A group of residents living in the hills below the Hollywood sign has filed a public-nuisance lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, accusing officials of failing to control crowds that they say have turned their neighborhood streets into a tourist free-for-all. The residents say they've asked officials for years to do more about the congestion, litter and trespassing that come with living near one of the city's most photographed landmarks.
The lawsuit, reported Monday by CBS News, arrives as traffic data shows just how much worse the crowding has gotten. Cameras in the area recorded 14,300 vehicles during a 14-day stretch in February 2024, a number that climbed to 25,000 during the same period in 2025 and then to 32,300 in 2026 — a 124% increase over two years, according to a separate CBS News report on the public safety concerns driving the complaints.
Yards, Streets and Bushes Bearing the Brunt
Residents describe a neighborhood under constant siege from visitors looking for the perfect sign selfie. The station's report quotes neighbors saying they are overrun with tourists crowding their yards, choking their streets and relieving themselves in the bushes. Litter and cigarette butts left behind despite posted fire-danger warnings have become a recurring complaint from people who live along the narrow roads leading up to the sign.
The fire risk isn't theoretical. During the Sunset Fire on January 9, 2025, an evacuation order was issued for the area, but residents said tourists kept coming to the Hollywood sign anyway, per the same account. One resident told the outlet she personally collected more than 500 cigarette butts and a lighter near the sign that same day — a detail that underscores why neighbors say the crowding isn't just an annoyance but a public safety hazard in a notoriously fire-prone canyon.
Emergency Access Blocked by Parked Cars
The congestion has also interfered with emergency response. CBS News California Investigates documented a fire truck having to navigate around double-parked cars to reach a canyon fire during an April site visit, an incident recounted by Outdoor SoCal, illustrating the kind of access problems residents have been warning about. The Los Angeles Fire Department has said the city has used red-flag parking restrictions during strong wind events since 2006, including towing vehicles, as one existing tool to keep roads clear during high-risk conditions.
City officials have taken some steps short of a broader crackdown. In mid-May, the city installed new signs restricting parking near the Hollywood sign on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, according to the CBS News report on residents' safety concerns. Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman said a consulting firm is developing a traffic-management plan that could include a hard closure at Canyon Lake Drive along with soft closures at other entry and exit points, though the proposal's adoption and timeline remain undetermined.
Mayor Pledges More Enforcement
Mayor Karen Bass has acknowledged the problem directly, saying Los Angeles needs to step up its response. “I think that we need to step up enforcement and I'm going to make sure that that happens,” Bass said, according to the station's report. It's unclear what specific enforcement changes residents can expect or when they might arrive.
Under California law, the legal bar for a public nuisance claim includes anything injurious to health, indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property that interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, per California Civil Code Section 3479. A related statute, California Code of Civil Procedure Section 731, allows someone whose property or personal enjoyment is injuriously affected to sue to enjoin or abate a nuisance and potentially recover damages. Those statutes describe the legal framework available to plaintiffs, but they do not determine whether the Hollywood sign crowding actually meets that standard or whether the residents will win their case.
The sign's draw isn't new — it's been described by the city's Council District 4 office as consistently one of Los Angeles's top three most visited tourist destinations, and the surrounding stretch of Griffith Park has long been known for heavy congestion on weekends, holidays and during the summer, according to the city's parks department. A 2018 access and mobility study for the area had already floated 29 strategies to address emergency access, parking, congestion and visitor management, per a report from the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council, showing the issue has been on officials' radar for years before reaching a courtroom.
