The Venice residents who've been fighting for years to keep cars and RVs off their streets overnight have finally abandoned their classist crusade, dropping a suit to restrict overnight parking in areas near the beach. The Venice Stakeholders Association (which has come out explicitly against the presence of homeless people) and the city of Los Angeles filed that suit after the California Coastal Commission denied LA's application for overnight parking districts on the grounds "that it would impede public access to Venice Beach," according to the LA Times. The city dropped out of the suit last year after the CCC denied an overnight parking district yet again (for the third time!). Opponents pointed out that both residents and visitors—including transients and homeless people—have a right to be in the neighborhood, and that even many residents disliked the idea of paying for parking permits to park near their homes. The city, however, has already cracked down on campers and RVs that park overnight, which the president of the VSA admits has "been 85% effective." Perhaps the group has also noticed that Venice is doing just fine pushing out the non-wealthy on its own.
· Venice group drops bid to limit overnight parking [LAT]
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