LA County Board

6. Addressing Illegal Street Takeovers and Racing in Unincorporated Los\nAngeles County\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisor Mitchell: Instruct the Directors of\nPublic Health and Public Works, in coordination with the Chief Executive\nOfficer, the Director of Regional Planning, the Executive Director of the Office\nof Violence Prevention, County Counsel, the Sheriff, the California Highway\nPatrol, the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, the Public Defender, and the\nDistrict Attorney, to host a community street takeover symposium (Symposium)\nby February 28, 2024, in close partnership with community-based\norganizations, with the goal of the Symposium to build consensus on strategies\nto reduce the impact of street takeovers across Los Angeles County\nunincorporated communities; and take the following actions:\nInstruct the Chief Executive Officer, in coordination with the Directors of\nPublic Health, Public Works and Regional Planning, the Executive\nDirector of the Office of Violence Prevention, the Sheriff, the Public\nDefender, the District Attorney, the Sheriff Civilian Oversight\nCommission, and County Counsel, and in consultation with the California\nHighway Patrol and street safety and street racing prevention\ncommunity-based organizations, to report back to the Board in writing\nwithin 60 days, following the Symposium, with a comprehensive plan to\naddress street takeovers and racing in County unincorporated\ncommunities, including, without limitation:\nAnalysis of the incidents of street racing and takeovers in\nunincorporated County communities; County-led efforts, including\neducation, infrastructure investments, advocacy, and enforcement\npreviously employed to curb street takeovers and street racing by\nCounty Departments over the last 10 years; efforts in similar and\nneighboring jurisdictions, like the Cities of Compton, Oakland, and\nLos Angeles, to curb street racing and takeovers, including case\nstudies and analyses that have been conducted to measure the\neffectiveness of those efforts; and economic and behavioral\nincentives of street racing and takeover events, including how\nevents and vehicle enhancements are funded and promoted;\nRecommendations to address street racing, including:\nOpportunities to discourage participants from posting and\nprofiting from street racing and takeover events on social\nmedia, including working with social media partners to\nremove posts that include illegal activity from their platforms;\nImplementation of automated speed enforcement\ntechnology through legislative changes that expand State\nauthority following new pilot programs in California;\nRecommended State legislative changes needed to curb\nstreet racing and takeover events, including diversion\nstrategies that require driver’s education training that\ndiscourages street racing and takeovers;\nA toolkit of infrastructure improvements to curb street\ntakeovers, including how to prioritize infrastructure\ninvestments based on equitable need and street typologies\nwhere street racing and takeover events are most common,\nincluding whether land uses play a role in encouraging\nstreet takeovers; and\nThe feasibility of securing a permanent closed track for\nstreet performance activities, separate from public streets,\nin communities most impacted by street takeovers and\nracing; and\nFeedback from community-based organizations that are working\nto address street racing and takeover prevention, and feedback\nfrom auto clubs that participate in street takeovers, as well as\ncruising clubs, on a draft version of the plan;\nDirect County Counsel, the Directors of Public Works and Regional\nPlanning, and the Executive Director of the Office of Violence\nPrevention, in coordination with the Sheriff, the District Attorney, the\nCalifornia Highway Patrol, and the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission,\nto report back to the Board in writing within 60 days, after the\nSymposium, on methods of enhancing County Ordinance 2002-0017 §\n22002 (13.46.030), that are in alignment with the County’s Care First,\nJails Last vision, including the following:\nAn analysis of how the existing ordinance is currently applied and\nhow the ordinance, as written, helps communities to address the\nadverse health and safety outcomes caused by street racing and\ntakeover events;\nRecommendations on amendments to the existing ordinance,\ninclusive of a penalty structure that increases the existing fine for\nspectators of illegal motor vehicle speed contests or exhibition of\nspeed in the County, and opportunities for diversion to decrease\npipelines into the criminal justice system, including whether the\nCounty can issue penalties for spectators who post on social\nmedia; and\nRecommendations on amendments to the existing ordinance that\ninclude penalties to organizers of illegal motor vehicle speed\ncontests or exhibitions of speed in the County, include methods by\nwhich the County may issue cease and desist notices to\norganizers of illegal street racing and takeovers and social media\ncompanies allowing the content, and include a strategy on how the\nCounty may petition social media companies to remove content\nrelated to illegal street racing and takeovers in the County; and\nDirect the Chief Executive Officer to report back to the Board in writing in\n30 days, after the completion of both reports in the above directives on a\nmulti-year funding strategy, starting in Fiscal Year 2024-25, to address\nillegal street racing and takeover events, including recommendations on\nhow the funding generated by enforcement programs or other related\nfines and fees may be directed to street safety projects and\ninfrastructure upgrades that address the impact of illegal street racing\nand takeovers, and address the potential use of State and Federal grants\nand other funding for these purposes, as well as funding for both a full\nand phased-in implementation. (23-3202)\nAttachments: Motion by Supervisor Mitchell\nPublic Comment/Correspondence