[Adopted 10-17-2006 by Ord. No. 1224]
A.
It shall be a violation of this article for the owner
of any property within the Borough to allow graffiti to remain upon
any exposed surface of any property.
B.
"Graffiti" means any drawing, painting, mark or inscription
on public or private real or personal property without the prior written
permission of the owner of the property.
A.
In the event graffiti is found, the Borough shall
provide the owner of record written notice of an order to remove said
graffiti by certified and regular mail, which order shall afford the
owner the opportunity to remove the graffiti within 90 days of the
date that the notice is sent; however, the State Department of Transportation
shall be afforded 120 days from the date a notice is sent to remove
graffiti from property owned by the Department.
B.
The Borough's order to remove shall contain a form
to be utilized by a property owner to inform the Borough that the
graffiti has been removed and shall contain a certification stating
that, by affixing a signature to the form indicating that the graffiti
has been removed, the owner is certifying that the facts set forth
therein are true and that the certification shall be considered as
if made under oath and subject to the same penalties as provided by
law for perjury.
C.
An owner who has been ordered to remove graffiti shall
respond to the Borough by personal delivery or certified mail:
D.
An owner who objects to an order to remove graffiti
may institute an action challenging the order before a court of competent
jurisdiction within 60 days of the date of the order.
A.
If a property owner does not undertake the removal
of graffiti within 90 days of the date of the order, or in the case
of the Department of Transportation, within 120 days of the date of
the order, unless an action challenging the order to remove graffiti
is still pending, the municipality may remove the graffiti from that
property and present the property owner with a detailed itemization
of the costs incurred by the municipality, by certified mail and regular
mail, for reimbursement from the property owner.
B.
Whenever a municipality undertakes the removal of
graffiti from any building, structure or other exposed surface, the
governing body of the municipality, in addition to assessing the cost
of removal as municipal lien against the premises, may enforce the
payment of such assessment, together with interest, as a debt of the
owner of the property and may authorize the institution of an action
at law for the collection thereof. The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction
of any such action.
