Those big steel cargo containers are handy things to have around. Here in the Great Land, they are ubiquitous, as so many of these big steel boxes come up here loaded with freight, with nothing to ship back - so they stack up in the port, and every so often they sell a bunch off. Most rural Alaskan homes seem to have one or two sitting around, usually used for storage. We have one attached to my workshop.
In California, the victims of the Pacific Palisades fire are using cargo containers to secure their belongings while their homes are being rebuilt. It's a good idea - but the city is warning them to move the containers out or have them towed.
Pacific Palisades residents, engrossed in hardship since many lost their homes to wildfires last year, could be headed for more challenges.
The city of Los Angeles has reportedly threatened to tow storage containers holding the personal belongings of local residents who are rebuilding and charge them for removing the critical containers if they don’t move them in 48 hours.
Residents told NBC Los Angeles that the storage containers are needed as families store their furniture or building materials inside. Others told the outlet that the containers are burdensome, and can block traffic, creating congestion in the area.
Useful or not, the city appears to be intolerant, adding insult to injury with regard to what these families have already gone through. It's unconscionable, but for once, Mayor Karen Bass doesn't seem to be behind this latest act of... Karening.
Mayor Karen Bass’ office refused the removal timeline, telling The California Post that there “have been no blanket 48-hour notices issued by the Bureau of Street Services regarding” storage containers being removed.
Bass’ office also told NBC Los Angeles that the order did not come from her office, and she ordered the Bureau of Street Services to stop any potential enforcement related to storage units in the Palisades until this issue is resolved.
Local politicians are asking Bass to resolve the storage container issue.
“I’ve personally alerted and discussed it with Mayor Bass, and we will get this resolved,” councilmember Traci Parks told NBC LA. “We absolutely can and must manage space and access at the same time we accommodate residents trying to rebuild.”
For once, someone is making some sense in Los Angeles - for now.
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There should probably be more done here than a cease-and-desist by whatever knucklehead bureaucrat thought that harassing Pacific Palisades families over their cargo containers was a good idea. Some kind of disciplinary action would appear to be in order, if for no other reason than that this public servant, paid by the taxpayers, showed some gobsmackingly callous disregard for the people who suffered the loss of so much in a fire that should have been prevented. The cargo container idea is a sterling one. These things are heavy, secure, and if locked up with a thick chain and a heavy-duty lock, they aren't easy for a casual thief to get into.
Los Angeles and California's response to the Pacific Palisades fire has been a comedy of errors. At least for now, though, the city seems to be taking the correct tack.
It didn't take long for internet wags to weigh in on the matter:
Social media commenters criticized Bass for the order, saying the containers wouldn’t be moved if they were disguised as RVs or homeless encampments.
“Wrap the pod to look like an RV and the city will be ok with it. Even better call it a “Hospis” (sic) and collect millions from the State and city,” one said.
“Throw a tent on top of it and say it’s a homeless encampment. They will NOT bother you… lol,” another commenter added.
Well, they do have a point, especially where the homeless encampment is concerned.
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