City of Amesbury, MA Graffiti

Declaration of nuisance. It is hereby declared that graffiti, upon public and private property, is a nuisance which endangers the public health, safety, morals and welfare of the citizens of Amesbury. Graffiti contributes to the creation of substandard, decadent and blighted neighborhoods; to the spread of crime and juvenile delinquency; to the reduction of property values; to the arrest of economic growth; and to the overall decline in the quality of life within the Town of Amesbury. Left uncontrolled, graffiti encourages additional graffiti and constitutes an economic and social liability for the Town of Amesbury and its citizens.

Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

GRAFFITI

Any letters, words, writings, numbers, symbols, logos, drawings, paintings, carvings, etchings, inscriptions or other markings, not required or approved of by law, affixed to any real property or improvements thereto, either privately or publicly held, which destroy, damage, deface, disfigure, alter, mark or mar the property in any manner or to any degree.

OWNER

Every person, alone or severally with others, who:

(1)

Has legal title to any building or parcel of land, vacant or otherwise;

(2)

Has care, charge or control of any building or parcel of land, vacant or otherwise, in any capacity, including but not limited to agent, executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee or guardian of the estate or the holder of legal title;

(3)

Is a mortgagee in possession of any such property; or

(4)

Is an agent, trustee or other person appointed by the courts and vested with possession or control of any such property.

REAL PROPERTY

Land and whatever is attached to its surface, including but not limited to buildings, bridges, poles, fences, trestles, playground equipment, fire hydrants, gravestones, tablets, trees, rocks, or any other object, natural or man-made.

Property owner responsible for the removal of graffiti.

(1)

The prompt removal of graffiti shall be the responsibility of the owner as defined herein, whether public or private, following the discovery or notice thereof.

(2)

In the case of privately owned property, the owner shall be required to remove or cause graffiti to be removed within 10 days following receipt of written notice from the Board of Health, or its authorized agent, served upon the owner or the owner's authorized agent. The notice shall be in writing and shall contain an order to remove the graffiti, hereinafter sometimes called an "order of notice." The notice shall also contain the following information:

(a)

The location of the property.

(b)

A concise description of the graffiti conditions.

(c)

A statement that the graffiti must be removed within 10 days after receipt of notice.

(d)

A statement that if the graffiti is not removed within the 10 days, the property will be subject to the removal, cost and penalty provisions.

(e)

Notification of an owner's right to a hearing.

Request and procedure for hearing.

(1)

The owner or owner's authorized agent on whom an order of notice has been served pursuant to this section may request a hearing before the Board of Health by filing with the Board of Health, within seven days after the day the order was served, a written petition requesting a hearing on the matter. Upon receipt of such petition, the Board of Health shall set a time and place for such hearing and shall inform the petitioner thereof in writing. The hearing shall be commenced not later than 30 days after the day on which the order was served. The Board of Health, upon application of the petitioner, may postpone the date of hearing for a reasonable time beyond such thirty-day period if, in the judgment of the Board of Health, the petitioner has submitted a good and sufficient reason for such postponement.

(2)

At the hearing, the petitioner shall be given an opportunity to be heard and to show why the order should be modified or withdrawn.

(3)

After the hearing, the Board of Health shall sustain, modify, or withdraw the order and shall inform the petitioner, in writing, of its decision. If the Board of Health sustains or modifies the order, it shall be carried out within the time period allotted in the original order or in the modification.

(4)

Every notice, order, or other record prepared by the Board of Health in connection with the hearing shall be entered as a matter of public record in the office of the Clerk of the City or in the Board of Health office.

Judicial appeal. Any owner aggrieved by the final decision of the Board of Health with respect to an order of notice issued under the provisions of this section may seek relief therefrom in any court of competent jurisdiction, as provided by the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Failure to remove graffiti from privately owned property.

(1)

If an owner, as defined herein, has not requested a hearing within seven days after receiving notice and fails or refuses to remove graffiti within the period provided, the Town of Amesbury may enter upon the property and remove the graffiti.

(2)

If an owner, as defined herein, has been ordered to remove graffiti following a hearing on the matter and fails or refuses to remove the graffiti within 10 days following the hearing, the City may enter upon the property and remove the graffiti.

Other relevant laws. Nothing herein shall prevent the Town of Amesbury from enforcing other applicable sections of this Code or applicable sections of the Massachusetts General Laws, including but not limited to MGL c. 266, § 126.

Cost of removal.

(1)

If the owner, or the owner's authorized agent, fails to comply with an order and the Town of Amesbury removes or causes such graffiti to be removed, the removal cost(s), pursuant to MGL c. 111, § 125, shall constitute a debt due the City and shall be recoverable from such owner in an action of contract.

(2)

Furthermore, pursuant to MGL c. 111, § 125, any such debt, together with interest thereon at the rate of 6% from the date such debt becomes due, shall constitute a lien on land upon which the graffiti was located if a statement of claim, signed by the Regional Health Director and the Treasurer/Collector, setting forth the amount claimed, without interest, is filed, within 90 days after the debt becomes due, with the Register of Deeds for Essex County.

(3)

Such lien shall take effect upon the filing of the statement aforesaid and shall continue for two years from the first day of October next following the date of such filing. If the debt for which such a lien is in effect remains unpaid when the Board of Assessors is preparing a real estate tax list, the Regional Health Director or the Treasurer/Collector shall certify such debt to the Board of Assessors, which shall forthwith add such debt to the tax on the property to which it relates and commit it with the Board's warrant to the Treasurer/Collector as part of such tax. If the property to which such debt relates is tax exempt, such debt shall be subject to the provisions of law relative to interest on the taxes of which it becomes, or if the property were not tax exempt would become, a part, and the Treasurer/Collector shall have the same powers and be subject to the same duties with respect to such debts as in the case of annual taxes upon real estate, and the provisions of law relative to the collection of such annual redemption of land so sold or taken shall, except as otherwise provided, apply to such claims. A lien under this section may be discharged by filing with the Register of Deeds for Essex County a certificate from the Treasurer/Collector that the debt constituting the lien, together with any interest and costs thereon, has been paid or legally abated. All costs of recording or discharging a lien under this section shall be borne by the owner of the property.

Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be subject to a fine of $300 for each offense. Each day's failure to comply with an order shall constitute a separate violation.