Residents living near the Hollywood sign have filed a legal complaint against the City of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass and councilmember Nithya Raman over tourist crowds they say are creating serious fire and safety risks.
About 100 people from Hollywoodland, Lake Hollywood Estates and Hollywood Knolls brought the complaint on Monday, arguing that visitors regularly block the narrow roads around their homes.
The residents say the congestion could prevent people from escaping and emergency crews from reaching the area if a wildfire broke out. They point to the Palisades fires in early 2025, when some motorists abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot after traffic became gridlocked.
They also allege that tourists discard cigarette butts in areas at high risk of fire. The complaint names Ms Raman because her council district includes the Hollywood sign and surrounding neighbourhoods; she is also seeking to unseat Ms Bass.
Residents argue that the city helped create the problem when the district’s former councilman cleared brush in 2011 to create a viewing area for the sign among the residential streets. They say visitor numbers have risen steadily since then.
Cynthia Comb, a Lake Hollywood resident, and her husband are described in the complaint as feeling “trapped in their home” and living in constant fear that they will die when a fire comes.
The document says there are only two narrow, winding routes out of the Hollywood Hills neighbourhoods, one on the Hollywoodland side and another on the Hollywood Knolls side. It warns: “If a fire breaks out, dozens if not hundreds may die due to their inability to escape via the crowded and narrow streets.”
Residents seek action over Hollywood sign crowds
The complaint also describes a mounting problem with rubbish and a lack of public toilets. Residents say they are frequently left to clear away litter, thousands of cigarette ends, used nappies and bottles containing urine.
They have also documented cases of public urination and defecation. “The entire neighborhood has become a public toilet,” the complaint states.
Ilan Wurman, the lawyer representing the residents, said they were not seeking financial compensation. Instead, they want an injunction requiring Los Angeles officials to take action.
Possible measures could include restricting tourist access near the sign, in a way similar to arrangements around the Eiffel Tower, or replanting vegetation in the lookout area cleared in 2011. The complaint itself does not specify how the city should respond.
Mr Wurman said the crowds, litter and fire concerns were a foreseeable consequence of bringing tens of thousands of people into an area of narrow, winding streets.
Ms Bass’s office said it had not seen the complaint, but that the Los Angeles Police Department assigns additional units during peak traffic periods around the Hollywood sign. It added that police had worked with the city’s transport department on a more robust traffic plan.
Ms Raman’s office said local people “shouldn’t have to absorb the gridlock and safety risks that come with [visitors] on narrow hillside streets”.
It said additional police and transport department deployments had been funded every year since she took office, with staffing and locations adjusted in response to residents’ concerns. From the Fourth of July through Labor Day, deployments ran from Friday to Sunday, resulting in increased ticketing and towing, the office said.
Her office also said it had secured funding for a pilot scheme to improve traffic around the Hollywood sign during periods of peak visitation.
