Irvine Anti-Graffiti Law Won’t Ban Marking Pen Sales

In a watered-down version of an anti-graffiti ordinance preliminarily approved two weeks ago, the Irvine City Council on Tuesday said it will approve a proposal making it illegal to carry a marking pen with the intent to draw graffiti.

The council was scheduled to give final approval at its Tuesday meeting to a stricter version of the law that would have banned the sale of large marking pens to minors. But second thoughts by council members sent the proposed law back to attorneys for a rewrite.

Councilman Bill Vardoulis led the action Tuesday to water down the proposed law, which passed by a 4-1 vote two weeks ago. Vardoulis was the sole vote against the proposed anti-graffiti ordinance at that meeting.

As originally written, the law would have made it illegal for stores to sell indelible marking pens with tips wider than 4 millimeters to anyone under 18. It also would have made it illegal for minors to carry a marking pen “for the purpose of applying graffiti.”

Vardoulis and Councilman Barry J. Hammond argued that banning sales to minors would be ineffective in eradicating graffiti because graffiti artists would be able to obtain marking pens in neighboring cities. They also argued that the move would have unfairly curbed purchases by youths needing them for legitimate purposes, such as artwork for school.

“What I want is something enforceable that goes after the problem,” Vardoulis said.

After several minutes of discussion, the council voted unanimously to eliminate from the proposed law prohibiting of the sale of markers. But the council approved the portion of the ordinance making it illegal for anyone of any age to carry a marking pen for the purpose of drawing graffiti.

The reworded anti-graffiti proposal is scheduled to come back to the the council for reconsideration at its Oct. 22 meeting.

Hammond said he changed his mind about banning the sale of the pens shortly after his vote last month in favor of such a law. The law would have been difficult to enforce and probably would not have made much of a dent in the graffiti problem, he said.

The Police Department proposed the original version of the law after council members said in July that they wanted to find ways of battling the small but growing graffiti problem that hit the city during the summer. Police reported they were seeing more “taggers”--people who write their names or nicknames on walls and elsewhere.

More than half of the graffiti in Irvine is applied with large marking pens, Police Lt. Sam Allevato said. Spray paint, the choice of an earlier generation of graffiti artists, is more difficult to carry than a pocket-sized marking pen, he said. The state recently outlawed the sale of spray paint to minors.

The proposed marking pen restrictions were part of an overall anti-graffiti ordinance the council is considering.

The proposed ordinance would also require property owners to remove graffiti from their property within seven days after receiving a notice from the city. The city will first offer to remove the graffiti free of charge, but will not guarantee to exactly match paint color to completely eradicate all evidence of the graffiti.

The proposed law would also offer a $200 reward to anyone providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person drawing graffiti within Irvine. Council members said Tuesday they want the rewritten law to include a larger reward, but did not specify an amount.