The Hollywood United Neighborhood Council’s Public Safety and Transportation Committee on Monday discussed the possibility of identifying parking lots that homeless individuals could use to sleep in their cars.

Erik Sanjurjo, who chairs the committee, said the council is simply gauging interest, and that no particular locations have been identified. He said he isn’t sure the discussion will lead to anything, but felt it would raise awareness about the ongoing problem.

“At least in theory, it seems like it would makes sense,” Sanjurjo said, adding that there would only be a few places in Hollywood that would be suitable.

He said the council discussed the problem a few months ago, and then recently, an appeals court decision struck down the city’s law that prohibits sleeping in vehicles. Sanjurjo said he is hopeful that the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office will amend the law in a way that will be upheld in court.

“In the interim, [the decision] might make things worse,” he added.

Sanjurjo said people sleeping in cars and RVs has been an issue in Hollywood for years, and it appears to have become more of an issue. He said it is a nuisance because it takes up parking, and sometimes individuals dump trash from their car into the street.

“At the same time, it’s probably better than having people live on the sidewalk,” Sanjurjo said, adding that the council would like to accommodate those individuals so that they have somewhere safe to sleep without impacting residents.

He said he understands the sensitive nature of it, having served on a committee on homelessness for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division. The committee mulled the idea of designating space in the industrial part of Hollywood, and it got a “lot of pushback” from police officers and residents, Sanjurjo said.

“We’ll see what the thoughts are,” he said, adding that the council is open to suggestions.

Sanjurjo said attempts have been made on a small scale to accommodate people sleeping in their cars. Occasionally, organizations would allow a person to sleep in their car on the organization’s property in exchange for the individual serving as the “eyes and ears” of the site, he said.

“We haven’t done anything on a larger scale that has involved some planning and forethought,” Sanjurjo added.

He said former Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl did a lot of work on the issue in Venice. Sanjurjo said people sleep in their cars all over L.A., but it is of particular concern in Hollywood.

“I know the city has thought about this in the context of [the Venice] area, but Hollywood seems like another place that would make sense,” he said.

Sanjurjo said the city has passed a law that allows neighborhoods to petition council offices and the city’s Department of Transportation to restrict parking for RVs. He said the council supported it, as numerous people were parking RVs near Hollywood Boulevard and Bronson Avenue. Sanjurjo said Riverside Drive was another problem area.

The committee chair said city’s law that prohibited sleeping in cars was relatively unenforceable, as people knew to cover their windows so that officers could not tell if an individual was inside the vehicle.

“Other than put up other kinds of restrictions, there’s not much the city could do,” Sanjurjo added.

He said the council has received various complaints about people sleeping in their cars. Sanjurjo said employees will sometimes take naps during their breaks, or inebriated individuals will sleep in their cars as opposed to driving home.

“It’s not just homeless or actors changing their clothes. You get all sorts of complaints about people doing things in their cars,” he said, adding that he knows a woman who will sleep in her car in order to secure a parking space.

In order to rectify the issue, the council would need sufficient support and a collaborative effort from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, county supervisors, city officials, the department of transportation and the LAPD, as well as a private property owner who would be willing to offer the space, Sanjurjo said.

“If you don’t have all those layers involved, it’s not going to work,” he added.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District, said the effort is admirable, but finding a location outside of residential areas in Hollywood is almost impossible. He said the city has tried in the past.

“It always comes down to, ‘It’s a lovely thought, but we don’t want one by our neighborhood,’” O’Farrell said.

During his State of Hollywood address in January, the councilman said he alternated between sleeping in a hotel and his rental car when he first arrived in Hollywood. He said he would seek out a “safe-looking, quiet street.”

However, O’Farrell said he would rather work to find homeless individuals permanent housing with support services than designate an area for people to sleep in their cars.

“That’s not sustainable indefinitely, and it still puts them at risk and in danger long-term,” he said, adding that officials need to adopt a citywide policy to manage the issue.

Approximately 10 years ago, then-Councilman Eric Garcetti tried to address a motor home problem on Riverside Drive, and it was met with “overwhelming opposition,” O’Farrell said.

“It never really got off the ground,” he said, adding that RV campsites can be “quite lovely,” though they’re probably not suitable for Hollywood. “At the urban core, there just isn’t anything similar.”