewalks, including the provision of notice and interim storage.

See: http://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=14-1656