Los Angeles Council approves temporary Metro lease for RV storage lot in Van Nuys
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Summary
The City Council on Oct. 31 approved a temporary lease with Metro to use an industrial lot in Council District 6 as a short-term RV storage site. Councilmember Imelda Padilla said the site will store empty RVs only, not serve as interim housing, and include 24/7 security, cameras and decorative fencing; the measure passed 11-0.
The Los Angeles City Council on Oct. 31 approved a lease agreement with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to use a lot in the San Fernando Valley as a temporary RV storage site, Councilmember Imelda Padilla said.
Padilla told the council the authorization is for a temporary, up-to-two-year contract to provide a secure location to store unoccupied recreational vehicles that have been abandoned on city streets. "This is not going to be open to the public, only authorized personnel, and it will not serve as an interim housing location, strictly short term storage," Padilla said. She said the site will limit stays of any single RV to about one to two months before disposition.
The council adopted the measure with an 11-0 vote after Padilla emphasized the proposal as a tool to expedite removal and disposition of abandoned vehicles that block parking and create neighborhood safety and sanitation concerns. Padilla said the site will include 24/7 on-site security, video cameras, a dedicated manager and decorative fencing that incorporates art to reduce visual impacts.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez supported the item and noted recent state-level changes intended to speed disposition of vehicles, saying the lot should help reduce street congestion while allowing agencies to transfer and dispose of vacant RVs more quickly. Several speakers during public comment, including neighborhood business owners and a youth-sports commissioner, told the council they supported the authorization as a way to free up parking near schools, parks and businesses.
The motion does not create housing or services on-site and includes operational limits described during the council discussion. The council clerk recorded the vote as 11 ayes and the motion passed.
Implementation details such as the lease’s precise start date, the Metro lot’s exact address and the contract’s financial terms were not specified in council remarks at the meeting.