SANTA PAULA : Council Considers Spray-Paint Law

In an effort to stem graffiti, the Santa Paula City Council considered an ordinance Monday that would prohibit the sale of spray-paint to residents under 18 years old.

The proposal came at the request of officials in nearby Fillmore, who suggested that the two cities work together to solve a problem that they said is affecting the entire region.

“Because Santa Paula is so close to Fillmore, we have common problems,” Fillmore City Clerk Noreen Withers said. “If we both clamp down on the problem, we will work at eliminating it.”

Nine miles separate the two cities.

Fillmore enacted its aerosol paint law in 1989, banning the sale of paint to minors unless they are accompanied by an adult. Store owners who violate the ordinance could be fined $500 or imprisonment.

Still, officials in Santa Paula voiced some skepticism over a plan that might be difficult to enforce.

“An ordinance is no good unless you are going to police it,” Councilman Les Maland said.

The Santa Paula City Council is expected to enact the ordinance at its next meeting. The city would join Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Fillmore in the anti-graffiti law.