Updated: Final Vote on 'For Sale' Parking Ordinance Delayed

The County Board of Supervisors delayed a final vote on a parking ordinance Tuesday that targets cars left out with "for sale" signs on certain streets in unincorporated Los Angeles County.

The preliminary version of the ordinance was passed unanimously last week, but Supervisor Don Knabe asked to have the final vote delayed for three weeks.

The ordinance is specifically geared towards car owners who "park vehicles for the purpose of advertising or displaying such vehicles for sale" on public streets, and would apply only to certain streets in county unincorporated areas

Cheryl Burnett, a spokeswoman for Knabe, said the supervisor asked for it to be delayed to take a more in-depth look at whether the list of streets needs to be expanded and also to look at how the ordinance will be enforced.

She said the language in the ordinance should be clear that the ordinance is meant to target car dealers using public space to sell their cars, not private residents who chose to do so.

In Altadena's case, the current list of streets where the ban would be enforced is:

• Allen Avenue
• Altadena Drive
• Lake Avenue
• Washington Avenue, between Bellford and Altadena Drive
• Woodbury Road
• Windsor Avenue

Based on the new ordinance language, parking officers would be able to impound any cars on those streets that a) appeared to be there primarily for the purpose of advertising or being sold or b) had previously received a warning within the last 30 days that the car could be impounded.

According to the county staff report, unincorporated areas have seen a "proliferation" of cars parked with for sale signs on them, and that has resulted in "negative impacts" for residents and businesses.

The report also states that previous county ordinances banned parked cars with "for sale" signs everywhere on county land, but the county counsel had told parking officers not to enforce the ordinance because of other lawsuits in California cities that suggested that such a ban might not be legal.

A more limited ban that restricts parking on certain streets is more likely to be legally defensible, according to the report.

The Altadena Town Council is the proposed ordinance at Tuesday night's meeting.