Would Li’l Abner Feel at Home in Lawndale?
In spite of warnings that it will turn Lawndale into the South Bay equivalent of Dog Patch, Li’l Abner’s hillbilly home town, the City Council has voted 3 to 2 to loosen city restrictions on front-yard parking, sending the ordinance to the Planning Commission for review.
“This ordinance is an attack on every single person’s property values in this city,†said Randy Brendia, who raised the specter of Dog Patch. Other residents, including Steve Mino, have lobbied for an ordinance that would let them widen their driveways to allow an extra parking space on the front lawn.
The city’s present ban on front-yard parking was adopted in 1984. Planners generally view the practice as an eyesore in residential neighborhoods, said Mark Winogrond, a former Lawndale planning director who now heads the West Hollywood Planning Department.
![Los Angeles, CA - May 19: Carlos Vargas, left, and Paulina Rubio, members of the harm reduction team from Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care Systems [HOPICS], a leading homeless services and housing agency, look for drug addicts to help and pass out supplies at a homeless RV encampment along 77th St. in South Los Angeles Friday, May 19, 2023. The team hands out syringes, fentanyl test strips, overdose reversal nose spray and medication to prevent overdoses, infection and disease transmission, including the HIV virus. Fenanyl is particularly insidious because it can be found in all other drugs, especially meth and heroin. The handouts are also meant to reduce infection through broken pipes, which can cut users mouths and open them to infection. . (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bc99ba0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3900x2608+0+34/resize/1024x685!/format/webp/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe9%2F77%2F4b8bd35d4881a3edec6b945b143b%2F1298639-me-soaring-fentanyl-deaths-24-1-ajs.jpg)
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