It shall be unlawful for any person to write, paint or draw
upon any wall, rock, bridge, fence, gate, other structure, tree or
other real or personal property, either publicly or privately owned,
any drawing, inscription, figure or mark of the type commonly known
and referred to as graffiti without the permission of the owner or
operator of such property.
(Ordinance 93-52, sec. 1, adopted 8/24/93; 1978 Code, sec. 18-25)
(a) Every person who violates the provisions of section
12.04.001 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).
(b) Upon second or subsequent conviction for a violation of this article,
the person shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00)
nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).
(c) For purposes of this section, “conviction” includes a
charge dismissed or disposed of by deferred adjudication or similar
probation.
(Ordinance 93-52, sec. 1, adopted 8/24/93; 1978 Code, sec. 18-26)
Upon detecting the existence of graffiti upon private property,
which graffiti is visible from any area open to the public, a police
officer may at any reasonable hour enter upon the private property
within his jurisdiction for the purpose of inspecting and documenting
the existence and nature of the graffiti and determining the ownership
of the premises upon which the graffiti is located.
(Ordinance 93-52, sec. 1, adopted 8/24/93; 1978 Code, sec. 18-27)
If the chief of police or his designated representative determines
that the graffiti is located on a publicly or privately owned structure
on public or private property within the city and is visible from
any public place or public right-of-way, then the chief of police
or his designated representative may provide for the removal of the
graffiti at city expense if:
(1) The structure is owned by a public entity other than the city and
removal of the graffiti is authorized with the consent of the public
entity having jurisdiction over the structure;
(2) The structure is privately owned and the city obtains consent and
waiver of liability from the owner; or
(3) The owner of the property cannot be found or will not respond to
notification by the city.
(Ordinance 93-52, sec. 1, adopted 8/24/93; 1978 Code, sec. 18-28)