After almost a year fighting the stop-sign camera ticket issued to him in Temescal Gateway Park in November 2008, Jack Laxer reached a settlement with the Mountains Recreation Conservancy Agency (MRCA) on November 10. ‘We didn’t dismiss the citation, we suspended the penalty,’ said MRCA spokesperson Dash Stolarz. ‘In this particular case, we felt that this was an appropriate way to compromise and come to a conclusion.’ ’In my view,’ said Pacific Palisades attorney Steve Boyers, who represented Laxer, ‘Jack’s position was clearly vindicated by virtue of the MRCA’s refunding not only the fine it had levied, but further agreeing to pay the cost of the appeal and the cost of filing the motion to continue the trial date. Of perhaps greater importance, we were informed by MRCA counsel that the traffic signs that Mr. Laxer found confusing, and which contributed to his citation being issued, have been changed by the MRCA to prevent future occurrences of this problem. Counsel for the MRCA attributed this change directly to Mr. Laxer’s appeal.’ Stolarz told the Palisadian-Post said that Boyers was incorrect about Laxer being the reason for changes to the signs in Temescal. ‘The signage in question was never part of the legal requirement,’ Stolarz said. ‘It is there to make sure park users are informed. If we are not communicating clearly, we want to change it.’ Originally, two adjoining signs warned driver about the upcoming stop sign and ‘photo enforcement area’ 100 yards ahead. The MRCA has removed the bottom sign that consisted of an arrow and a stop symbol (see photo). Laxer, a 43-year Pacific Palisades resident and a architectural and travel photographer, was originally observed by a ranger making several stops before the stop sign on the park’s only road. The enforcement cameras had been installed in July 2007: one at the exit to the front parking lot and a second at the stop sign shortly before reaching the country store. According to Laxer, the ranger told him he didn’t have to keep stopping, but only had to stop once, and even if the stop didn’t trigger the sensors in the road, it would still be captured on film. Although Laxer subsequently stopped only once before the sign, he still received a $100 citation in the mail. He sent the payment, which he was required to do, then requested a hearing to protest the ticket. On February 28, Laxer appeared before a hearing officer in Franklin Canyon, armed with papers and photographs to prove his innocence. A little more than halfway through his presentation, hearing officer Anne Calvo, who had viewed the Redflex video of the alleged infraction, asked whether Laxer had anything else to say. He told her that the rest of his presentation was in the submitted information that he would leave with her. ’I don’t need it, I don’t want it,’ she said, according to Laxer. ‘By the time you have put your foot on the other side of the door, I will have made up my mind.’ Immediately after the hearing, Laxer sought MRCA Public Safety Project Manager Diana Harman to protest. ‘It denies my basic civil rights,’ he said he told her. ‘In any hearing, all evidence should be heard.’ Laxer appealed to the Van Nuys Superior Court, and also went to the Pacific Palisades Community Council to explain his situation. After hearing his story, former Community Council chair Boyers agreed to represent Laxer pro bono. Laxer’s first hearing, scheduled for May 15, was postponed and rescheduled to August. Fourteen people attended this hearing, including a lawyer and eight witnesses from the MRCA. After a full morning in court, the judge transferred the case to another court, delaying the hearing to October, and then to November. At that time, the case was finally settled without a hearing. Laxer told the Post that he felt vindicated. ‘They changed the sign, which should minimize some of the confusion, if not all of it.’ Boyers believes that Laxer is unique because most people don’t contest the ticket since the amount, although not inconsequential, is such that they don’t want to spend the time fighting the ticket and/or pay a lawyer. Boyers said that if he had billed Laxer or had been compensated for his time, the cost would have been about $10,000. ’Both Mr. Laxer and I would have like to have accomplished more,’ said Boyers, whose law office is on Sunset. ‘But within the constraints of the facts and financial circumstances of Mr. Laxer’s representation, we did win, and the community has won. Other cases, based on the validity of whether MRCA’s ordinance pre-empts state law will, perhaps, build on our success and bring even greater satisfaction to the community.’
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
