City graffiti ordinance takes effect this week

Matt Hildner

Daily Press Writer

MONTROSE — After nearly seven months of tinkering, the city of Montrose will implement a new law to reduce graffiti this week.

The measure would impose penalties on violators ranging from fines to community service and even a year of jail time for anyone caught tagging. It would also make it illegal for businesses to sell graffiti implements, such as broad-tipped markers and spray paint, to minors.

To alert local businesses of the new law, the Montrose Area Merchants Association recently sent out a reminder in its Christmas newsletter.

“They need to know that this ordinance is going into effect soon,” MAMA Executive Director Julianne Messenger said.

Neither the Montrose Police Department nor Messenger, who served on the city’s graffiti task force, knew how many businesses in the city sold graffiti implements.

Messenger, however, believes that many local businesses were already in compliance.

“Most of them were already carding anyone who was buying them,” she said. “So that won’t really change much.”

But signage requirements for businesses who sell the implements will be a new twist.

Retailers will have to place a sign near the display of potential implements that states graffiti is against the law and includes the penalties facing taggers.

A second sign near cash registers or checkout lines will state that selling implements to anyone under the age of 18 is illegal.

Signs are available to business owners free at city hall. The merchants association also has some on hand.

Messenger has a set of the black and gold signs on display at her office and said they’re hard to miss.

“Everybody stops and looks at it because it looks like a construction-zone sign,” she said.

Messenger said she has also done her best to talk to all of the business owners she comes across in her daily work.

Sgt. Paul Eller, who runs the police department’s community policing program, said the city’s graffiti task force had yet to focus on education outreach to local schools.

While anyone caught tagging could face fines, jail time or community service, the apprehension of a minor will also include penalties for his or her parents.

Parents of a minor would be liable restitution and other financial penalties. In addition, they would have to accompany their child for up to 50 percent of any community service assigned as a penalty.

Should community service be assigned, the minimum amount would be 20 hours.

For those instances in which the perpetrator is not caught, the city has established a special account to assist with clean-up efforts. The city is accepting in-kind donations for the account.

The emphasis of the whole ordinance is to get the graffiti cleaned up as quickly as possible.

“That’s the way we’ve found graffiti to work,” Eller said. “If you clean it up, it doesn’t get retagged.”

For more information about the ordinance, visit the city’s Web site at www.cityofmontrose.org.