LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday temporarily approved an ordinance that prohibits people from assembling or disassembling bicycles in public.
A resolution to draft the ordinance was introduced by Councilor Joe Buscaino and passed 10–4 to the city council on 8 February, with council members Marquis Harris-Dawson, Nithya Raman, Curran Price and Mike Bonin. was opposed. Harris-Dawson said at the time that the potential law could have arrested him as a child.
The ordinance was provisionally approved Tuesday by an 11-3 vote, with Raman, Bonin and Price again opposing it, but Harris-Dawson voting yes. Information about Harris-Dawson’s vote change was not immediately available.
The ordinance required consensus to be passed on Tuesday, but will be considered again next week, when it needs the support of a simple majority.
The draft ordinance comes after the ordinance already in effect in Long Beach to prohibit the assembly, disassembly, sale, offer of sale, distribution of bicycles and bicycle parts on public property or within a public authority.
Buscaino said it would prevent “bicycle chop shops,” in which people take apart stolen bikes and sell parts on sidewalks.
Raman, speaking about the opposition to the ordinance in February, said the actions used to justify the ordinance — cycle theft and blocking of footpaths — are already illegal.
The proposal was also opposed by the Los Feliz, Atwater Village, North Westwood and Palms neighborhood councils.
Echoing Raman’s concerns, Palms Neighborhood Council said, “The legal tools are already in place here. Instead, the proposal would make illegal, in most circumstances, the on-road sale and repair of all bicycles and cast suspicion and suspicion on street vendors of non-stolen bicycles, who often serve poor riders.
“Obtaining and servicing low-cost bicycles is critical for many low-income commuters and commuters of color. Many deliveries and messengers who rely on low-cost bicycle service will risk their livelihoods,” said the neighborhood council. The statement continued.
The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council, in its community impact statement, told council members that it opposes the language of the ordinance, saying it would “criminalize the mundane activities of cyclists and encourage harassment and oppression of already vulnerable populations.” Will take the risk of increasing: non-domestic and black and brown cyclists.”
However, Buscaino said the ordinance would give the Los Angeles Police Department an “essential tool” to reduce the number of bicycle thefts in Los Angeles. Under the proposed Ordinance, “Chop Shop” is defined as:
– three or more cycles
– A bicycle frame cut with gear cables or brake cables
– Two or more bicycles with missing parts
— Five or more bicycle parts
Buscano said his district, which borders Long Beach, “has seen a proliferation of bicycle chop shops.”
Souther Robertson, Northwest San Pedro and Sunland-Tuzanga neighborhood councils issued community impact statements in support of the ordinance.
