LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Supervisors Impose Limit of 2 Garage Sales a Year

Garage sales, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday, are no bargain.

Saying residents pay a high price in increased traffic and noise when their neighbors hold frequent yard sales, the board approved an ordinance that will limit households in unincorporated areas to two garage sales a year.

Supervisor Gloria Molina, author of the ordinance, said the law is necessary because many residents have complained that neighbors are turning their front yards into swap meets.

“We’re trying to go after the people that have sales every weekend,” said Molina, whose district includes East Los Angeles and Azusa, the sources of many complaints.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich complained that the law would hit residents with “the force of a sledgehammer” and proposed less stringent limits. But Antonovich’s proposal--that residents be limited to six garage sales annually--failed to gain support from any of the four other board members.

Under the county ordinance, first- and second-time offenses will be punishable by a fine similar to a parking ticket. Frequent offenses would be considered misdemeanors punishable by up to a $1,000 fine.

The law is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 7. It will apply only to the 970,000 residents of unincorporated areas, or about 9% of the county’s population. Churches, synagogues and other nonprofit groups are exempt.