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This Article shall be known as the "Graffiti Removal and Abatement Ordinance."
(Added as Sec. 1300 by Ord. 29-94, App. 1/14/94; redesignated by Ord. 44-16
, File No. 160103, App. 4/8/2016, Eff. 5/8/2016)
The Board of Supervisors hereby finds and declares that:
(a) Graffiti is detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the community in that it promotes a perception in the community that the laws protecting public and private property can be disregarded with impunity. This perception fosters a sense of disrespect for the law that results in an increase in crime; degrades the community and leads to urban blight; is detrimental to property values, business opportunities, and the enjoyment of life; is inconsistent with the City's property maintenance goals and aesthetic standards; and results in additional graffiti and in other properties becoming the target of graffiti unless it is quickly removed from public and private property.
(b) Graffiti results in visual pollution and is hereby deemed a public nuisance. Graffiti must be abated as quickly as possible to avoid detrimental impacts on the City and its residents, and to prevent the further spread of graffiti.
(c) Graffiti is increasingly used by gangs to frighten residents of neighborhoods and instigate and escalate disputes with opposing gangs. Therefore, gang graffiti, in particular, exacerbates the degradation of San Francisco's quality of life. In order to alleviate this fear caused by gang graffiti, and to assist the partnership between the City and the neighborhoods in their mutual efforts to make streets safe, gang graffiti must be abated as quickly as possible.
(d) Graffiti also is used in guerilla marketing campaigns to promote or publicize, for commercial or non-commercial purposes, goods, products, and services in lieu of or to supplement conventional advertising techniques. This type of graffiti must be abated as quickly as possible to avoid detrimental impacts on the City and its residents, and to prevent the further spread of graffiti.
(e) It is the purpose of this Article 23 to provide a program for the removal of graffiti from walls, pavement, structures, and other improvements on both public and private property, including the public right-of-way.
(Added as Sec. 1301 by Ord. 29-94, App. 1/14/94; amended by Ord. 263-04, File No. 041150, App. 11/4/2004; redesignated and amended by Ord. 44-16
, File No. 160103, App. 4/8/2016, Eff. 5/8/2016)
For purposes of this Article 23, the following definitions shall apply:
City. "City" means the City and County of San Francisco.
Director. "Director" means the Director of the Department of Public Works or his or her designee.
Graffiti. "Graffiti" means any inscription, word, figure, marking, or design that is affixed, applied, marked, etched, scratched, drawn, or painted on any building, structure, Public Property, fixture, or other improvement, whether permanent or temporary, including by way of example only and without limitation, signs, banners, billboards, and fencing surrounding construction sites, whether public or private, without the consent of the owner of the property or the owner's authorized agent, and which is visible from the public right-of-way, or located on, in, above, or under the public right-of way. "Graffiti" shall not include: (1) any sign or banner that is authorized by, and in compliance with, the applicable requirements of this Code, the Planning Code, or the San Francisco Building Code; (2) any mural or other painting or marking on the property that is protected as a work of fine art under the California Art Preservation Act (California Civil Code Sections 987 et seq.) or as a work of visual art under the Federal Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq.); (3) any painting or marking that a City department makes in the course of its official duties or as part of a public education campaign; or (4) any painting or marking required for compliance with any local, State, or federal law.
Offending Party.
"Offending Party" shall mean any person or entity who defaces, damages, or destroys Public Property or private property with graffiti. "Offending Party" also shall include any person or entity who assists, enables, or permits another to deface, damage, or destroy Public Property or private property with graffiti.
Owner. "Owner" shall mean the owner of record of the property as set forth in the most current records of the Tax Assessor, or the owner's authorized agent.
Public Property.
"Public Property" shall mean those areas on, in, above, or under the public right-of way, including, but not limited to, sidewalks, streets, and plazas and City-owned or other public entity-owned property, buildings, and assets or public assets otherwise subject to City jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, artwork, buses and trolleys, encroachments, lampposts, manhole covers, parking meters, poles, signs and banners, street furniture, traffic control devices and boxes, transit stations, and street trees.
(a) It shall be unlawful for the owner of any real property within the City bearing graffiti to allow the graffiti to remain on the property in violation of this Article 23.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any Offending Party to deface, damage, or destroy Public Property or private property with graffiti.
(a) Notice of Violation. Where the Director determines that any property contains graffiti in violation of Section 2303, the Director may issue a notice of violation to the property owner and/or any Offending Party. At the time the notice of violation is issued, the Director shall take one or more photographs of the alleged graffiti, and shall make copies of the photographs available to the property owner and/or any Offending Party upon request. The photographs shall be dated and retained as a part of the file for the violation. The notice shall give the owner and/or any Offending Party 30 calendar days from the date of the notice to either remove the graffiti or request a hearing on the notice of violation, and shall set forth the procedure for requesting the hearing. The notice shall also inform the owner and/or any Offending Party that where the owner and/or any Offending Party fail to either remove the graffiti or request a hearing within 30 calendar days from the date of the notice, the Director may initiate proceedings in accordance with this Article 23 to enter upon the property and abate the graffiti. The notice shall inform the owner and/or any Offending Party that should the Director need to abate the graffiti, the owner and/or any Offending Party shall be liable for all costs of enforcement and abatement. The notice shall further inform the owner and/or any Offending Party that the minimum charge for removing graffiti is the greater of either $500 or the actual cost to the City, including overhead and administrative costs, as well as attorneys’ fees where the Director has elected to seek recovery of attorneys’ fees. The Director shall serve the notice of violation as follows:
(1) One copy of the Notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place upon the building or property.
(2) One copy of the Notice shall be served upon each of the following:
(A) The person, if known, in real or apparent charge and control of the premises or property involved;
(B) The owner of record; and
(C) Any Offending Party.
(3) The Director shall serve one copy of the Notice upon any Community Benefits District, Business Improvement District, or Green Benefits District, as those districts are defined in Articles 15 and 15A of the Business and Tax Regulation Code, in the neighborhood where the Notice is posted. The Director may also serve one copy of the notice upon any other parties with a recorded interest.
Service, as referenced in subsections (a)(2) and (3), may be made by personal service or by certified mail.
(b) Where property defaced by graffiti is owned by a public entity other than the City, the
Director shall cause removal of the graffiti only after securing the consent of an authorized representative of the public entity that has jurisdiction over the property. The Director shall use all reasonable efforts to minimize graffiti on City-owned property, but City-owned property shall not otherwise be subject to the requirements of this Article 23 except if it is associated with an Offending Party.
(c) Notwithstanding the time periods for noticing, hearings, and abatement specified in Sections 2304, 2305, and 2306, the Director, in his or her discretion, may modify such time periods if the graffiti is associated with an Offending Party to expedite such procedures, including, but not limited to, requiring the immediate abatement of graffiti, if the amount, frequency, level, type, or scope of graffiti warrants such action.
(Added as Sec. 1304 by Ord. 29-94, App. 1/14/94; amended by Ord. 211-99, File No. 990623, App. 7/30/99; Ord. 263-04, File No. 041150, App. 11/4/2004; Ord. 72-14
, File No. 140261, App. 5/23/2014, Eff. 6/22/2014; redesignated and amended by Ord. 44-16
, File No. 160103, App. 4/8/2016, Eff. 5/8/2016; amended by Ord. 56-22, File No. 211151, App. 4/15/2022, Eff. 5/16/2022; Ord. 174-22, File No. 220538, App. 8/4/2022, Eff. 9/4/2022)
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