Orange County Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

In enacting this division, the Board of Supervisors of Orange County makes the following findings:

(1) Graffiti is proliferating on permanent structures throughout the County of Orange.

(2) Said graffiti is obnoxious.

(3) Use of County funds for removal of said graffiti from public and privately owned property in unincorporated areas of the County is necessary in order to avoid the detrimental impact of graffiti and to prevent the further spread of graffiti.

(Ord. No. 3895, § 1, 6-29-93)

Graffiti includes any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, or design that is marked, etched, scratched, drawn or painted on any structural component of any building, structure, or other facility, regardless of the nature of the material of that structural component.

(Ord. No. 3895, § 1, 6-29-93)

Whenever the Director, Resources and Development Management Department ("Director") or his/her designee ("designee") determines that graffiti has been applied to any publicly or privately owned surface, structure or building on publicly or privately owned real property within an unincorporated area of the County of Orange, the Director or designee shall direct County staff or contractors to arrange for the removal of the graffiti according to the following procedures:

(a) Graffiti on private property.

(1) When the Director or designee determines that graffiti is on a privately owned surface, structure or building, the Director or designee shall attempt to contact the owner to request that the owner shall remove or repaint the graffiti within seventy-two (72) hours of receiving the notice or that the owner sign a right-of-entry agreement with the County permitting the County to remove or repaint the graffiti at County expense. If the owner cannot be contacted in person, the Director or designee shall notify the property owner, as shown on the last equalized assessment roll, by certified mail return receipt requested and by posting a notice at the graffiti site. The Director or designee shall also contact the Orange County Sheriff Department to report the graffiti.

(2) The Director or designee may direct County staff or contractors to remove or repaint the graffiti at County expense provided that the landowner has given consent in writing to the County and that removal or repainting of the same site does not exceed three (3) times in any twelve-month period. The Director or designee may remove or repaint graffiti at a single site more than three (3) times within a twelve-month period provided the owner agrees to reimburse the County for the direct costs as determined by the Director.

(3) The Director or designee may obtain owner's consent to remove or repaint graffiti per subsection (1) above for a period of time up to one (1) year, renewable by mutual consent.

(4) Owners may provide paint matching the surface, structure or building color for the County's or contractor's repainting of graffiti on the owner's property at no cost to the County provided the paint meets the County's equipment requirements.

(5) If the owner does not remove or give consent to the County to remove or repaint the graffiti within seventy-two (72) hours of receipt of the notice, and the graffiti is on a wall or surface directly adjacent to a public right-of-way, the Director or designee may, after giving notices in subsection (1) above, direct County staff or contractors to remove or repaint the graffiti from the public right-of-way without the owner's consent. County staff or contractors shall access the graffiti only from the public right-of-way. The Director or designee may obtain reimbursement of the reasonable costs of removal or repainting from the landowner.

(6) The owner may appeal in writing the Director's or designee's determinations as identified in subsections (1) through (5) above within seventy-two (72) hours of receiving the notice required by subsection (1) above. Within ten (10) days of receiving the appeal, the Director or designee may rescind or modify the notice to the owner. The owner may appeal any modified notice according the procedures of this subsection. If the Director or designee does not rescind or modify the notice, the County Executive Officer shall appoint a Hearing Officer or Officers for review of all appeals. The Hearing Officer shall schedule a public hearing after giving ten (10) days notice to the landowner and any interested parties by certified mail return receipt requested. The Hearing Officer shall take testimony at the hearing and close the hearing. After the public hearing, the Hearing Officer shall determine if the appeal is justified and may rescind the determinations, modify the determinations, or uphold the determinations. The Hearing Officer shall provide a written statement of his/her determinations to the owner by certified mail return receipt requested. The Hearing Officer's determinations shall be binding on the Director or designee.

(7) The owner may request, based on financial hardship, that the Director or designee waive or delay the payment of all or part of the County's costs of removing or repainting graffiti when the County removes or repaints. The owner shall request the waiver or delay in payment in writing to the Director or designee within thirty (30) days of the County's removal or repainting of the graffiti. The Director or designee shall review the request with ten (10) days and notify the landowner in writing of his/her determination by certified mail return receipt requested. The Director or designee may request data or information from the landowner supporting the landowner's request. The Director or designee may waive the costs in whole or part, or may delay the payment in whole or part based on the financial hardship of the landowner. The landowner may appeal the Director's or designee's decision as provided in subsection (6) above.

(8) If the owner does not reimburse the County for the costs of the removal or repainting graffiti within one hundred eighty (180) days of removal or repainting or final decision on any appeal or request for waiver or delay of payment, the Director may propose to the Board of Supervisors that a lien be placed on the property for the costs. In compliance with requirements of state law including Section 38771 et seq. of the Government Code, the Board of Supervisors may place a lien on the property to recover County costs.

(9) When a person or persons are convicted of applying graffiti to a site in the unincorporated area, the Director may propose to the Board of Supervisors that pursuant to Section 38771 et seq. of the Governmental Code a lien be placed to recover the County's costs of removing or repainting the graffiti.

(b) Graffiti on public property, not owned by the County.

(1) When the Director or designee determines that graffiti is on a publicly owned surface, structure or building that is not owned by the County, the Director or designee shall contact the public agency to request that that the agency remove or repaint the graffiti within seventy-two (72) hours of receiving the notice or sign a right-of-entry agreement permitting the County to remove or repaint the graffiti. If the agency cannot be contacted directly, the Director or designee shall notify the public agency by certified mail return receipt requested and by posting a notice at the graffiti site.

(2) The Director or designee may direct County staff or contractors to remove or repaint the graffiti at County expense provided that the agency has given consent in writing to the County and that removal or repainting of the same site does not exceed three (3) times in any twelve-month period. The Director or designee may remove or repaint graffiti at a single site more than three (3) times within a twelve-month period provided the agency agrees to reimburse the County for the direct costs as determined by the Director.

(c) Graffiti on County-owned property.

(1) When the Director or designee determines that graffiti is on a surface, structure or building, owned or leased by the County but not operated by the Resources and Development Management Department (RDMD), the Director or designee shall notify the County Department in writing requesting that the agency remove or repaint the graffiti within seventy (72) hours of receiving the notice or that the agency sign a right-of-entry agreement permitting Resources and Development Management Department to remove or repaint the graffiti.

(2) The Director or designee may direct County staff or contractors to remove or repaint the graffiti at the Department's expense provided that the Department has given consent in writing to RDMD.

(Ord. No. 3895, § 1, 6-29-93; Ord. No. 06-006, § 1, 7-25-06)