Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Ch. 20 Graffiti

Section 53069.3 of the Government Code authorizes the City to provide for the removal of graffiti or other inscribed material. The City Council finds that graffiti, on public and private properties, is a blighting factor on the neighborhood, encourages other acts of malicious vandalism, and depreciates the value of the adjacent and surrounding properties.

(§ 1, Ord. 1033-NS, eff. July 18, 1989)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the below ascribed meanings:

(a) “Defacement” shall mean the intentional altering of the physical shape or physical appearance of property.

(b) “Graffiti” means the unauthorized act of defacing, painting, marking, damaging or destroying any real or personal property of another through the use of an aerosol or pressurized container of paint, paint, indelible marker, chalk, ink, dye or other liquid substance capable of defacing property.

(c) “Indelible marker” means any marker, pen or similar implement which contains a fluid which is not soluble in water and has a flat, pointed or angled writing surface of a width of one-half inch or greater.

(d) “Responsible adult” is a parent or guardian of an individual under the age of eighteen (18) years. A responsible adult may also include an agent of the parent of the guardian, provided said agent is over eighteen (18) years of age.

(§ 1, Ord. 1033-NS, eff. July 18, 1989)

It shall be unlawful for any person to apply graffiti upon any wall, rock, street, bridge, building, fence, gate, structure, tree or other real or personal property, either publicly or privately owned, without the permission of the owner, lessee or operator of such property.

Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation of this code pursuant to Section 1-2.01 of the Thousand Oaks Municipal Code.

Any individual who is found guilty of violating this section shall pay restitution to the property owner, in addition to authorized penalties. If the violator is a minor, the parent or guardian shall be responsible for payment of restitution.

(§ 1, Ord. 1033-NS, eff. July 18, 1989)

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer to sell or cause to be sold, any aerosol or pressurized container of paint to any person under the age of eighteen (18) years who is not accompanied by a responsible adult.

(§ 1, Ord. 1033-NS, eff. July 18, 1989)

It is unlawful for any individual under the age of eighteen (18) years, who is in a public place or upon private property, without the consent of the owner, tenant or operator thereon, and who is not accompanied by responsible adult, to possess an aerosol or pressurized container of paint.

(§ 1, Ord. 1033-NS, eff. July 18, 1989)

(a) Signs. Any person engaged in the retail sale of aerosol or pressurized containers of paint or marker pens with tips exceed one-fourth (1/4) inch in width, containing anything other than a solution which can be removed by water after it dries, must display, at the location of retail sale, a sign clearly visible and legible to employees and customers, which sign states as follows:

It is unlawful for any person to sell, lend or give to any individual under the age of 18 years, who is not accompanied by a responsible adult, an aerosol or pressurized can of paint or a marker pen with a tip of 1/4 inch or greater width.

(b) Secure display. Any person engaged in the retail sale of aerosol or pressurized containers of paint or marker pens with tips exceeding one-fourth (1/4) inch in width, containing anything other than a solution which can be removed by water after it dries, shall store or cause such products to be stored in an area viewable by, but not accessible to, the public during the regular course of business without employee assistance, pending legal sale or disposition of such marker pens or paint containers.

(§ 1, Ord. 1033-NS, eff. July 18, 1989, as amended by Ord. 1185-NS, eff. August 3, 1993)

(a) General. Any person applying graffiti within the City shall have the duty to remove same in a manner approved by the City within twenty-four (24) hours after notice by the City or the public or private owner of the property involved. Failure of any person to so remove graffiti shall constitute an additional violation of this chapter. Consistent with Civil Code Section 1714.1, where graffiti is applied by minors, the parent or guardian shall be responsible for such removal or payment for the cost thereof.

(b) Public property. Whenever the Public Works Director or his designated representative determines that graffiti exists upon property owned by the City, it shall be removed as soon as possible. When property is owned by a public entity other than the City, the removal of the graffiti may be authorized by the Public Works Director or his representative, and removal undertaken by City personnel or independent contractor only after securing written consent of the public entity having jurisdiction over the property.

(c) Private property.

(1) Duty to remove. It is every property owners’ duty to remove graffiti promptly from their property in a manner acceptable to the City. Where graffiti is located upon private property, which is capable of being viewed by persons utilizing any public right-of-way or sidewalk within the City, the City may cause a written notice to be served upon the owner of the affected premises requesting the removal of that graffiti. Unless additional time is granted by the City, due to a hardship in complying, the property owner shall have five (5) business/work days after the date of the City’s notice to remove the graffiti. Failure to remove it shall be a violation for each day the graffiti is not removed. Failure to remove the graffiti will deem to authorize the City to remove the violation. Costs of such removal shall be assessed as a lien on the subject property.

(2) Notice. The notice shall be addressed to the name and address as appears on the last tax assessment roll, by depositing a copy of the notice in the U.S. mail, with postage fully prepaid, or personally delivering a copy of the notice to owner. The service is complete at the time of such deposit in the mail or when personal service is effectuated. The failure of any person to receive such notice shall not affect the validity of any proceeding.

(3) Enforcement. Enforcement by way of criminal prosecution is an alternate and an additional remedy to other abatement and enforcement procedures available to the City.

(§ 1, Ord. 1033-NS, eff. July 18, 1989, as amended by § 1, Ord. 1155-NS, eff. July 7, 1992)

The City may pay to any person who provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of any person who applies any drawing, inscription, figure or mark of the type commonly known and referred to as “graffiti” to any wall, rock, bridge, street, building, fence, gate, structure, tree or other real or personal property, a reward as established by Council resolution.

(§ 1, Ord. 1033-NS, eff. July 18, 1989)