[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Cortland 11-19-1996 (Ch. 15,
Art. IV, of the 1969 Code of Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the intention of the Common Council of the City of Cortland
to promote the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the
City by adopting this chapter designed to deter the defacing of public
and private property through the use of aerosol spray cans, broad
tip markers, pens and writing and artistic devices.
For the purpose of this chapter the words and phrases set forth
below shall be defined as follows:
Any felt-tip marker or similar implement containing a fluid
or coloring matter and which has a flat or angled writing surface
of greater than 1/4 square inch.
To mark the face or surface, or disfigure, injure or spoil
the appearance.
Any writing, painting, drawing, staining, carving, etching
or other marking, made by the use of chalk, paint, ink, aerosol spray
can, knife, pencil or any other marking device and/or material, of
any work, name, lettering, inspection, figure, design or other representation
made upon a portion of a building and/or structure without the consent
of the owner. Signs erected, created and constructed in accordance
with the provisions of the City of Cortland Code of Ordinances are
not included in the above definition.
Any instrument or similar implement that contains an ink
fluid or similar coloring matter.
Any crayon, pastels stick, charcoal and paint.
A.Â
No person shall write, paint, spray or draw any work, inscription,
design, figure or mark of any type on any public or private building
or other structure or any other real or personal property owned, operated
or maintained by the City or any agency or instrumentality thereof
or by any person, firm or corporation unless the express permission
of the owner or operator of the property has been obtained.
The parent or legal guardian, other than the State or Local Social Services Department or foster parent, of any minor over the age of 10 and under 18 that violates any provision of this chapter shall be held liable for any damages and/or cleanup costs that result from a violation of Subsection A or B of § 150-2 of this chapter.
A.Â
It shall be the responsibility of every owner and/or occupant of any building and/or structure which has been defaced by graffiti to remove or cover the graffiti and to restore the surface area of the building and/or structure within 20 calendar days of the defacement. The responsibility to remove or cover graffiti and to restore the surface area of a building and/or structure shall lie notwithstanding that the owner and/or occupant may not have created the graffiti. The failure of an owner and/or occupant of any building and/or structure to remove said graffiti within the time prescribed or to contract with the City for such removal as hereinafter provided shall be subject to the penalties set forth in § 150-6B.
B.Â
An owner and/or occupant of a building and/or structure may request
that the Department of Public Works of the City of Cortland remove
such graffiti by executing and delivering an authorization for graffiti
removal form and a consent-indemnification form[1] and by paying the charges and fees indicated therein.
[1]
Editor's Note: The authorization for graffiti removal and
consent-indemnification forms are included at the end of this chapter.
A.Â
Any person who violates the provisions of Subsection A or B of § 150-3 of this chapter shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment of not more than one year, or both. The court may consider a conditional discharge upon the condition that, with the consent of the owner, the defendant restore the property so defaced to its original condition by means of the defendant's own labor or on the condition of monetary restitution in an amount not to exceed the cost of said restoration.
B.Â
Any person who violates the provisions of § 150-5A of this chapter for a first offense shall be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine of not more than $250, and for a second or subsequent offense shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or three months' imprisonment, or both.
The Code Enforcement Office of the City of Cortland and/or any
other law enforcement agency are hereby authorized to issue appearance
tickets in the enforcement of this chapter pursuant to Article 150
of the Criminal Procedure Law.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of any section
shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence,
paragraphs, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy
and in which such judgment shall have been rendered.