That $63 Parking Ticket? We Warned You It Was Coming

West Hollywood drivers can be ticketed $63 for parking too close to a crosswalk, and the City’s known about it a lot longer than some of the people getting the tickets.

Back in December 2024, we told you West Hollywood was sending out a notice warning residents this was coming. The rule is called daylighting. It bans parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk. That 20 feet applies whether the crosswalk has painted lines or not. Under California law, every intersection is legally considered to have a crosswalk connecting the corners, painted or not, unless there’s a sign specifically saying pedestrians can’t cross there. So the rule isn’t just about the crosswalks people can see. It covers basically every corner in the city. Some corners have what’s called a curb extension, or a bulb-out, where the sidewalk juts out into the parking lane to shorten the distance pedestrians have to cross. Near one of those, the no-parking distance drops from 20 feet to 15 feet.

This is the result of Assembly Bill 413, signed into law back in October 2023, which came with a grace period before enforcement was set to begin statewide in 2025.

So why is this news in July 2026? Even though the law was due to begin being enforced in January 2025, LA County kept giving drivers a pass. The grace period officially ran out statewide in March 2025, then again for LA County specifically through November 2025, and even after that, sheriff’s stations spent months just doing outreach, handing out flyers, posting videos, instead of writing tickets. That soft-launch approach is what’s ending now. Departments across the county say they’re done warning people and have started actively citing violators.

Since 2025 the City’s Engineering division has been going intersection by intersection, figuring out where red curbs need to go. But remember, the paint isn’t what makes it legal or illegal. A curb doesn’t need to be red, and there doesn’t need to be a sign, for the ticket to stick. Pay attention folks.

There’s a second rule riding along with this one that may trip you up. The LA County Nonconforming Vehicle Ordinance also carries a $63 fine, and it also targets parking near intersections — but it only applies in unincorporated parts of the county, not inside West Hollywood. It covers oversized vehicles, and unlike daylighting, it comes with a tow. Whoever owns the vehicle pays for getting it out of impound.

Anyone with questions about how the daylighting rule applies on their block or in WeHo can send questions to City Engineer John Gilmour or Parking Services Manager Vince Guarino.