Council OKs Anti-Graffiti Ordinance

By a 3-2 vote, the Glendale City Council gave final approval Tuesday to a wide-ranging anti-graffiti ordinance aimed at vandals, paint stores and the owners of defaced property.

The measure requires merchants to lock up spray paint offered for sale and demands that building owners promptly remove graffiti from their walls.

It also imposes criminal penalties on graffiti vandals and allows the council to offer rewards for tips leading to their arrests.

At Tuesday’s meeting, four speakers objected to a provision that allows the city to clean up graffiti and bill the property owner if the owner disregards an order to do the work.

Mayor Larry Zarian sided with the property owners, saying the city should pursue graffiti vandals instead of victimizing the owners a second time. Councilman Richard Jutras joined Zarian in voting against the measure.

But council members Ginger Bremberg, Jerold F. Milner and Carl W. Raggio voted for it, arguing that property owners must share the responsibility for eliminating unsightly graffiti. City officials have said they will provide help to property owners in hardship cases.

The law takes effect Dec. 27, but city staff members have recommended the new rules be phased in over a three-month period.