(A) The City Council of the City of Los Angeles finds graffiti on public or private property a blighting element that leads to depreciation of the value of property and depreciates the value of the adjacent and surrounding properties to the extent that graffiti creates a negative impact on the entire city.
(B) The City Council finds and determines that the power of graffiti to create fear and insecurity within the community detracts from the sense of community enjoyed by residents making graffiti both a property crime and a social crime impacting the quality of life and freedom from intimidation that citizens desire within their neighborhoods.
(C) The City Council finds and determines that the spread of graffiti often leads to violence, genuine threats to life, and the perpetuation of gangs, gang violence, and gang territories.
(D) The City Council finds and determines that graffiti is obnoxious and a public nuisance, and must be eliminated by means of prevention, education, and abatement to avoid the detrimental impact of such graffiti on the City and its residents, and to prevent the further spread of graffiti.
(E) The purpose and intent of the City Council, through the adoption of this Article, is to protect public and private property from acts of vandalism and defacement.