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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNS-2720 - Amending Section 17-70 and Adding Sections 17-70.1 through 17-17.2 to Santa Ana Municipal Code, Amending Sections 1-18.2, 10-178, and Adding Section 41-638.2, all Related to Anti-Graffiti Measures ORDINANCE NO. NS-2720 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING SECTION 17-70 AND ADDING SECTIONS 17-70.1 THROUGH 17-17.2 TO THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE, AMENDING SECTIONS 1-18.2 10-178, AND ADDING SECTION 41-638.2, ALL RELATED TO ANTI-GRAFFITI MEASURES THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines and declares as follows: A. The existence of graffiti, on both publiC and private property, is public nuisance and a condition within the city which results in blight and deterioration of property values, impairs the comfortable enjoyment of life and property for adjacent and surrounding residents and owners, and contributes to the overall detriment of the city. B. Graffiti constitutes a threat to public safety which must be abated to alleviate the detrimental impact of such graffiti on the city, and to prevent the further spread of graffiti. C. Certain categories of graffiti which incite violence, are especially harmful and must be removed as quickly as possible to avoid or minimize harm to persons and the whole community. D. Government Code Section 53069.3, together with the city's powers as a charter city, authorize a city to enact ordinances to provide for the use of city funds to remove graffiti from public or private property, and in order to promote expeditious removal of obnoxious graffiti, the use of public funds is authorized as provided in the following sections of the chapter. E. Government Code Section 53069.5 authorizes a city to offer and pay a reward for information leading to the determination of the identity of, and the apprehension of any person who willfully damages property with graffiti. F. Under the authority granted by the existing Section 17-70 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code, the City expends in excess of $1 ,500,000 per year in public funds to abate graffiti on public and private properties. To a very great degree, these expenditures relieve private property owners from having to incur costs to remove graffiti from their property. Ordinance No. NS-2720 Page 1 016 G. Nevertheless, there are situations which prevent the City's program from successfully abating graffiti or which cause particular properties to be defaced with graffiti at a significantly higher rate than other properties imposing a disproportionate burden on the community and the program, including: 1. Private property owners who refuse to grant consent to the City to abate graffiti on their property and yet fail to exercise due care to prevent or abate such graffiti, 2. Private property owners whose buildings have areas such as a second stories that can't be reached by City personnel and yet fail to exercise due care to prevent or abate such graffiti, 3. Private property owners who maintain their property in a manner such that it is an attractive nuisance that encourages or unnecessarily facilitates repeated defacement. H. The proposed amendment ordinance is exempt from further review and in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, categorical exemption ER No 2006-21 will be filed for this project. Section 2. Section 17-70 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is amended to read in full as follows (deletions are striken out and additions are emphasized in bold: Sec. 17-70. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the meaning ascribed thereto: (a) Graffiti means any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, or design that is marked, etched, scratched, drawn, or painted on any real or personal property with a graffiti implement. (b) Graffiti implement means an aerosol paint container, a felt tip marker, gum label, a paint stick, etching tool, or other similar devices capable of scarring glass, metal, concrete or wood. (c) Aerosol paint container means any aerosol container, regardless of the material from which it is made, which is adapted or made for the purpose of spraying paint or other substance capable of defacing property. (d) Felt tip marker means any marker or similar implement with a tip which, at its broadest width, is greater than one-sixteenth (1/16) of an inch, containing an ink or other pigmented liquid. (e) Paint stick or graffiti stick means a device containing a solid form of paint, chalk, wax, epoxy, or other similar substance capable of being applied to a surface by pressure, and upon application, leaving a mark at least one- sixteenth (1/16) of an inch in width. (I) Gum label means any sheet of paper, fabric, plastic or other substance with an adhesive backing which, when placed on a surface, is not easily removable. Ordinance No. NS-2720 Page 20f6 (g) Property means personal or real property. (h) Responsible Party means the owner of a property as shown on the last equalized tax rolls of the County of Orange andlor the person who has primary responsibility for control of property or who has primary responsibility for the repair or maintenance of property. Section 3. Sections 17-70.1 through 17-70.2 are hereby added to chapter 17 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 17-70.1. Reward provisions. (a) Pursuant to Section 53069.5 of the Government Code, the city may offer a reward of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00). The amount of the reward shall be determined by the police chief, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person for violation of Penal Code Section 594, not to exceed one (1) reward of five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation. In the event of multiple contributors of information for a single violation, the reward amount shall be divided by the city in the manner deemed appropriate by the police chief. For the purposes of this section, diversion of the offending violator to a community service program, or a plea bargain to a lesser offense, shall constitute a conviction. (b) Claims for rewards under this section shall be filed, processed, and paid in accordance with procedures established by the police chief. (c) The person convicted of committing the graffiti offense shall be liable for any rewards paid pursuant to this section and, if that person is an unemancipated minor, the custodial parent of said minor shall be liable for any rewards paid pursuant to this section. (d) No law enforcement officer, municipal officer, official or employee of the City shall be eligible for a reward made pursuant to this section. Sec. 17-70.2. Removal provisions. (a) The existence of graffiti within the city limits of Santa Anaconstitutes a public and private nuisance and may be abated according to the provisions and procedures contained in this chapter. (b) The City Manager is authorized and directed to establish and implement a program to remove graffiti from private and public real and personal property in the City under such standards as the City Manager and City Council may establish from time to time. Those standards shall include, but not limited to: i. Obtaining the written consent of the Responsible Party upon terms approved by the City Attorney. II. Availability of funding in the City budget. Ordinance No. NS-2720 Page 3 016 III. Restricting painting to areas reasonable necessary to abate the graffiti. IV. Restricting areas to be abated to those viewable from public rights-of-way and first floor locations. v. Conditioning repeated abatement of the same property upon modifcations or improvements to the property to discourage or prevent defacement. (c) It shall be unlawful for any Responsible Party to permit property which is defaced with graffiti, who, in accordance with the standards of the City program described in (b) above, (i) refuses to grant consent to the City to abate graffiti on their property, (ii) has an area not qualifying for abatement, or (iii) otherwise maintains their property in a manner such that it constitutes an attractive nuisance contrary to conditions imposed, to remain so defaced for a period deemed reasonable under the circumstances, but in no event longer than seven (7) days after notice of same. If the Responsible Party fails to remove the offending graffiti within the time period specified, the city may also commence abatement and cost recovery proceedings for the removal of the graffiti pursuant to the provisions of chapter 17 of this code. Section 4. Section 1-18.2 is amended to Chapter 1 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 1-18.2. Public works agency authority to issue citations. The executive director of public works agency or his designee has the duty to enforce the provisions of sections 10-26, 10-27, 10-71 and 10-100, 16-1 through 16-4, 16-30, 16-31,16-33 through 16-37.5, 16-39, 16-48, 18-17, 36-148, 33-30, 33-60, 33-62, 33- 152,33-157,33-162,33-188, 33-189 through 33-192, 36-45, 36-46, 39-26, 39-33 and 39-106 through 39-111, chapter 17 and provisions of article IV of chapter 18 of this Code. The executive director of the public works agency or his designee is authorized to arrest persons without a warrant whenever they have reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a violation of said provisions in their presence. In any case in which a person is arrested pursuant to this section and the person arrested does not demand to be taken before a magistrate, said officer or employee making the arrest shall prepare a written notice to appear and release the person on his or her promise to appear as prescribed by Chapter 5C, Title III, of part 2 of the Penal Code of the State of California (commencing with Section 853.6). Section 5. Section 10-178 is amended to Chapter 10 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: (a) Every person who owns, conducts, operates or manages a retail commercial establishment selling aerosol containers, or marker pens Ordinance No. NS-2720 Page 4 of 6 with tips exceeding four (4) millimeters in width, containing anything other than a solution which can be removed with water after it dries, shall store or cause such aerosol containers or marker pens to be stored in an area viewable by, but not accessible to, the public in the regular course of business without employee assistance, pending legal sale or disposition of such marker pens or paint containers. (b) Every person who owns, conducts, operates or manages a retail commercial establishment selling masonry or glass drill bits, carbide drill bit, glass cutters, grinding stones, awls, chisels or carbide scribes, shall store or cause such items to be stored in an area viewable by, but not accessible to, the public in the regular course of business without employee assistance, pending legal sale or disposition of such items. Section 6. Section 41-638.2 is added to Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 41-638.2. Standards for Graffiti Abatement. In approving tentative or parcel maps, conditional use permits, variances, or other similar land use entitlements, the city shall consider imposing any or all related conditions at the public hearing required by law for approval of the tentative map, conditional use permit, variance or other similar land use entitlement. If approved: (a) Use of anti-graffiti material. Developer shall apply an anti-graffiti material of a type and nature that is acceptable to the Executive Director of Planning and Building to each of the publicly-viewable surfaces on the improvements to be constructed on the site deemed by the Executive Director of Planning and Building to be likely to attract graffiti ("graffiti- attracting surfaces"); and (b) Right of access to remove graffiti. Developer shall grant, in a form approved by the City Attorney a right-of-entry over and access to such parcels upon forty-eight (48) hours of posting of notice by authorized city employees or agents to the city for the purpose of removing or "painting over" graffiti from graffiti-attracting surfaces previously designated by the director, and the right to remove such graffiti; and (c) Owner to immediately remove graffiti. Developer shall provide, either as part of the conditions, covenants and restrictions, or as separate covenants recorded against individual lots, prior to resale of same property or land, which covenant shall run with the land and be for the benefit of the city, in a form satisfactory to the city attorney, that the owner of the lots shall immediately remove any graffiti placed thereon. Section 7. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any Ordinance No. NS-2720 Page 5 of 6 court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that anyone or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. ADOPTED this 7'h day of Auqust 2006 ~' G~ Migue A. Pulido Mayor d "- .us C( /3l.5? d- APPROVED AS TO FORM: Jose . Fletcher, City Attorney t By: . vnCtr--- aula J. Coleman Assistant City Attorney AYES Councilmembers Alvarez. Bisl. Bustamante. Christv. Garcia. Solorio (6) NOES: Council members None (0) ABSTAIN: Councilmembers None (0) NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers Pulido (1) CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, PATRICIA E. HEALY, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify that the attached Ordinance No. NS-2720 to be the original ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on Auqust 7, 2006, and that said ordinance was published in accordance with the Charter of the City of Santa Ana .-7 . Date: 0/ ~~6 Clerko;the'council City of Santa Ana Ordinance No. NS-2720 Page 6 016