Bad Economy = Many Living in RV's in Venice Beach

KNX10.70 News Radio

[courtesy of latimes.com]

"Tough economic times have spilled onto the streets of Venice, which has become a favorite place to park for scores of otherwise homeless people living in cars and campers. The practice has ignited a mini-uprising among residents living in the pricey coastal community."

"The number of cars and recreational vehicles has swelled so much over the last year that Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the city's coastal areas, has proposed creating special zones away from neighborhoods where people can sleep in their vehicles."

"Let's stop kidding ourselves," Rosendahl said. "People are living in their cars. . . . So let's deal with the reality. In this economic downturn, it's even increasing."

"Up to 200 people are living in campers or cars in the Venice area, which has many residential areas where overnight parking is not restricted, the councilman said. As part of his proposal, which is expected to be heard by a council committee within the next few weeks, neighborhoods in Venice would have the option of restricting overnight parking to residents who live in apartments and houses."

"She said such a move would be a hardship because her two teenage children attend school in the area; her daughter also works at a nearby restaurant. For the last three years, she and her children have lived in their car, a van and now the RV, which she said she bought for $850 when it was in fine working order. Since then, she said, people that she suspects are Venice residents have sliced her tires, put gravel in her gasoline tank, stolen her son's clothes and dented the RV's door with clubs."

"That became an issue in Ontario in 2007, when the city set up a secure "tent city" near the airport for the homeless, complete with bathroom and shower facilities.

When hundreds of people from outside the San Bernardino County city descended on the site, Ontario officials decided to limit it to people who could produce documents showing that they had lived in the city."

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