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It’s lights, camera, frustration for Los Angeles residents living near the iconic Hollywood sign who say selfie-taking tourists have taken over their neighborhood.
About 100 homeowners are suing the city, claiming officials have failed to stop tourists from clogging narrow roads, trespassing and leaving trash, including cigarette butts that could spark wildfires.
Filed October 26, the lawsuit does not seek monetary damages. Instead, residents want a court order forcing the city to address crowds that block driveways, create safety hazards and disrupt their neighborhood. The suit also names LA Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Rama as defendants.
Traffic camera data showed more than 48,200 vehicles passed through the area over 13 days this summer, up 15 percent from the same period in 2025, according to CBS News.
Emergency vehicles have also struggled to navigate the narrow roads, CBS News reported, with residents citing delays for police, ambulances and fire engines.
“It’s like there’s a festival every day, especially in the summer,” Rose Ware, a 74-year-old estate agent who has lived in her home for 32 years, told The Times Friday. “Bumper-to-bumper traffic. Emergency vehicles can’t get through. Lots of tourists smoke cigarettes and they get very belligerent when you ask them to stop.”
Residents blame a viewing platform built about 15 years ago, along with social media and mapping apps, for drawing more tourists to the area.
Visitors now crowd the winding roads day and night, leaving behind trash, discarded cigarettes and even bottles of urine and soiled diapers, residents said.
Ware said she understands the sign’s appeal but believes the city has failed to accommodate the crowds.
“But it’s not the tourists’ fault. They come here expecting a world-class site to experience the sign, but it’s not here. The parking’s terrible,” she told the newspaper.
The Independent has contacted an attorney representing the homeowners and representatives for the City of Los Angeles for comment.
The sign was originally built in 1923 to promote a real estate development called Hollywoodland. The final four letters were later removed, turning it into one of the world’s most recognizable symbols of the entertainment industry.
Millions of visitors flock to the landmark each year for photos. Fences, security cameras and motion sensors surround it to prevent trespassing and vandalism, but residents say tourists still wander onto their lawns and try to park in their driveways.
“It’s like a pilgrimage for them,” Ware said. “They take a million pictures, trampling on people’s lawns and yards for the best shot.”
The suit seeks a court order requiring the city to address the tourist crowds rather than monetary damages (AFP/Getty)
David Smalley, a 46-year-old comedian and restaurant owner, told The Times that his doorbell camera caught a woman letting her child urinate in his yard. But his biggest concern is wildfire risk, with tourists continuing to ignore no-smoking signs.
Residents have collected hundreds of cigarette butts as evidence for their lawsuit, the outlet reports.
The City Attorney’s Office said it has worked to ease congestion by increasing LA Police Department and Department of Transportation staffing, stepping up traffic and parking enforcement, and towing vehicles during busy periods.
“The Hollywood sign draws visitors from around the world, and the neighbors who live beneath it shouldn’t have to absorb the gridlock and safety risks that come with that on narrow hillside streets. Councilmember Raman has been working to address this since she took office,” the attorney’s office said in a statement to The Independent.
The office added that this summer’s Friday-through-Sunday deployments from July Fourth through Labor Day marked its largest investment in the effort to date.
“Building on those deployments, we have also identified funding for a pilot Hollywood Sign Traffic Management Plan that will test a new approach to staffing and traffic control on peak visitor days and holidays, along with a study of longer-term solutions for access and congestion in the area. We’re moving forward with that work now, so a plan is in place ahead of the 2028 Olympics,” the statement concluded.
In a statement to CBS News, Bass’ office said the LAPD has dedicated additional units to traffic and parking enforcement and worked with transportation officials on a neighborhood traffic plan.
“The Mayor’s office will continue working to address this issue with our public safety partners,” the statement read.
Ilan Wurman, the attorney representing the homeowners, said the city should adopt crowd controls similar to those around the Eiffel Tower in Paris, including ticketing, access restrictions and alternative viewing spots.
“We’re not telling the city how to do it, but we’re telling them that they’re legally obligated to do something,” Wurman told The Times.
The lawsuit has received little sympathy from some tourists, who argue that homeowners should have expected crowds when moving next to one of LA’s most famous landmarks.