ABANDONED CARS GET THE BOOT NEW LAW GOES INTO EFFECT AMID TWO-MONTH BACKLOG.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH and JASON KANDEL Staff Writers

Illegally parked cars that have cluttered city streets for two months while transportation officials worked to resolve a legal glitch can now be towed away after being parked 72 hours in the same spot.

The glitch -- which prevented the ticketing and towing of abandoned vehicles -- was finally fixed Monday, when 100 traffic officers were sent out in search of abandoned cars and RVs.

And they'll be busy. Residents have phoned in more than 9,000 complaints since May 2.

``A lot of the public knows today is the day. We got a lot of calls this morning from people asking, `Are you coming to my house today?''' Department of Transportation Capt. Christine Mata said Monday.

Mata expects that the city can erase the backlog within two weeks by dedicating extra officers to abandoned-vehicle duty.

Under the new city ordinance, it's against the law to park a car on the street in the same spot for more than 72 consecutive hours. After that time, the car is considered abandoned and can be towed.

The new rule comes after a federal judge threw out the city's old ordinance earlier this year in response to a San Fernando Valley security company's claim that the city illegally towed more than 100 of its trailers.

In 2003, Lone Star Security and its fiery owner, Bruce Boyer, battled the city over trailer advertisements placed on Valley thoroughfares that declared ``LAPD will no longer respond to your alarm! Lone Star Security will!''

At the time, the Los Angeles Police Commission was considering whether police officers should respond to unverified residential and commercial burglar alarms. Ultimately, the City Council decided to allow two false alarms at an address in a year before police stopped responding.

But city leaders were infuriated by the Lone Star signs, which they said misrepresented the burglar-alarm policy. Councilman Dennis Zine pushed the City Council and city attorney to take ``all necessary steps, including litigation,'' to remove the advertisements.

Boyer soon found more than 100 of his trailers seized by the city for overstaying the 72-hour limit and he sued the city for violating his company's constitutional rights.

After reviewing the case, a U.S. District Court judge decided that the city's abandoned-vehicle rules were inconsistent with state law and ordered the city to draft a new ordinance.

In response, the city stopped towing abandoned vehicles until it could tweak the ordinance, which was approved by the City Council on May 16 and took effect Monday.

Though Lone Star still seeks damages of up to $800 per towed trailer, city officials said they've resolved the ordinance issue and can begin towing again.

``There was a huge impact on our neighborhoods,'' said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who heads the City Council's Transportation Committee.

``When you have an abandoned car, it's dirty, sometimes it has broken windows. Suddenly you have a couch next to it, then there's trash next to it, then there are people hanging out next to it. You have to take care of the small things or they lead to bigger things.''

Department of Transportation officials hope to clear the backlog of abandoned-vehicle complaints in two weeks, and they've warned local tow yards to expect an influx of cars.

Traffic Officer Susan Artian spent Monday cruising the streets of Pacoima in her city-issued hybrid Honda Civic, armed with a stack of complaints called in by residents over the past two months.

Under the old law, officers would stick a green ticket on the windshield warning owners that their car was reported as abandoned and that if the car wasn't moved a mile within 72 hours it would be towed.

Under the new law, officers mark the tires and pavement with blue chalk and if the car isn't moved a few feet or across the street within 72 hours, it will be towed.

Owners of towed cars pay $177 for the impound fee and $30 for every day the car is stored at the yard.

On a residential street, Artian stopped in front of an RV parked next to a beat-up pickup truck.

``See all the cobwebs here? You know it's been here awhile,'' she said, bending to outline the tires in blue chalk.

As she was working, Frank Villa popped his head out the window of the RV and asked what she was doing. A renter, he said his landlord doesn't like having the trailer parked on the driveway.

``We have this vehicle because we go camping, and we move it from one side of the street to the other sometimes,'' Villa said. ``Now that we know, we'll have to tell the landlord and we may have to park it inside.''

To report an abandoned vehicle, call (800) ABANDON. If you think your car has been towed, call (866) TOW-AWAY.

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Traffic Officer Susan Artian chalks a tire Monday of an abandoned Chevy Eurosport.

(2) Traffic Officer Susan Artian chalks the tires of an abandoned Ford Aerostar. A new city law will allow officials to start clearing a backlog of 9,000 complaints of illegally parked vehicles.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer