County is considering anti-graffiti ordinance

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County is considering anti-graffiti ordinance

County News

Wednesday, 06 October 2010 18:09

By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor
A proposed Osceola County ordinance, if implemented, would require property owners to remove graffiti from their property in the unincorporated area or face $250 civil fines and possible liens.
The County Commission Monday unanimously approved publishing the anti-graffiti ordinance with adoption still several weeks away, giving the public time to comment.
“The ordinance would deal with how the county could take care of graffiti, which is starting to spread,” Dave Tomek, the county’s community development/growth management director, said. “It’s been a topic of discussion for more that a year. We need something to force property owners to clean it up.”
As proposed, the ordinance would give the property owner, agent, custodian, lessee or occupant seven days to remove or paint over the graffiti once the county has issued a notification to the owner of the violation. The person issued the notice would then have seven days to appeal and would be given a date for a hearing. If an appeal were not successful and the code enforcement board at the hearing determines that there has been a violation, then the graffiti would have to be removed within five days after the hearing.
In addition, if the graffiti were not removed, the county could then abate the violation and could place a lien against the property for the cost of the cleanup.
While the commission voted to move forward with the ordinance, there were worries.
“We’re going to punish the property owner with this, not the graffiti artist,” Commissioner Brandon Arrington said.
Commissioner John Quiñones said code enforcement needs a better tool for dealing with graffiti.
“Let’s hope this is something well-received by the community – the sooner we get graffiti painted over, the better,” Quiñones said.
Commissioner Michael Harford said graffiti is starting to crop up on West U.S. Highway 192 on both vacant and occupied properties, but especially on vacant buildings.
“We need to try to take care of this issue as quickly as possible,” Harford said. “The people who are doing the spray painting will know we are gong to cover it (graffiti) over and that the community won’t tolerate it.”
The draft of the ordinance states that graffiti “impacts the quality of life in a community,” that it is “crucial to the welfare of its citizens that Osceola County contain neighborhoods in which people desire to live and areas in which businesses desire to invest and locate, and that graffiti in “any neighborhood or business community creates a sense of lawlessness and fear, which is unacceptable.”
The city of Kissimmee already has an anti-graffiti ordinance that requires property owners to remove graffiti or face liens and civil fines if the violation isn’t abated. The city requires cleanup within 15 days of notification or the code inspector – unless the violation has been appealed – can have the graffiti removed and impose a lien on the property for related costs.
The city of St. Cloud does not have an ordinance specifically addressing graffiti, according to spokeswoman Sandra Ramirez.
And in its effort to help combat gangs, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has a graffiti abatement program whereby on an as-needed basis crews comprised of both Sheriff’s Office staff and volunteers help homeowners who don’t have the financial means to remove graffiti.
Twis Lizasuain, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, said the most recent gang-related graffiti has been documented in Poinciana, mostly on vacant homes. She said very few businesses call for help because they generally have the means to remove or paint over graffiti.
The telephone number for the gang/graffiti anonymous hotline is 321-697-4374.