(A) The village hereby declares graffiti in public view to be a public nuisance and shall be subject to the provisions of section 6-4-1 et seq., of this title.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to place graffiti upon the real or personal, public or private, property of another. For purposes of this section, "graffiti" shall be defined as any sign, symbol, marking, drawing, name, initial, word, diagram, sketch, picture or letter placed, without the express written permission of the owner, upon the real or personal property of said owner.
(C) It shall be unlawful for the owner and/or occupant of any fixed real or personal property which is in public view to place or give permission to place any graffiti, as is described in subsection (B) of this section on said real or personal property, if such graffiti incites violence by reference to gang or criminal activity, depicts or expresses obscenity by referring to sexual activity or contains defamatory material about a public or private person.
(D) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess while in any public building or in any public facility or while on private property spray paint containers, paint, ink, marking pens which contain a nonwater soluble fluid, brushes, applicator or other materials for marking, scratching or etching with the intent to use such material to violate subsections (B) and/or (C) of this section.
(E) Upon notification by any authorized agent or representative of the village, including the village administrator, chief of police or any authorized peace officer, the owner of property upon which graffiti has been illegally placed shall remove the graffiti within fifteen (15) days of the date of notice. Failure to remove the graffiti within the time specified shall cause the summary abatement of this nuisance, and costs shall be assessed to the owner.
(F) In addition to or in lieu of fines or penalties as provided in this chapter, persons convicted or found guilty of a violation of subsection (B), (C) or (D) of this section may be required by the court to perform public service work, including, but not limited to, cleaning up graffiti at locations within the village. (Ord. 1173, 2-11-2013)