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El Segundo residents urge changes to Candy Cane Lane rules, cite safety and parking hardships
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Summary
Residents of the Candy Cane Lane neighborhood told the City Council they are being left without access to their homes, facing sanitation and safety hazards during the multi-week holiday event and asked the council to revisit a newly mailed parking restriction and consider delaying or changing closures.
Residents of El Segundo’s Candy Cane Lane asked the City Council on Nov. 13 to revise recently announced event parking and street-closure rules, saying the multi-week holiday display has become a safety and quality-of-life problem for homeowners.
Several speakers who live on East Acacia described repeated incidents of visitors leaving trash, public urination and feces on front lawns, obstructed driveways and confrontations among motorists. ‘‘It’s a zoo,’’ resident Michael Palolo said, describing chronic trash and blocked access on the 1100 block and asking the council to change a new 4:30 a.m. street clearance time to 6:00 a.m.
Why it matters: Candy Cane Lane draws thousands of visitors across multiple nights; residents said the event’s size and vendor activity now create sustained interruptions to daily life, not the short, neighborly display they once enjoyed. Residents asked for clearer notice and more resident-oriented parking options.
What residents asked for: Edward Quinn, who said he lives at 1013 East Acacia Avenue, urged the council to consider blocking Acacia at Center Street, adding parking controls at Lomita and McCarthy and providing designated resident parking near Imperial and Sycamore so homeowners can access cars during the event. Michael Palolo and Anna Maria Miller asked for the issue to be placed on a future agenda with broader public discussion.
City response: City Manager and Parks, Recreation & Library staff said they have met with residents and that staff recommendations were driven by safety concerns, citing ‘‘an incident last year where someone drove into the area that was barricaded’’ and noting the difficulty of balancing resident and visitor interests. Staff said a resident-parking program is being developed and that, because the item was not agendized, the council could not take formal action but would accept staff comments and later place the issue on a future agenda.
Process and next steps: Council acknowledged the request and agreed to put Candy Cane Lane policies on the next agenda for fuller discussion. Staff indicated they will return with options for resident parking, timing of closures and vendor rules.
The council did not take formal action on the spot; staff said they will bring a formal agenda item to a future meeting for public hearing and possible policy changes.
