City strengthens anti-tagging laws

Officials at city hall have been forced to take a hard look at Simi’s growing graffiti problem, and as a result they’ve strengthened laws aimed at preventing and punishing taggers.

As the Acorn first reported in January, last year was the worst on record for graffiti since the police department began documenting the crime in 1991: A total of 4,088 incidents, an average of 11 a day, were reported in 2009.

In response to these statistics, the City Council last month directed the city attorney’s office to come up with amendments to the current graffiti abatement and enforcement ordinance.

On March 8, the council adopted several changes to the law (see box at top right).

In addition to these changes, slap tags—stickers, posters or labels “slapped” onto buildings, poles and signs—are now considered a form of graffiti in the city’s municipal code.

All violations of the ordinance are subject to civil fines, which the council agreed to increase. Now taggers are subject to a fine of $1,000 per incident, even for the first violation. The fine for a first violation used to be $100.

Businesses that sell graffiti tools such as spray paint and aerosal-type marking pens to minors, as well as property owners who fail to remove graffiti after receiving a notice from the city, will be fined $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second and $1,000 for a third and subsequent violation within 12 months.

State law requires that business owners keep potential graffiti tools in a locked display case to prevent the theft and purchase of such items by minors.

The only change proposed by the city attorney but not adopted by the council was a requirement that private property owners remove graffiti within five days instead of the current 10.

Councilmember Michelle Foster said she felt the change from 10 to five days would be impractical and burdensome and went against the goal of the law, which is to punish violators, not victims.

“I want to tighten up on the criminals, not the victims,” she said.

The city’s contractor can remove graffiti on private property with the consent of the property owner. If a person wants to remove it themselves, it must be done within 10 days after receiving a notice of removal from the city.

The council members did agree that when graffiti is painted over, the color of the paint should match the background. The city should also look at alternative removal methods.

“There are certain areas where we should be looking at alternative ways of removing graffiti other than covering it up,” Mayor Pro Tem Glen Becerra said. For example, he said, there must be better ways to deal with graffiti on mountainsides than painting the rock.

Still, Becerra said, the graffiti abatement program in the public works department does an excellent job in meeting the city’s goal of remove the graffiti within 24 hours.

To report graffiti, call the city’s graffiti hotline at (805) 583-6444. Changes to Simi’s graffiti code

•Graffiti now listed as a public nuisance.

•Personal liability of parents and guardians for damages and civil fines has increased from $10,000 to $25,000 per incident of graffiti. This amount is the maximum permitted by law, and the city can choose whether to pursue these damages against a parent or guardian.

•Parents and guardians are now responsible for the willful acts of their minor children even if they didn’t know about or agree with those acts.

•Minors may perform community service in lieu of paying fines for violations. It’s up to the police chief to approve the type of volunteer work and the number of hours.