Fed-up Hollywood Sign neighbors blast tourist chaos, vendors turning streets into ‘public toilet’

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Neighbors living near the iconic Hollywood Sign said hordes of tourists and street vendors have turned the area into a “public toilet” — with trash and human waste found strewn around the landmark, per the complaint.

Residents of the Hollywood Hills community filed a complaint Monday against the City of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass and city Councilmember Nithya Raman, saying the city has allowed the area surrounding the sign to become a “public nuisance” that is “indecent and offensive to the senses.”

Tourists can view the sign from the streets, sidewalks, and parks in Hollywoodland, Lake Hollywood Estates and Hollywood Knolls. 

Residents said the resulting traffic severely limits their ability to leave their homes and obstructs fire lanes, creating a serious risk in the event of a wildfire.

Images from Google included in the complaint shows areas packed with people, street vendors and cars blocking traffic in both directions on a narrow road.

Neighbors cited illegal street vending and dumping, with “public urination and defecation that occur regularly on the City’s property,” according to the complaint.

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Photos in the complaint allegedly showed wads of toilet paper on the ground and a shot of a man appearing to urinate on a wall in broad daylight.

It also noted fire hazard posed by the “constant and improper disposal of cigarettes” in an area with a high fire risk.

One photo showed 1,000 cigarette butts a resident said they collected near Lake Hollywood Park in one day in 2025.

Residents blamed the city, saying it “has taken active steps to promote it at the expense of the residents of the Hollywood Hills Neighborhoods,” the complaint showed.

Cynthia Cobb, a resident listed in the complaint, said she and her husband feel trapped in their home, unable to leave to run errands.

She has witnessed or picked up trash on a daily basis in front of her home and from the surrounding area including “discarded diapers, plastic bottles filled with urine, fruit cups and forks, used condoms, coffee cups and other food containers,” according to the complaint.

“Cobb has personally experienced tourists blocking her driveway and trespassing on her property. Sometimes it’s “just for a minute.” But at other times, “vehicles block her driveway for over an hour,”  the complaint stated.

“Cobb and her husband feel trapped in their home; they live in constant fear that they will die when fire inevitably comes.”

Neighbors are calling on the city to keep the area “free of obstructions, health hazards, fire risks and other public nuisances,” the complaint showed.

The mayor’s office told The California Post it hadn’t seen the complaint.

“LAPD has dedicated additional units during peak periods of congestion in the Lake Hollywood area to conduct traffic and parking enforcement,” a statement read.

“LAPD also deploys additional traffic officers during peak times, in addition to ongoing regulation of tour buses and more.”

“LAPD has collaborated with LADOT to implement a traffic plan for the area. The Mayor’s office will continue working to address this issue with our public safety partners,” it added.

Raman, who represents the area, told the outlet she’s been working on the problem since she took office in 2020.

“I think, thinking about installing bathrooms in these areas is a good thing. One that is in active discussion,” she said during a press event earlier this year. 

Her office told the California Post that it has allocated funding for increased deployment by the LAPD and Department of Transportation each year to increase ticketing and towing during the summer months.