LA residents sue city over Hollywood sign crowds: "Reached its peak"

A radical of residents who unrecorded adjacent the world-famous Hollywood Sign, which attracts millions of visitors from astir the satellite each year, person filed nationalist nuisance lawsuits against the metropolis of Los Angeles, asking officials to bash more.

The lawsuits aren't looking for money.  Instead, they question a tribunal bid that would unit the metropolis to support the country truthful it's "free of obstructions, wellness hazards, occurrence risks and different nationalist nuisances."

On Sept. 27, radical watched successful fearfulness arsenic a combat broke retired betwixt a radical of e-bike riders and the operator of a car underneath the Hollywood sign. The brawl was captured connected cellphone video and shared among neighbors.

Cindy Cobb, who has lived successful the vicinity for 8 years, says "there's decidedly a vexation level… that's benignant of reached its peak."

In a connection to CBS California Investigates, Mayor Karen Bass' Office said they person not seen the suit but "LAPD has dedicated further units during highest periods of congestion" for postulation and parking enforcement.

"LAPD besides deploys further postulation officers during highest times, successful summation to ongoing regularisation of circuit buses and more. LAPD has collaborated with LADOT to instrumentality a postulation program for the area," Bass' bureau wrote successful a statement. "The Mayor's bureau volition proceed moving to code this contented with our nationalist information partners." 

LA Councilmember Nithya Raman's Office, who represents the area, said successful a connection that residents should not person to "absorb the gridlock and information risks that travel with that connected constrictive hillside streets," and that her bureau has been moving to code the contented since she took office. Her unit said they person funded further beingness from LAPD and the LA Department of Transportation.

Since May, deployments during the weekends person led to accrued ticketing and towing successful the area. Raman's Office said they utilized her discretionary funds and that this "is the largest investment" they person made to date.

"Building connected those deployments, we person besides identified backing for a aviator Hollywood Sign Traffic Management Plan that volition trial a caller attack to staffing and postulation power connected highest visitant days and holidays, on with a survey of longer-term solutions for entree and congestion successful the area," Raman's bureau wrote successful a statement. "We're moving guardant with that enactment now, truthful a program is successful spot up of the 2028 Olympics."

It's not conscionable neighbors but metropolis leaders who accidental societal media and mapping apps person been drafting ample crowds to the iconic landmark. According to the lawsuit, they origin postulation jams that could marque evacuating successful a occurrence difficult, if not impossible. In addition, discarded cigaret butts are casual to find adjacent though smoking is prohibited successful the area. 

The radical of neighbors who person filed the suit accidental they decided to writer aft years of complaints to the metropolis had small impact. They person joined forces with lawyer Ilan Wurman, who's filed nationalist nuisance lawsuits against cities similar Phoenix. His steadfast won a judgement to wide retired an encampment successful 2022, and helium believes the aforesaid ineligible statement applies to the Hollywood Hills.

"Cities person an work to support their lands, their nationalist rights of way, their streets and sidewalks, their parks escaped of nuisances and nuisance-creating injuries the aforesaid mode that a backstage landowner is obligated," Wurman said.

In mid-May, the metropolis enactment successful caller signs to restrict parking connected the weekends and holidays. But Cobb says, "Attempts by the metropolis and the assembly territory person not truly done thing to mitigate the concern due to the fact that it's conscionable excessively galore radical successful excessively tiny of a space."

Earlier this year, CBS California Investigates captured a Los Angeles Fire Department engine, weaving done congestion to get to a adjacent fire. Max Martens has documented a akin incidental erstwhile a occurrence motor was stuck connected the constrictive roadworthy successful beforehand of his location filled with cars.

He besides captured tempers flaring during a standoff betwixt radical successful a car and others successful a achromatic pickup that was going downhill connected the incorrect side.

"I person witnessed police, ambulance, occurrence vehicles get caught successful postulation snarls and beryllium delayed… if determination had been an urgent exigency oregon evacuation, we would each beryllium successful trouble," Martens said.

Data collected by the city's postulation cameras amusement the occupation is getting worse. 

During a 13-day play successful July 2025, 42,000 vehicles traveled done the neighborhood.  This summer, the fig changeable up to much than 48,200 vehicles, which is simply a 15% leap during the aforesaid period.

Neighbors besides person concerns implicit nationalist wellness arsenic the crowds gully nutrient vendors who are often unlicensed and permission down integrative gloves, sanitary wipes and utilized toilet paper.

In May, CBS California Investigates spoke with Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is presently moving for LA mayor, astir residents' concerns.

"I think, reasoning astir installing bathrooms successful these areas is simply a bully thing. One that is successful progressive discussion," Raman said.

She said a consulting steadfast had been brought successful to code assemblage complaints implicit postulation and nationalist safety. She added that ticketing and towing would increase.

Mayor Karen Bass, who is moving for re-election, said she supported the idea.

"I deliberation that we request to measurement up enforcement and I'm going to marque definite that happens," Bass said successful May 2026.

But neighbors accidental the crowds are inactive coming, which is wherefore they're taking the metropolis to court. 

 "If our pleas to the metropolis for assistance are unheeded, past if the care, it's fundamentally the attraction it's not working, we request to utilize the stick," Martens said.