City cracks down on illegally parked vehicles
The Santa Cruz Police Department has started cracking down on illegal parking on the west side of the city.
By Chris Hagel
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SANTA CRUZ, California (KSBW) — The Santa Cruz Police Department has started cracking down on illegal parking on the west side of the city.
Calling it “Operation Westside Story,” police and tow trucks were out in force in the area of Delaware/Swanton and Mission Street extension. This is near the Natural Bridges State Beach area.
SCPD towed and cited numerous vehicles in the area.
They were looking for expired tags over six months and vehicles that had unpaid tickets.
One 31-foot recreational vehicle had 68 unpaid parking citations and an expired registration.
Overall, four RVs were towed. Of the four, one had sewage leaking from it. The Public Works Department emptied the sewage tank on four motorhomes and suctioned up the sewage. There have been reports from residents in the area that vehicles emptied raw sewage into street gutters and used yards and gardens as bathrooms.
Seven cars were towed as well. Police and Public Works disposed of garbage and discarded car parts that were left around where the vehicles were towed from.
Eight citations were issued for various municipal and vehicle code violations.
Two arrests were made for possession of drug paraphernalia
Several RVs chose to leave the area during the operation.
The Santa Cruz police department says vehicles that stay in one place longer than 72 hours attract their attention.
If you live in Santa Cruz and want to report nuisance vehicles and parking violations, call the hotline at 831-420-5863. If you call, make sure to take note of the location, color, make and model and license plate number of the vehicle.
For those who park illegally, there is the AFC SafeSpsace program and the 211 United Way Homeless Safe Parking Programs
Both are parking programs for people living in their vehicles.
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