Oakland Municipal Code Art. VII Graffiti Abatement Funding and Rewards

A. The City Council may by resolution establish a Graffiti Abatement and Reward Fund as set out in this Article. The Fund has the purpose of assisting property owners or possessors who have been the victim of Graffiti multiple times with abatement and or with means of avoiding Graffiti and to provide for rewards for the identification and apprehension of Graffiti Violators.

B. The City Council may fund the Graffiti Abatement and Reward Fund from general purposes funds and funds recovered from administrative citations, civil penalties, or treble or punitive damages recovered from Graffiti Violators, or other sources.

(Ord. No. 13146, § 1, 1-22-2013)

A. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 53069.5, the City may offer a reward in an amount to be established by resolution of the City Council for information leading to the identification and the apprehension of Graffiti Violator who commits the act on any City-owned real or personal property. In the event of damage to public property, the offender or the parent or legal guardian of any emancipated minor must reimburse the City for any reward paid. In the event of multiple contributors of information, the reward amount shall be divided by the City in the manner it shall deem appropriate. For the purposes of this Section, diversion of the offending violator to a community service program, or a plea bargain to a lesser offense, shall constitute a conviction.

B. Claims for rewards under this Section shall be filed with the City in the manner specified by the City Council in any legislation establishing the reward fund and any regulations promulgated by the City Administrator.

C. No claim for reward shall be allowed unless the City investigates and verifies the accuracy of the claim and determines that the requirements of this Section, the resolution authorizing the reward, or any regulations have been satisfied.

D. The City may also offer a reward for information leading to the identification and the apprehension of a Graffiti Violator who commits the act on private property.

(Ord. No. 13146, § 1, 1-22-2013)

A. Graffiti Abatement Fund. The City Council may by resolution set up a Graffiti Abatement Fund ("Fund"). The purpose of the Fund is to partially reimburse victims of multiple acts of Graffiti.

B. Guidelines for eligibility for payment from the Fund shall generally be determined as follows and as more fully set forth in any funding resolution or by the City Administrator:

1. The property defaced by Graffiti must have been defaced more than three (3) times in a twelve (12) month period may be eligible for assistance from Fund.

2. The property owner(s) or person(s) in possession or control must demonstrate specific good faith efforts to reduce Graffiti on the property, including, but not limited to, the following:

a. Removing Graffiti from the property at least three (3) times on three (3) separate occasions within seventy-two (72) hours of discovery and prior to notice by the City;

b. Reporting the Graffiti incidents to the Police Department and assisting in any Police investigation;

c. Having a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) analysis performed on the property;

d. Taking affirmative steps to reduce the likelihood of repeated graffiti based on CPTED recommendations or alternatives. Examples of graffiti prevention methods: use natural deterrents such as landscaping (scrubs, thorny plants, vines, etc.), increase lighting, decrease through foot traffic (e.g. use fences to control entrances and exits), limit access to roofs by moving dumpsters away from walls and covering drainpipes to prevent graffiti vandals from scaling them and/or use of anti-graffiti material on walls such as sacrificial coatings, textured walls, dark-colored walls, or artistic murals.

C. Victims of multiple Graffiti incidents may also be eligible to have Graffiti removed as part of community service by a Graffiti Violator.

D. The provisions of this section O.M.C. 8.10.620 are not available for Graffiti applied to a property that is subject to California Business and Professions Code Section 25612.5(a)(6) (liquor stores).

(Ord. No. 13146, § 1, 1-22-2013)

A. The purpose of this section is to adopt California Government Code Section 53069.3 (Repair, removal or replacement of defaced public or privately owned property).

B. City Council may, by resolution, authorize the Fund to be used to remove graffiti or other inscribed material from publicly or privately owned real or personal property located within the City and to replace or repair public or privately owned property within that City that has been defaced with graffiti or other inscribed material that cannot be removed cost effectively.

C. The Fund may only be used to the removal of the graffiti or other inscribed material itself, or, if the graffiti or other inscribed material cannot be removed cost effectively, the repair or replacement of the portion of the property that was defaced, and not the painting, repair, or replacement of other parts of the property that were not defaced.

D. The Police Department, through the City Administrator, may promulgate procedures for pre-removal preservation of sufficient evidence of the graffiti or other inscribed material for criminal prosecutions or proceedings pursuant to California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 602 pertaining to the person or persons who inscribed the graffiti or other material. These procedures shall be followed by the City prior to or during removal of graffiti or other inscribed material.

E. The City may recover the costs of graffiti removal pursuant to O.M.C. 8.10.520 and 530.

(Ord. No. 13146, § 1, 1-22-2013)