Parlier Municipal Code Ch. 6.14 Graffiti

It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to prohibit graffiti as defined, to authorize use of city funds to remove graffiti, to provide a procedure to collect abatement and related administrative costs by a nuisance abatement lien or by a special assessment for removal of graffiti from walls and structures on both publicly and privately owned property in order to reduce blight and deterioration within the city and to protect the public safety.

The city finds and determines that graffiti as defined in Section 6.14.020 is obnoxious and a public nuisance and must be abated to void the detrimental impact of such graffiti on the city and its residents and to prevent the further spread of graffiti.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

Whenever the following terms are used in this chapter, they shall have the meaning established by this section:

"Graffiti" means any unauthorized word, figure, or design that is marked, etched, scratched, drawn or painted or marked with ink, chalk, dye or other substance on any public or private building, structure, facility or place, regardless of the nature of the material of that building, structure, facility or place.

"Graffiti abatement procedure" means an abatement procedure by which graffiti is identified, notice to the landowner to abate the graffiti is given, and cure of the nuisance in absence of response is secured.

"Private contractor" means any person with whom the city shall have duly contracted to remove graffiti.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

No person shall place graffiti upon any public or privately owned permanent structure located on publicly or privately owned real property within the city.

No person owning or otherwise in control or possession of any real property within the city shall permit or allow any graffiti to be placed upon or remain on any permanent structure located on such property when the graffiti is visible from the street or other public or private property.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

Whenever the city manager or city code enforcement officer determines that graffiti exists on any permanent structure in the city and that such graffiti is visible from any street or from any other private or public property, the city manager or city code enforcement officer shall cause a notice to be issued to abate such graffiti as a nuisance. The property owner shall have ten days after the date of notice to remove the graffiti, or the property will be subject to abatement by the city.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

The notice to abate graffiti pursuant to Section 6.14.040 shall be served upon the owner(s) of the affected premises, as such owner's name and address appears on the last equalized property tax assessment roll or supplemental roll of the county of Fresno, whichever is more current. If there is no known address for the owner, the notice shall be sent in care of the property address. The notice required by this section may be served in any one of the following manners:

A. By personal service on the owner, occupant or person in charge or control of the property;

B. By registered or certified mail.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

The notice shall be substantially in the following form:

NOTICE OF INTENT TO REMOVE GRAFFITI

Date:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that you are required by law at your expense to remove or paint over the graffiti located on the property commonly known as _______, Parlier, California, which is visible to public view, within ten (10) days after the date of this notice; or, if you fail to do so, City employees or private contractors employed by the City will enter upon your property and abate the public nuisance by removal or painting over the graffiti. The costs of the abatement by the City employees or its private contractors will be assessed upon your property and such costs will constitute a lien upon the land until paid.

All persons having any objection to, or interest in said matters, are hereby notified to submit any objections or comments to the City Manager for the City of Parlier or his/her designated representative within ten (10) days from the date of this notice. At the conclusion of this ten (10)-day period the City may proceed with the abatement of the graffiti inscribed on your property at your expense and without further notice.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

Within ten days from the mailing or personal service of the notice, the owner or person occupying or controlling such premises or lot affected may appeal to the city council. At a regular meeting or regular adjourned meeting of the city council not more than twenty days thereafter, the council shall proceed to hear and pass upon such appeal. The decision of the council thereupon shall be final and conclusive.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

Upon failure of any person to comply with a notice to abate by the data designated therein, or by such continued date thereafter as the city council, the city administrator, or his/her designated representative approves, then the city administrator or city code enforcement officer is authorized and directed to cause the graffiti to be abated either, on the one hand, by city forces or by private contractor entering upon the premises for such purposes pursuant to prior written consent of the owner, in the case of a privately owned structure, or pursuant to prior written consent of the public entity having jurisdiction over a publicly owned structure, or, on the other hand, by a civil nuisance abatement action in a court of competent jurisdiction. All reasonable efforts to minimize damage from any entry onto property shall be taken by the city, and any paint used to obliterate graffiti shall be as close as practicable to background color(s).

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

Any property owner in the city may consent in advance to city entry onto private property for graffiti removal purposes and shall do so in a form of consent substantially in the following form:

CITY OF PARLIER

110 East Parlier Avenue

Parlier, CA 93648

GRAFFITI REMOVAL PROGRAM

CONSENT TO ENTER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY

I, the undersigned, as owner/manager of the property located at ___________, in Parlier, California, do hereby grant continuing consent to entry upon the above described property by personnel and equipment of the City of Parlier, their agents and employees (hereinafter separately and collectively referred to as "City"), for the purpose of removing, reducing, or obliterating graffiti on the property by sandblasting, painting, or use of solvents, as deemed necessary or desirable by City. I understand that this consent to entry shall remain in effect until revoked in writing, upon sale or transfer of fee title to the property, or upon change in tenant on the property.

I, the undersigned, do hereby release, discharge, hold harmless, and defend City from all claims, judgments, demands, or actions of every kind and nature whatever, which, under any theory, may arise as a result of the performance of the graffiti removal services on the property.

I understand that: (1) the cleaning shall be performed as determined by City, and may be in blocks, patches and strips where the graffiti appears and, that the cleaned or processed area may not match precisely the colors on the remainder of the improvements in the property; (2) City assumes no responsibility if colors do not precisely match; and (3) some residue of the existing graffiti may remain.

It is further understood and agreed that City in no way obligate themselves to do any work, or to use their equipment to any greater extent, than determined by City Administrator.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

Where a structure is owned by a public entity other than the city, the removal of the graffiti may be authorized only after securing the consent of an authorized representative of the public entity having jurisdiction over the structure and shall be obtained in the same manner as set forth in Section 6.14.090, with references to "owner" and "manager" replaced by appropriate reference to the public entity having jurisdiction over the publicly owned structure.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

A. The city administrator shall keep a record of abatement costs (including incidental expenses) of abating such nuisance on each separate parcel of land where the work is done and shall render an itemized report in writing to the city council showing the costs of abatement; provided, that before the report is submitted to the council, a copy shall be served on the owner of record of the parcel of land on which the nuisance was maintained, based on the last equalized assessment roll or the supplemental roll, whichever is more current, in the same manner as service of notice to abate pursuant to the provisions of Section 6.14.050, together with a notice of the time and place when and where the report shall be heard by the council for confirmation as set pursuant to subsection B of this section.

B. The city council shall set the matter for hearing to determine the correctness and reasonableness of such costs.

C. The term "incidental expenses" as used in subsection A of this section shall mean all administrative costs related to abatement of the nuisance and costs of collecting the abatement costs and shall include, but not be limited to, the actual expenses and costs of the city in the preparation of notices, specifications, and contracts and in the inspecting of work, and in the costs of printing and mailing notices required hereunder.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

At the time and place fixed for receiving and considering the report, the city council shall hear and pass upon the correctness and reasonableness of the report of such costs of abatement, together with any objections or protests. Thereupon, the city council may make such revision, correction or modification in the report as it may deem just, after which, upon motion, the report as submitted or as revised, corrected or modified shall be confirmed. The decision of the city council on all protests and objections which may be made shall be final and conclusive.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

A. The total cost for abating such nuisance, as confirmed by the city council, shall constitute a special assessment against the respective lot or parcel of land to which it relates. After such confirmation and recordation, a copy shall be filed with the assessor and tax collector of Fresno County, acting for the city, in order that said county officials may add the amounts of the respective assessments to the next regular tax bills levied against the respective lots and parcels of land, and thereafter said amounts shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same procedure under foreclosure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes.

B. Recordation in the office of the Fresno County recorder of a notice of lien, the total cost for abating such nuisance, as so made and confirmed, shall constitute a lien on the property for the amount of such assessment. After such recordation, such lien may be foreclosed by judicial or other sale in the manner and means provided by law. Such notice of lien for recordation shall be in form substantially as follows:

NOTICE OF LIEN

(Claim of City of Parlier)

Pursuant to the authority vested by the provisions of Ordinance No. _______, the City Administrator or Code Enforcement Officer of the City of Parlier did, on or about the ___ day of _______, 1991, issue an Abatement Order and/or on or about day of , 1991, cause the painting over or removal of graffiti at the premises hereinafter described in order to abate a public nuisance on said real property; and the City Council of the City of Parlier did on the ___ day of _______, 1991, assess the cost of such abatement upon the real property hereinafter described, and the same has not been paid nor any part thereof; and that said City of Parlier does hereby claim a lien on such costs of abatement in the amount of said assessment (the sum of $ _______); and the same shall be a lien upon said real property until the same has been paid in full and discharged of record.

The real property hereinbefore mentioned, and upon which a lien is claimed, is that certain parcel of land in the City of Parlier, County of Fresno, State of California, and particularly described as follows:

(Insert here street address described and legal description and assessor's parcel number)

The name and address of the recorded owner of the parcel is:

(Insert here name and address)

Dated this _______ day of _______, 1991.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

The owner, occupant, or agent of any lot or premises within the city, who shall permit or allow the existence of a public nuisance as defined in this chapter, upon any lot or premises, owned, occupied, or controlled by him, her, or it, or who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter, shall be guilty of an infraction and upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for a first violation, a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars for a second violation of the same provision within one year, and a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars for each additional violation of the same provision within one year. Such an infraction is not punishable by imprisonment.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).

Any person found guilty of placing graffiti upon any public or privately owned permanent structure located on publicly or privately owned real property within the city, shall be guilty of an infraction and upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for a first violation, a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars for a second violation within one year, and a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars for each additional violation within one year, or, in lieu of any of these fines, shall be subject to payment of the total cost for abating the nuisance which the graffiti constitutes. In the case of the conviction of a minor child, any of said fines may be imposed on the parent or guardian of said minor child, in the interest of justice and only after notice and opportunity to be heard being afforded to such parent or guardian. None of such fines may be imposed if the minor is adjudged a ward of the court on the ground that he or she is a person described in Section 602 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, in which event Sections 730.5 and 730.6 of that code shall be applicable.

(Ord. 92-02 §1(part), 1992).