Chapter 4.8.1
GRAFFITI ABATEMENT
Sections:
4.8.1.02 Use of City funds to abate graffiti.
4.8.1.03 Abatement of graffiti and recovery of costs to abate graffiti.
4.8.1.01 Terms defined.
For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section.
“Abatement and related administrative costs” or “expense of abatement” includes, but is not limited to, court costs, attorney’s fees, cost of removal of the graffiti or other inscribed material, costs of repair and replacement of defaced property, and the law enforcement costs incurred to the City in identifying the apprehending the minor.
“Graffiti or other inscribed material” means any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, mark, or design that is written, marked, etched, scratched, drawn, or painted on any real or personal property.
“Minor” means a minor as defined in Government Code Section 38772, subdivision (d)(3). (§ 1, Ord. 95-11, eff. May 3, 1995)
4.8.1.02 Use of City funds to abate graffiti.
(a) Pursuant to Government Code Section 53069.3, the City is hereby authorized to use City funds to remove graffiti or other inscribed material from publicly or privately owned real or personal property located within the City or County of Fresno and to replace or repair public or privately owned property within the City or County of Fresno that has been defaced with graffiti or other inscribed material that cannot be removed cost effectively.
(b) The City may use City funds only for the removal of the graffiti or other inscribed material itself, or, if the graffiti or other inscribed material cannot be removed cost effectively, the repair or replacement of the portion of the property that was defaced, and not the painting, repair, or replacement of other parts of the property that were not defaced.
(c) The removal, repair, or replacement may be performed, in the case of publicly owned real or personal property, only after securing the consent of the public entity having jurisdiction over the property, and in the case of privately owned real or personal property, only after securing the consent of the owner or possessor. (§ 1, Ord. 95-11, eff. May 3, 1995)
4.8.1.03 Abatement of graffiti and recovery of costs to abate graffiti.
Notwithstanding Chapter 18 of Title 5 of the Clovis Municipal Code, pursuant to Government Code Sections 38772, 38773.2, 38773.6 and 53069.3, the following procedures may be utilized by the City for the abatement of graffiti or other inscribed material.
(a) If the City determines that graffiti or other inscribed material exists on real or personal property as defined in this Chapter, the City may use City funds in accordance with Section 4.8.1.02 of this chapter to remove the graffiti or repair or replace the property.
(b) If the graffiti or other inscribed material was created, caused, or committed by a minor, the City may recover the abatement and related administrative costs in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) Either before removal of the graffiti or other inscribed material by the City or after removal by the City of the graffiti or other inscribed material pursuant to Section 4.8.1.02, the City Manager, or his or her designee, shall give the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor notice of a hearing to be held by the City Manager, or his or her designee, which may include an outside “hearing officer” contracted for by the City, for the purpose of showing cause why the City should not recover abatement and related administrative costs, from the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor. Following notice, the hearing shall be held at the time, date, and place designated and at such hearing the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor may each be heard and provided with the opportunity to show cause why the City should not recover the abatement and related administrative costs from the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor. Following the hearing, the individual who conducted the hearing shall determine whether the City should recover abatement and related administrative costs from the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor.
(2) Notice of the hearing shall be served either personally or by mailing a copy of such notice and order by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to the address of the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor, as known by the City Manager, or the City Manager’s designee, by virtue of reliable information. Service by certified mail in the manner provided herein shall be effective on the date of mailing. If the notice is served by personal service, the hearing shall not be held less than seventy-two (72) hours after the notice is served. If the notice is served by certified mail, the hearing shall not be held less than five (5) days after the notice is served. The failure of the minor or the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor to receive the notice prescribed herein shall not affect the validity of any proceedings taken under this chapter. In addition, notice to the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor in the manner prescribed herein shall constitute notice to the minor, irrespective of whether the minor actually receives notice.
(3) If the individual who conducted the hearing determines that the City should recover the abatement and related administrative costs from the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor, the City shall provide an accounting of the funds along with a demand for payment to the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor. The parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for the abatement and related administrative costs, pursuant to Government Code Sections 38772, 38773.2, and 38773.6.
(4) In addition to any other remedy provided for in this chapter or available at law, the abatement and related administrative costs shall constitute a personal obligation of the minor and the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor, and may be collected by any lawful method.
(5) In the event the abatement and related administrative costs have not been paid within thirty (30) days from the date of issuing an accounting and demand for payment, upon resolution of the City Council confirming any amount unpaid, the amount unpaid shall constitute a special assessment pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.6 and become an assessment lien against a parcel of land owned by the minor or the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor. Notice of the special assessment against the parcel of land to which it relates shall be recorded in the county recorder’s office of the county in which the parcel of land is located, and a copy shall be turned over to the tax collector for the county wherein the parcel of land is located. Notice of the special assessment shall specify: the amount of the special assessment; identify the City as the agency on whose behalf the assessment is imposed; the date of the Council resolution; the street address, legal description, and assessors parcel number of the parcel on which the assessment is imposed; the name and address of the recorded owner of the parcel; and that the assessment has been imposed pursuant to Chapter 8.1 of Title 4 of the Clovis Municipal Code. A copy of the Council resolution may also be recorded and turned over to the tax collector.
(6) Upon notice to the tax collector of the County, the assessment shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of municipal taxes shall be applicable to the special assessment.
(7) In accordance with Government Code Section 38773.6, if any real property to which the abatement and related administrative costs relates has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, or if a lien of a bona fide encumbrancer for value has been created and attaches thereon prior to the date on which the first installment of the taxes would become delinquent, then the abatement and related administrative costs shall not result in a lien against the real property, but shall instead be transferred to the unsecured role for collection.
(8) If the assessment is paid through a special pay-off directly to the City, the City shall record a notice of satisfaction containing the relevant information specified in subsection (b)(5) of this section. (§ 1, Ord. 95-11, eff. May 3, 1995)
4.8.1.04 Cumulative remedies.
The procedures set forth in this chapter are not exclusive and nothing contained herein shall be deemed to preclude the City from initiation of any civil or criminal action or from the pursuit of any available remedy. (§ 1, Ord. 95-11, eff. May 3, 1995)
4.8.1.05 Severability.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The City Council declares that it would have adopted each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. (§ 1, Ord. 95-11, eff. May 3, 1995)