City Accommodating Occupiers

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday the city would remain "accommodating" the Occupy L.A. encampment after a tenfold growth.

The encampment now costs the city about $2,700 per day, mostly for police officers to monitor the event, according to Villaraigosa spokesperson Peter Sanders. The encampment has more than doubled its size since last Thursday.

According to Recreation and Parks Department spokesperson Andrea Epstein, damage to the lawn, sprinklers and trees would total out to $400,000. However the entirity of the damage cannot be assessed due to the large number of tents.

Occupy L.A. began with 40 tents set up on the north side of City Hall. About 485 tents were pitched this morning, according to a Los Angeles Police Department tally.

The growth of the movement has forced about half of the weekly City Hall farmers market to set up across the street from where vendors normally sell their products.

Last week City Council President Eric Garcetti said the protesters are invited to stay as long as they wanted. The full council also unanimously passed a resolution supporting the "occupiers" who are protesting the growing gap between the nation's rich and poor.