Council hopes fine threat will remove graffiti
A city proposal shortens cleanup time to 2 weeks


By ALEXIS GRANT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Property owners or tenants who don't remove graffiti within two weeks after receiving notice from the city could be fined up to $500 under a proposal sent to the City Council on Monday.

The council's public safety committee voted unanimously to put the proposed ordinance up for a vote before the full council Wednesday. The panel likely will discuss the issue at that meeting, then delay the vote for a week.

Councilman Adrian Garcia, chairman of the committee, said the change would help city officials enforce rules that require Houstonians to remove graffiti on their property in a timely manner.

"People don't want to be at risk of getting a ticket," he said.

Existing law requires property owners to abate graffiti within 30 days, or ask the city to do it.

The proposed changes would extend that liability to property occupants, shorten the window for compliance to 10 business days, and allow city officials to issue a misdemeanor citation carrying a maximum fine of $500 to those who fail to comply after receiving a warning letter.

Property owners or occupants who are the victims of graffiti, also known as tagging, can call the city's 311 helpline to file a report. They can request that the city paint over the graffiti at no cost to the caller, though it's not guaranteed that the city's paint color will match the paint on the property.

Residents who notice graffiti around the city also are encouraged to call 311. The city removes most graffiti reported to the helpline within 10 business days, said Michael Marcotte, director of the Public Works Department.


Prohibited sales
The proposal also prohibits the sale of broad-tipped permanent markers and paint sticks with a width of at least one-quarter inch to children under 17 years old, unless they have a note from a parent. Violation of that law also would carry a maximum $500 fine. It's already illegal to sell spray paint to minors.

"It certainly does not apply to a minor when they utilize the marker or the paint stick for a class," said assistant city attorney Kuruvilla Oommen.


City follows own rule
The city first vetted the proposal in June, but delayed a full vote because members wanted to be sure the city could comply with the rule by removing graffiti on its own property within 10 business days, said Councilwoman Sue Lovell.

"By all measures and standards, we've been able to get under the 10-day limit that we're putting on other people," she said.

One local art store manager said it's impractical to make merchants check customer identification to sell common supplies.

"The approach has got to be to punish the offender," said John Gilbreath, general manager of Texas Art Supply on Montrose. "When somebody buys something, we can't control what they're going to do with it."

But Houston Police Capt. Mike Graham, who oversees the gang division, said it's difficult to enforce laws against tagging.

"We haven't caught that many people actually doing the graffiti just because you have to weigh the amount of manpower you have with how much resources you want to devote to it," he said.

alexis.grant@chron.com