The city of Los Angeles will soon begin removing certain abandoned recreational vehicles (RVs) off the streets as a new state law is set to take effect next year, making it easy for city officials to dispose of the cars.
The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved a plan to implement Assembly Bill (AB) 630 or the Abandoned Recreational Vehicles Act, which allows police officers or city employees to get rid of abandoned or inoperable RVs that are estimated to be $4,000 or less in value.
Previously, local officials were only allowed to remove RVs whose estimated value is $500 or less.
AB 630, which only applies to LA and Alameda counties, passed the state legislature and was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Oct. 13.
In a 14-1 vote, the city council approved the proposal as it will also get updates on how the RV removal law is being implemented across the city. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, whose district includes Silver Lake and Echo Park, cast the sole “no” vote.
The Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles Police Department will be providing a report in a month to explain how they plan to implement AB 630, including “operational procedures for identifying, valuing and processing abandoned recreational vehicles.”
Under the new law, officials will have to notify 71 hours in advance before the RV is removed. The vehicle owner has 30 days to get the towed RV back and recover items from the car.
If the RV is unclaimed after 30 days, the local government can start the process of dismantling the car.
Critics, including Councilmember Soto-Martinez, have said the new law will take away the only form of shelter some Californians can afford, increasing the risk of displacing them without providing concrete housing solutions.
Supporters of the law, however, have said abandoned RVs often pose public safety, health and environmental hazards.
SB 630 was introduced by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez (D-Los Angeles) in partnership with LA Mayor Karen Bass. With AB 630, Gonzalez aimed to expedite removal and responsible disposal of impounded RVs.
The city’s motion was introduced by Councilmembers Traci Park, John Lee and Heather Hutt.
“By keeping vehicles off the auction block and creating a streamlined process for their journey to the scrapyard, AB 630 is one more tool to stop the RV-to-streets pipeline,” according to the motion introduced by Park, Lee
and Hutt. “It also complements existing city efforts to crack down on ‘van- lords,’ who can use this existing loophole in state law to acquire RVs at auction.”