Council passes graffiti measure

By T. Scott Batchelor
The Daily Reflector

Friday, September 14, 2007

The Greenville City Council unanimously passed an anti-graffiti ordinance Thursday.

One board member expressed concern about the financial burden the measure places on property owners forced to remove the vandals' work, and her colleague worried about reprisals by gangs who put up the displays.

Under the ordinance, which is similar to ones adopted in Wilmington and Charlotte, property owners have 10 days to remove or conceal graffiti after being notified by a code-enforcement officer.

The city could assess fines that increase from $50 to $250 if the eyesore is not removed, Police Chief William Anderson told the council.

Councilwoman Mildred Council said residents told her the graffiti is "hard to get off," and that "they didn't feel it was quite fair to punish people" for the action of others.

They were also worried about potential costs of eradicating the unwanted handiwork, she said.

"Because paint itself is really expensive, they were saying."

Anderson said the city would "work with property owners to conceal the graffiti or get it removed."

One paint company offers "graffiti-removal kits" through a program called "Graffiti Hurts," Anderson said.

Though the new ordinance is an enforcement measure, "We also feel it has to be a community-based concept as well," he said.

Councilwoman Pat Dunn said Keep America Beautiful, which is getting under way in Greenville, has programs through which "volunteers assist with removal of graffiti."

The new city ordinance is part of the Keep America Beautiful program, the chief said.

Anderson said a good deal of the graffiti he showed during a slide show for the council was gang-related.

Councilwoman Rose Glover raised the specter of retaliation by organized groups who paint or otherwise mark up property with signs, symbols and slogans.

In one instance where gang graffiti had been sprayed on a structure, "The neighbors are afraid to move it, because the people who painted it probably live in the house across the street," she said.

The ordinance is "going to be hard to sell to the community," she said. "These gangs are very vicious. They'll destroy your property."

She said gang members in California killed volunteers working with a priest to eradicate graffiti.

However, she said, "I will be willing to work with you to sell this to the community."

The police chief said it is "our job to do what we can to make sure that element of fear is eliminated."

Based on results of numerous studies, City Manager Wayne Bowers said, "People who put up graffiti like to see their work," and more will follow the longer it stays up. Eradicating the graffiti "will eventually slow the pace" with which it appears, he said.

In other business Thursday:

The council voted unanimously to purchase a home built by students taking instruction in building trades at Pitt Community College.

The home, which will be located on West Fifth Street, will serve as a police substation in the city's west Greenville 45-block revitalization area. The house costs $68,500 plus infrastructure costs, bringing the total to $125,000. The city will use federal community-development funds for the purchase.

The council unanimously voted to provide $5,000 to the Greenville Museum of Art to help defray costs for the museum's Art in City Hall project, which displays works by member artists on the walls of City Hall on a rotating basis.