Los Angeles may start cracking down on the impromptu, do-it-yourself used car lots that have sprung up along some streets, raising the ire of nearby residents who find them a more common sight in these tough economic times.
A City Council committee created a task force Wednesday to consider ways to restrict vehicle owners from selling their cars the cheap and easy way, by slapping "For Sale" signs in the windows and parking them on major thoroughfares and neighborhood streets.
Councilman Tom LaBonge proposed the action, saying some residential streets have turned into de facto car lots, creating traffic and parking problems as well as visual blight.
"If people want to buy a used car, they should 'Go see Cal' -- not go to Los Feliz Boulevard," he said.
Los Angeles tried several years ago to ban the parking of cars with "For Sale" signs on city streets, but a federal judge tossed out the ordinance, ruling that it violated car owners' 1st Amendment right to free speech.
The council's Public Works Committee on Wednesday instructed city lawyers, with the assistance of the Los Angeles Police Department and the city's transportation and street services agencies, to determine if there is a legal way to regulate those vehicles.
Council members said they've received complaints about for-sale cars from residents and business owners in Harbor City, Venice and South Los Angeles and throughout the San Fernando Valley.
LAPD Officer Craig Orange told the committee that Los Feliz, Eagle Rock and Hollywood have become hot spots for people selling their cars, creating bottlenecks and taking away valuable parking spaces from people living in nearby apartments and condominiums.
A number of people who were selling their cars Wednesday along 51st Street and Avalon Boulevard argued that the city would be eliminating one of the convenient and inexpensive ways for working people to sell and buy what amounts to a necessity in mass transit-poor Southern California.
"We're in a recession!" said Freddie Martinez, who was trying to sell a light-silver 1995 Isuzu Rodeo. "The little [that] people have saved, they've used up already, and for some this is now their only option."
Martinez, 50, said he's selling the vehicle because he needs money to pay his rent and bills. A part-time truck driver, he said that his hours had been reduced and that he needs extra income.
