A. Defacement: It shall be unlawful for any person to write, paint, spray, chalk, etch or otherwise apply graffiti on, or to deface, damage, disfigure, destroy or mar, any public or privately owned buildings, signs, walls, permanent structures, places, or other surfaces located on any public or privately owned property within the village.
1. Exception: The provisions of this section shall not apply to federal, state or local government officials and employees, or to authorized public or private utility officials and employees, with respect to the posting or labeling of tags, notices, or other markings on buildings or other property while in the course of their employment or in the performance of their official duties.
2. Affirmative Defense: It shall be an affirmative defense to an alleged violation of this subsection if such activity was undertaken with the prior written consent of the owner of the property demonstrating that the owner was aware of the content and method of the marking or inscription to be placed thereon; provided, however, that no owner of property shall place or give permission to place on any property, real or personal, that is in the public view, any sign, symbol, marking, name, initial, work, diagram, sketch, picture or letter that 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.
B. Possession Of Graffiti Implements Or Paraphernalia:
1. It shall be unlawful for any person to have in his or her possession any graffiti implement or paraphernalia while in, upon or immediately adjacent to any public property, or while in or upon private property without the consent of the owner, with the intent to paint, spray, chalk, etch or otherwise apply graffiti on, or to deface, damage, disfigure, destroy, or mar, any public or privately owned buildings, signs, walls, permanent structures, places or other surfaces located on any public or privately owned property within the village in a manner prohibited by this chapter.
2. It shall be unlawful for any minor to have in his or her possession any graffiti implement or paraphernalia while in, upon or immediately adjacent to any public property, or while in or upon any private property without the consent of the owner, whether the minor is or is not in a vehicle.
a. Exceptions:
(1) A minor who is accompanied by his or her legal guardian or under the immediate supervision of an adult teacher.
(2) A minor who is attending and actively enrolled in a class which requires use of such implements, for which written permission from the school is in his or her possession. (Ord. 2011-23, 8-1-2011)