Rowdyism by Night Prompts Crackdown on Mulholland

Noisy all-night parties, illegal campfires and vandalism at three Mulholland Drive overlooks have prompted officials to crack down by towing and ticketing cars parked there after closing.

“It used to be you’d come up here to lover’s lane with your girl and a beer and the biggest problem would be a bottle on the ground. But now we’ve got gang graffiti and other hazards,” said Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Conservancy, a state agency that acquires land in the Santa Monica Mountains for parks and open space.

Since the conservancy expanded what had been informal turnouts and opened them in 1984 with parking, information displays and a rest area, the three overlooks have gradually turned into late-night rallying spots for rowdy youths, Edmiston said.

The viewpoints overlook Fryman Canyon, Universal City and Hollywood Bowl. The one over Hollywood Bowl can attract up to 30 cars on weekend nights. Homeowners along Mulholland Drive complain that the noise keeps them up and the raucous behavior frightens them.

“It’s an all-night brawl down there,” said Ralph Kelly, whose home is above the Hollywood Bowl site. “They park all over the street. They build fires to roast their hot dogs. They drink. They play their music so loud you can’t sleep, even if your windows are closed.”

With Los Angeles Police Department forces stretched too thin to respond quickly to nuisance calls, Edmiston said, the conservancy hired state police at $30-an-hour to patrol the sites, issue parking tickets and enforce the posted regulations. Violations of those rules, such as remaining in the area after dusk, are misdemeanors.

Four privately owned tow trucks have been engaged to make the rounds of the sites every half-hour, Edmiston said.

Patrols began Friday night and will continue for the next three weekends. After that, conservancy officials said, patrols will be conducted frequently but will not be announced.

‘Effective Deterrent’

“We thought going after parking violations would be the most effective deterrent,” Edmiston said. “If a person gets his car towed, it’s a mile-and-a-half walk to the nearest phone booth.”

Tickets and towings will concentrate on vehicles left unattended for more than a few minutes.

Jerry Daniel, a member of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Advisory Committee, said committee members are aware of the problems created for neighbors.

“But the answer is not to bulldoze the overlooks and say we made a terrible mistake by building them,” he said.

He added: “Mulholland Drive is no less a public street than Wilshire Boulevard. We believe the answer is education and enforcement.”