[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Garfield 8-3-1993 by Ord. No. 2128 (Ch. 139 of the 1979 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Property maintenance — See Ch. 242.
[Amended 12-22-1998 by Ord. No. 2254]
Graffiti on buildings and tangible personal property has resulted in damage and defacing of public and private property and has contributed to the degradation and blight of neighborhoods and private and public places and facilities. The City Council has found that graffiti is obnoxious and a blight on the community causing reduced property values, inviting further vandalism and crime, loss of community pride and loss of business to neighboring commercial enterprises. The easy application and accessibility of spray paint and indelible markers has facilitated their misuse and hinders enforcement agencies in prevention and application.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
GRAFFITI
Any letters, numbers, word or words, writing, inscription, symbol, drawing, carving, etching or other marking of any nature whatsoever which defaces, obliterates, covers, alters, damages, mars or destroys the real or personal property of another. It shall not include the occasional marking of the public sidewalks or streets with chalk for traditional children's games.
INDELIBLE MARKER
Any felt tip marker, china marker or similar device or implement that contains a fluid which is not water soluble and which has a flat or angled writing surface 1/2 inch or greater.
MINOR
A person under 18 years of age.
SPRAY PAINT CONTAINER
Any container or other device which contains paint or other pigmented substance and which is intended to expel the paint or pigment without the aid of additional devices or substances, and includes an aerosol spray paint can as it is commonly known.
A. 
No person shall, without the prior consent of the owner, place, write, paint, draw, figure, inscribe or mark or cause any graffiti to be placed upon any public property or the real or personal property of another.
B. 
No person or entity shall sell, offer for sale or transfer any spray paint container or indelible marker to a minor, unless said minor is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian at the time of the purchase or transfer.
C. 
No minor shall knowingly present or furnish false or fraudulent evidence of their age to secure the purchase or transfer of any spray paint container or indelible marker.
D. 
No person shall possess a spray paint container or indelible marker in any public building or upon any public facility or private property with the intent to use the same to deface a public building, facility or private property, absent express permission to the contrary.
[Added 12-7-1993 by Ord. No. 2134]
E. 
Any parent, guardian or custodian in charge of a minor who is convicted of violating this chapter who has neglected to properly supervise such minor shall be presumed to have aided and assisted, allowed and/or permitted said minor in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
[Added 12-7-1993 by Ord. No. 2134]
F. 
It shall be unlawful for any person who applied graffiti not to remove the same within 24 hours of its application. Parents shall be responsible for the costs of removal when the graffiti has been applied by his and/or her minor child. To the extent otherwise permissible by law, should community service be ordered by the Municipal Court of the City of Garfield or the Family Part of the Superior Court, the parents and child shall both be involved in said community service project.
[Added 12-22-1998 by Ord. No. 2254]
[Added 12-22-1998 by Ord. No. 2254; amended 3-16-1999 by Ord. No. 2262; 6-24-2008 by Ord. No. 2528]
A. 
It shall be the duty and responsibility of all property owners to keep the exterior of their premises and structures free of all nuisances and hazards, including, without being limited to, all graffiti on the outside of their premises. Any property owner upon whose property graffiti is placed shall be required to remove same within 48 hours of having received written notice from the City of Garfield of said condition and the requirement of removal. The failure to cause said removal shall be deemed a violation of this chapter.
B. 
A violation of the within provision shall only be deemed to exist upon the occurrence of the following:
(1) 
The owner of the property is provided with written notice from the City in accordance with the preceding subsection; and
(2) 
The owner fails to remove the graffiti after having received such notice; or
(3) 
The owner fails to provide the Department of Public Works access to the property for the purpose of removal in accordance with § 176-5 of this chapter; or
(4) 
The owner of the property fails to provide the Department of Public Works with the supplies, paint or other materials necessary in order to facilitate the removal.
[Added 12-22-1998 by Ord. No. 2254; amended 3-16-1999 by Ord. No. 2262; 6-24-2008 by Ord. No. 2528]
A. 
Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works is hereby authorized to remove graffiti from publicly and privately owned structures. Prior to causing the removal, however, the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works shall make a finding that a graffiti or other inscribed material is obnoxious and comes within the intent and purpose of this chapter. The Superintendent shall, thereafter, authorize members of his department and other representatives of the City of Garfield to cause the removal but only after providing the property owner with the opportunity to remove the same first in accordance with § 176-4 of this chapter. The property owner shall be required to grant the City consent to remove the graffiti and consent to enter upon the premises in order to complete the removal. Furthermore, the property owner will be required to provide the Department of Public Works with the paint and/or other materials necessary in order to cause said removal.
B. 
Notwithstanding anything set forth herein to the contrary, the property owner, if he or she fails to remove the graffiti voluntarily, shall be responsible for all reasonable costs incurred by the City of Garfield for such removal, including the manpower costs to be calculated by the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works whose determination as to the cost shall be deemed final.
[Added 12-22-1998 by Ord. No. 2254]
The City Council hereby authorizes the City Manager to provide for a reward in the amount of $500 leading to the identification, apprehension and conviction of any person who applies graffiti within the City of Garfield.
[Added 12-22-1998 by Ord. No. 2254]
The provisions of this chapter may be enforced by the Police Department, the Department of Public Works, the Health Department, the Property Maintenance Department or the Building Department of the City of Garfield.
[Amended 12-22-1998 by Ord. No. 2254]
A. 
Unless jurisdiction for an offense hereunder shall be vested in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-20 et seq., the New Jersey Code of Juvenile Justice, any person who violates the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding $2,000; imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days; and/or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days and, as an additional condition of sentencing, a requirement to restore the property which is the subject of the graffiti or make monetary restitution to the private property owner, in the court's discretion. Additionally, the court shall impose an order requiring the person convicted hereunder to reimburse the City of Garfield for the reasonable costs of graffiti removal in the event that, pursuant to the terms of this chapter, the City caused the removal of the graffiti with its own manpower and resources.
[Amended 4-25-2006 by Ord. No. 2457]
B. 
A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day on which a violation occurs.