[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Somerville 6-6-05 as Ord. No. 2188. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, painting or other
defacement that is written, marked, etched, scratched, sprayed, drawn,
painted, or engraved on or otherwise affixed to any surface of public
or private property by any graffiti implement, to the extent that
the graffiti was not authorized in advance by the owner or occupant
of the property (or, despite advance authorization, is otherwise deemed
a public nuisance by the Borough Council).
An aerosol paint container, a broad-tipped marker, gum label,
paint stick or graffiti stick, etching equipment, brush, paintgun,
airbrush or any other device capable of scarring or leaving a visible
mark on any natural or manmade surface.
A.Â
Defacement. It shall be unlawful for any person to apply graffiti
to any natural or man-made surface on any borough-owned property or,
without the permission of the owner or occupant, on any non-borough
owned property.
B.Â
Possession of graffiti implements.
(1)Â
By minors at or near school facilities. It shall be unlawful for
any person under the age of eighteen (18) years to possess any graffiti
implement while on any school property, grounds, facilities, buildings,
or structures, or in areas immediately adjacent to those specific
locations upon public property, or upon private property without the
prior written consent of the owner or occupant of such private property.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to the possession of
broad-tipped markers by a minor attending or traveling to or from
a school at which the minor is enrolled if the minor is participating
in a class at the school that formally requires the possession of
broad-tipped markers. The burden of proof in any prosecution for violation
of this section shall be upon the minor student to establish the need
to possess a broad-tipped marker.
(2)Â
In designated public places. It shall be unlawful for any person
to possess any graffiti implement while in or upon any public facility,
park, playground, swimming pool, recreational facility, or other public
building or structure owned or operated by the borough or while in
or within fifty (50) feet of an underpass, bridge abutment, storm
drain, or similar types of infrastructure unless otherwise authorized
by the borough.
A person convicted of a violation of this ordinance shall be
subject to a fine between fifty dollars ($50) and one thousand dollars
($1,000). In addition, a judge may order community service and/or
restitution.
