(a) The exterior of all privately owned dwelling structures and premises shall be free from graffiti when such graffiti is visible from a right-of-way. Owners on whose property graffiti is displayed shall completely remove the graffiti or shall completely and uniformly cover the graffiti with appropriate wall finish.
(b) Whenever the Commissioner finds a structure or portion thereof to be in violation of division (a) hereof, said Commissioner shall forward by certified mail to the owner in control of such structure or portion thereof a written notice of violation describing the location of the graffiti to be removed or covered. Such notice and order shall be sent by certified mail to the owner’s tax mailing address, if available, as indicated on the County tax duplicate, and a copy of such notice shall be posted simultaneously in a conspicuous place on the premises to which it relates. Such notice of violation shall require the owner to remove or cover the graffiti in accordance with division (a) hereof or appeal the order to the Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals in accordance with division (c) within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the notice. Such mailing and posting shall be deemed legal service of such notice.
(c) The owner shall have a right to appeal the notice and decision of the Commissioner and appear before the Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals at a specified time and place to show cause why said owner should not comply with such notice.
(d) This Council determines that graffiti constitutes a public nuisance which must be abated. For this reason, if the owner fails to remove or cover the graffiti or appeal the order of the Commissioner within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the notice, the Commissioner shall cause the graffiti to be abated and any expenses or costs incurred under this section shall be paid by the owner of the dwelling structure or premises. If the owner fails to pay for the cost within thirty (30) days after the receipt from the Director of Community Development of a statement of the charges and costs incurred therein, then the Director of Community Development may certify the amount to the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses. The Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses shall make written return to the County Auditor of the action under this Code, with a statement of the charges for their services, the amount paid for the performing of such labor and a proper description of the premises for the purpose of making the same a lien upon such lands, to be collected as other taxes and returned to the City deposited with the General Fund with special accounting thereof in accordance with RC 715.261.
Notwithstanding the method of collection set forth above, the Director of Law may take any action necessary to collect the costs of graffiti abatement from the owner or other responsible party or parties.
(e) For purposes of this section, “graffiti” means any unauthorized inscription, word, figure or design which is marked, etched, scratched, drawn, applied or painted on any structural component of any building, structure, or other facility regardless of the nature of the material of the structural component. Such inscription, word, figure or design shall be deemed unauthorized if the property owner has not granted written permission prior to its application to the structure.
(Ord. No. 550-90. Passed 6-18-90, eff. 6-27-90)