Going after graffiti
Denver task force has right ideas, with one exception
Print March 27, 2007

Though Denver city workers removed record-setting levels of graffiti last year - more than 3 million square feet, a 23 percent increase over 2005 - spray-painted vandalism continues to blight the city.
Graffiti is a serious public nuisance. Once a single tag defaces a wall or a fence, it can attract a multitude of others. And the mere presence of graffiti in a neighborhood can invite additional crimes against people and property.

A task force convened last year of office-holders, city workers, police, neighborhood associations and other residents has met for several months to consider and recommend changes in city ordinances that would crack down on taggers.

The task force will offer formal proposals to the mayor and city council later this year. But it's not too early to look at and evaluate a couple of issues the panel has considered.

First, the task force wants to shift the responsibility for cleaning up graffiti on private land from the city to the property owner. Denver now cleans up graffiti on private property for free.

The panel would change that policy, and require land owners to remove graffiti at their own expense, beginning with the second graffiti citation.

In other nearby municipalities, including Lakewood and Aurora, cleanup is always the property owner's duty. If tags are not eradicated within five days or seven days (respectively) of getting a citation, then the city sends out crews and bills the owner.

The Denver task force would give property owners one-time forgiveness, and believes the city should continue to offer some assistance to land owners who are poor or disabled and are regularly targeted by taggers.

We agree. However, we do take issue with the strict timetable the task force would place on land owners who are cited by the city. They would have only 48 hours to remove tags on commercial property, and 72 hours on residential real estate, or they would face fines in addition to the city's removal fees.

Of course the longer graffiti hangs around, the more likely it is that one tag will soon be joined by others. Still, two or three days clearly fails to afford the owners of vacant parcels or those owners who live outside the metro area enough time to clean up their property. And what about homeowners who are cited, say, on a Monday but won't have a free day off work until Saturday? Are they supposed to drop everything in order to comply with this compressed timetable?

A grace period of a week after citation is more reasonable.

On the enforcement side, the task force has wisely endorsed stiffer penalties. It would double mandatory minimum fines from $250 to $500 for first offenders, from $400 to $750 for the second offense, and from $650 to $999 for third and subsequent violations.

Those who could not pay a fine could work it off for $5 an hour, preferably alongside members of the city's graffiti removal crews.

We'd urge making that cleanup requirement universal, not just an option for those with light wallets. Forcing vandals to publicly restore damaged property should deter other offenders, and send a message that tagging is a crime, not a legitimate form of art, and graffiti's removal is a priority for Denver.