Driveway clunkers may be banned

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Planning commissioners will review changes to the

property maintenance code tonight that could make it illegal to park an

inoperative car in the driveway.

City planners are recommending that the commission approve amendments

to city laws that would prohibit owners of mechanically inoperative

vehicles from storing them anywhere but a a garage or other paved area

surrounded by a 6-foot-high wall or fence.

Sandi Benson, chief of code enforcement, said inoperative cars can be

an eyesore and are the basis of many complaints to her department. Cars

that have sat in a driveway for a long time, have flat tires, cobwebs or

are up on blocks contribute to blight in the community, she said.

“Put that with a shopping cart and some trash or debris, and you’ve

got blight,” Benson said.

An inoperative vehicle is defined as “mechanically incapable of being

driven” or prohibited from being operated on a public street for reasons

relating to expired license plates, registration or equipment, according

to a staff report.

Before July 2000, an inoperative vehicle could be stored in a driveway

leading up to a garage as long as it was covered or in the yard area if

surrounded by a 6-foot-high wall or fence, a staff report shows.

At the March 4 meeting, City Council members discussed various

miscellaneous changes to property maintenance codes and asked planning

staffers to review the issue of inoperative cars storage.

If the changes are approved, inoperative cars in backyards would be

outlawed, although Benson said code enforcement officers would have no

way of knowing of such violations because the cars would not be visible

from the street. Enforcement would be complaint driven, she said.

“We would have to hear about it from a neighbor,” Benson said. “Once

it’s visible to other people, it is considered in the public view, and we

can enforce it.”

FYI

WHAT: Costa Mesa Planning Commission Meeting

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. today

WHERE: Council Chambers, City Hall, 77 Fair Drive

INFORMATION: (714) 754-5245

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .