Council Delays Vote on Graffiti Removal
The Los Angeles City Council, divided on whether property owners should be made to pay for removing graffiti, put off voting for the program Wednesday in the hope that a more “equitable” solution can be devised.
The council did agree to enact one provision of the program that would require owners of bus benches to clean up graffiti markings. But a vote on the crux of the program was continued until March 26.
Introduced by Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, the proposed program would have given property owners 15 days to remove graffiti from their buildings or face having the city do the cleanup and charge the owner for the costs, which on average would run about $400. Council members representing districts with low-income, frequently vandalized neighborhoods argued that their constituents would be “victimized twice” under such a law--not only would their property be vandalized, but they would have to pay to clean it up.
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