Placentia : Graffiti Law Would Target Homeowners

The city moved this week to place the burden of covering graffiti on the property owner.

Patterned after an ordinance adopted last September in San Clemente, a law in Placentia would give residents seven days to either cover graffiti on their property or give a reason why they should be granted an extension.

If the residents do not take care of the problem, the city will do it for them--and bill them for it, Police Capt. James S. Robertson said. If the bill is not paid, the city could eventually place a lien on the property to recover costs, he said.

In San Clemente, a similar ordinance has worked well, City Manager Jim Hendrickson said. “I haven’t gotten any flak that it’s causing any inconvenience to anybody.”

San Clemente Police Lt. Bob McDonell said that about a dozen property owners have been informally contacted about graffiti since the ordinance went into effect. Only in one case did the police have to formally notify a resident, who cleaned it up quickly and was not subject to a misdemeanor citation, McDonell added.

Both Placentia’s and San Clemente’s ordinances establish graffiti as a “public nuisance” and prohibit possession of pressurized paint cans at public places and recreational facilities. The law also prohibits the sale of such cans to minors.

“One of the problems is that you almost never see the juvenile spraying a wall,” Robertson said. “Occasionally, we catch them with spray paint, and although you suspect them of doing it, you can’t do anything about it.”

In San Clemente, police have arrested one adult, in his early 20s, and charged him with spray-painting the rear of a motel, McDonell said. A witness identified the suspect through a photo lineup. The suspect spent several days in jail and had to pay for the cleanup, McDonell added.

The ordinance “won’t totally eliminate graffiti,” Placentia Assistant City Administrator Jack Slota said, “but it will help.”