In this article:
(1) Aerosol paint container
means any aerosolized
or pressurized container that is adapted or made for the purpose of
applying paint product, including a clear or pigmented lacquer or
chemical coating, or other substances capable of defacing property.
(2) Broad-tipped marker
means any indelible marker
or similar implement with a writing surface that, at its broadest
width, exceeds three-sixteenths of an inch (0.1875"), and which contains
ink or other solution that cannot be removed with water after it dries.
(3) Director
means the Director of Code Compliance
or his designated representative.
(4) Etching equipment
means any tool, device, or
substance that can be used to make permanent or lasting marks on any
natural or manmade surface.
(5) Graffiti
means any unauthorized inscription,
word, figure, painting, signature, symbol, design, or other marking
of any sort which is etched, written, painted, drawn, scratched, engraved
or applied in any other way to any surface of public or private property,
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 by the director to be an objectionable, unsightly
visual blight to the community.
(6) Graffiti implement
means an aerosol paint container,
a broad-tipped marker, paint stick or graffiti stick, etching equipment,
brush or any other device capable of scarring or leaving a visible
mark on any natural or manmade surface.
(7) Insufficient control
means the negligent failure
of a parent to exercise the duty to control his or her minor child.
(8) Minor
means a person younger than seventeen
(17) years of age.
(9) Owner
means an owner of record or a person
who has contractual responsibility for a property.
(10) Paint stick or graffiti stick
means
any device containing a solid form of paint, chalk, wax, epoxy, or
other similar substance capable of being applied to a surface by pressure
and leaving a mark of at least one-eighth of an inch (1/8") in width.
(11) Parent
means the natural parent or
adoptive parent of a minor. Parent also includes a court-appointed
guardian or other person twenty-one (21) years of age or older, authorized
by a parent, by a court order, or by the court-appointed guardian
to have the care and custody of the minor.
(12) Unauthorized
means without the consent
of the owner or without authority of law, regulation or ordinance.
It shall be rebuttably presumed that the owner did not consent when:
(a) There is no immediate or obvious evidence of specific authorization
by the owner;
(b) The graffiti is inconsistent with the design and the use of the subject
property; or
(c) The person causing the graffiti was unknown to the owner.
(Ordinance 5742, sec. 1, adopted 7/8/03)
The existence of graffiti on public or private property is declared
to be an objectionable, unsightly public nuisance and, therefore,
subject to the removal and abatement provisions specified in this
article.
(Ordinance 5742, sec. 1, adopted 7/8/03)
(A) It
shall be the duty of the owner, occupant, and any person in charge
of a property to at all times keep the property clear of graffiti.
(B) The director shall give notice of the requirement to remove graffiti prior to the City’s removal of the graffiti in accordance with section
26.135. The notice shall be in writing and shall contain:
(1) The date the graffiti was observed on the property;
(2) A description of the graffiti;
(3) The address or location of the property;
(4) The owner’s name, if known; and
(5) A specific deadline for removal of the graffiti.
(C) Notice has been given when the information in subsection
(B) above has been:
(1) Delivered in person to an owner;
(2) Mailed to the owner’s last known mailing address;
(3) Published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City twice
within 10 days; or
(4) If the property contains no buildings, posted on a placard attached
to a stake driven into the ground or otherwise placed in a visible
location at the property.
(D) Failure
to remove graffiti.
It is an offense for an owner, occupant,
or person in charge of a property to fail to remove graffiti after
notice has been given and the deadline given in the notice has passed.
(E) It
is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) The graffiti was not visible from public property, public rights-of-way,
or from private property other than that of the owner;
(2) The graffiti is an advertisement which is in compliance with all
applicable state and local laws governing such advertisements; or
(3) The director was required to provide notice of the requirement to
remove the graffiti under this section and failed to do so.
(Ordinance 5742, sec. 1, adopted 7/8/03)
(A) Defacement.
It is an offense for any person to apply graffiti to any natural
or manmade surface on any public or private property.
(B) Possession
by minors.
It is an offense for a minor to possess any
graffiti implement while upon public or private property.
(C) It shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under subsection
(B) of this section that the minor:
(1) Was accompanied or supervised by:
(b) A teacher in connection with a bona fide school project; or
(c) A supervisor during the minor’s regular employment;
(2) Possessed the graffiti implement on the property at which the minor
then resided; or
(3) The possession occurred as part of an organized event sponsored or
supervised by a school, church, or other institution.
(Ordinance 5742, sec. 1, adopted 7/8/03)
Allowing graffiti. A parent commits an
offense if the parent knowingly permits or by insufficient control
allows a minor to create graffiti.
(Ordinance 5742, sec. 1, adopted 7/8/03)
(A) Employees
of the City or of a contractor hired by the City, or community service
workers supervised by the City shall have authority to enter onto
any public property for the purpose of removing graffiti.
(B) If notice has been given in accordance with section
26.132 and the graffiti has not been removed by the deadline set forth in the notice, and the owner or lawfully authorized agent of the owner in charge of private property does not give the City written consent and waiver of liability to enter the property to remove the graffiti, employees of the City or of a contractor hired by the City or community service workers supervised by the City shall have authority to enter onto the private property specified in the notice for the purpose of removing graffiti. The director shall collect from the owner all fees and expenses incurred by the City in removing the graffiti, and in addition, shall assess an administrative fee in the amount designated in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section
10.85, of Chapter
10.
(C) If the owner or lawfully authorized agent of the owner of private property who has received notice in accordance with section
26.132 signs a request or consent for removal and a waiver of liability, the director may remove the graffiti and the fees and expenses under subsection
(B) and
(D) shall not be assessed against the property.
(D) Manner
of collections; abatement liens.
If the City removes the graffiti in accordance with subsection
(B) the following shall apply:
(1) Such abatement shall be performed at the expense of the City for
the account of the owners of the property.
(2) All such expenses incurred in abating such nuisance shall be assessed on and against the premises on which said expenses were expended and shall include the actual costs of abating the nuisance and an administrative fee in the amount designated in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section
10.85, of Chapter
10.
(3) On filing with the county clerk of Dallas County, Texas, a statement
signed by the Mayor or the supervisor of the Environmental Code Enforcement
Division, or the Managing Director of Financial Services of the City
of expenses actually incurred in abating such nuisance plus administrative
fees, the City shall have a lien against the premises to the extent
of the expenses and administrative fees incurred. Such lien shall
be a privileged lien, second only to tax liens and liens for street
improvements. Interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) compounded
annually shall accrue on the expenses and fees secured by the lien.
Interest shall be calculated from the date the expenses secured by
the lien were incurred by the City.
(4) For such expenditures and interest, the City may institute suit to
foreclose said lien and a statement of expenses aforesaid, or certified
copy thereof, shall be prima facie proof of the amount expended in
such work in abatement and the reasonableness thereof.
(Ordinance 5742, sec. 1, adopted 7/8/03; Ordinance
7363 adopted 9/6/2022)
(A) The
City Council finds and determines that graffiti applied to any natural
or manmade surface on public or private property creates an objectionable,
or unsightly condition that damages the surrounding homes and businesses
in the community.
(B) Any
person who applies or creates graffiti, or any parent who knowingly
permits or by insufficient control allows their minor child to apply
graffiti to any natural or manmade surface or any public or private
property is liable for a civil penalty.
(C) The
civil penalty for which the person or parent is liable is the fees
and cost incurred for removing the graffiti, plus a $125.00 fine for
the first removal, provided that for a third or subsequent offense
in any 12-month period, the amount of the penalty fine shall be $200.00.
(D) The director may initiate a proceeding to impose and collect a civil penalty under subsection
(C) pursuant to the provisions of article II of chapter
24 of this Code.
(Ordinance 5742, sec. 1, adopted 7/8/03; Ordinance 6009, secs. 7, 8, adopted 6/6/06)