A. Nuisance Declared: The placement or maintenance of graffiti anywhere within public view in the Village poses a serious threat to the orderly and proper maintenance of the Village and to the safety, health, and welfare of the general public. Accordingly, the Village has determined that it is necessary to deal strictly with any person who commits or intends to commit the offense of placing graffiti within public view in the Village. The Village recognizes that the perpetrator is the principal offender under this section, and thus intends that every such perpetrator be punished accordingly. The Village also recognizes, however, that graffiti must be eradicated and, therefore, that the owner or person in control of any property or place on which graffiti has been placed in public view, while also a victim, must be required to remove that graffiti for his or her own good and for the protection of the safety, health, and welfare of all residents of the Village. The purpose of this section is to prevent the propagation of graffiti and to cause any graffiti that does appear to be removed as quickly as possible, with the objective of protecting the public safety, health, and welfare. Therefore, the Village hereby declares graffiti in public view to be a nuisance and, as a nuisance, to be subject to the provisions of this Code pertaining to nuisances.
B. Definition Of Graffiti: For the purpose of this section the word "graffiti" shall be defined as: any sign, symbol, marking, drawing, name, initial, word, diagram, sketch, numeral, emblem, picture or letter placed, or any combination thereof, that is painted, written, drawn, scratched, etched, or in any other way placed on any wall, fence, sign, building, or other structure, or sidewalk, pavement, post, stone, tree, or any other real or personal property or place, private or public, except as specifically permitted by State law or regulation or Village Code, ordinance, or regulation or with the express written permission of the owner, upon the real or personal property of said owner.
C. Graffiti Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for any person to place graffiti upon the real or personal, public or private, property of another without the express, written permission of the owner of said real or personal property.
D. Permission To Place Graffiti Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for the owner and/or occupant of fixed real or personal property which is in the public view to place or give permission to place any graffiti, as 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 materials about a public or private person.
E. Possession Of Graffiti Materials Unlawful: 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 making, scratching or etching with the intent to use such material(s) to violate subsections C and/or D of this section.
F. Abatement Of Nuisance: Upon notification by the Health and Sanitation Officer, the owner of property upon which graffiti has been illegally placed shall remove the graffiti within five (5) days of the date of notice. Upon request made by the owner of the property upon which graffiti has been illegally placed within two (2) days of the aforementioned notice, the Village may remove all graffiti at no cost of the property owner subject to the following conditions:
1. The Village shall only be responsible for the removal of the graffiti, not the restoration of the surface on which it was removed. Care will be taken to avoid unnecessary further damage to the property by the Village's graffiti removal process.
2. The owner of the property shall be responsible for the restoration, as necessary, of all surfaces damaged by the graffiti or graffiti removal process.
3. The owner authorizing the removal by the Village shall sign a release holding the Village harmless from any claims or suits brought for damages pursuant to any adverse or injurious effects of such chemicals, or from the actions taken by the Village, or its employees to remove the graffiti.
In addition to the penalty set forth in this section, if the owner does not request the Village's removal efforts or otherwise fails to remove the graffiti within the specified time shall cause abatement of this nuisance as prescribed in section 8-1-5 of this chapter, and costs shall be assessed to the owner.
G. Minors: In the event a minor is convicted of a violation of subsection C, D or E of this section, the provisions of section 10-4-3, "Parental Responsibility", of this Code shall apply to the parents of the minor offender.
H. Penalties:
1. Except as provided in subsection H2 of this section, any person violating any provision of this section shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) for each offense, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
2. Any person convicted of a violation of subsection C, D or E of this section, who is also found to have been a member of or a candidate for membership in a gang at the time the offense is committed shall be subject to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) in addition to other penalties listed in this section.
3. In addition to the aforesaid fines, the court or Administrative Hearing Officer may order the offender or other responsible party to pay restitution to the property owner for the costs of restoring the property to its state prior to the application of graffiti. (Ord. 17-09-20)