> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # SUV Owners Block Mayor Over Narrow Parking Spaces at City Hall - URL: https://www.smdp.com/040104-story/ - Published: 2004-04-01T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T04:06:58.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *By Daily Planet slaves* Local residents are sick and tired of the condition of the streets in Santa Monica, and this time, they’re taking it to the mayor. Laura Masters, founder of Santa Monicans Against Narrow Parking Spaces That Don’t Accommodate Large Vehicles, says that this problem is clearly an act of discrimination, and that SUV drivers in this community aren’t going to take it lying down, literally. About 40 SMANPSTDALV members stood in Mayor Dickey Boom’s path as he tried to enter City Hall 15 minutes after last week’s City Council meeting had started. City Clerk May Kexcuses said Dickenbloom’s dentist appointment had been running late. His SMANPSTDALV adversaries, meanwhile, accused him of sneaking off to repaint the parking spots at the Civic Center parking lot, making them even smaller. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Masters said. “The mayor’s political dealings have shown us that he is quite sympathetic to cars of the compact variety.” During the public comment section of the council meeting, Masters viciously attacked Dickenbloom for having remnants of a paint-like white substance stuck underneath his fingernails and asphalt on his slacks, saying they were conclusive evidence of his discrimination against large-framed vehicles. Dickenbloom denied the allegations, saying the dirt under his nails was merely a fluoride treatment. “I pick at my teeth, so what?” Boom pleaded. “I’m only human.” By that time, Masters’ one-second speaking limit had expired. She then enlisted the 1,039 other SMANPST- DALV members, her husband and five children to address the council in support of appointing a task force on the state of large-sized vehicles in the city. The meeting lasted well past 5 a.m. the next morning. The SUV group’s members brought forth a wide variety of issues and appeals. Parking spots have shrunk by almost 80 percent in the past decade, a SMANPSTDALV independent analysis shows, member Larry Statsman said. The average spot went from 10 feet wide in 1994 to only 2 feet wide now, Statsman said. Compact parking spots measure only 1 foot wide. “Only 1 foot? That can’t even accomodate me, and I don’t have doors or a chassis,” Statsman said. Meanwhile, shots rang out in the Pico neighborhood. The council needs to establish a parking commission to more fully serve the needs of the car-owning community, said resident Eyehav Avan. “It’s not fair that everybody else gets a commission,” Avan said. “I want one too, mommy — I mean mayor.” In a heated exchange, Masters’ youngest daughter, 2-year-old Carseet, said the council is being anti-family when it designates parking spots specifically for compact cars. “Absurd!” responded City Councilman George Heytschids, while petting daschund George Jr., whom he had brought to the meeting in lieu of a child on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. Heytschids reminded Carseet that, according to 2000 U.S. Census data, more than half of Santa Monicans lived alone, not in a family. “So I’m not being discriminatory at all, SUV lover.” “If I am an SUV, do I not bleed?” Carseet concluded. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 1, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)