IRVINE : Graffiti Cleanup Scheduled Saturday

Graffiti, once virtually unknown to the manicured neighborhoods of this city, has increased to the point that the city is organizing its first graffiti-removal day.

Mostly teen-age volunteers will gather at 10 a.m. Saturday at City Hall and go to Woodbridge, where they will paint over a storm drain wall “covered from one end to the other” with graffiti, said John Condon, a Community Services program coordinator. The wall is visible from the San Diego Freeway, which is one of the reasons it was targeted for the paint job, Condon said.

The volunteers are being organized through the city’s Youth Action Team, a group of teen-age leaders brought together by the city Community Services Department. If the graffiti-removal day is successful, the team probably will target other areas in the city, Condon said.

For Saturday’s effort, the city will provide the paint, the Irvine Board of Realtors will provide paintbrushes and refreshments, and volunteers will provide whatever else is needed, Condon said. The wall to be painted runs behind condominiums in Woodbridge and is about 10 feet high and 50 yards long.

Youth Action Team members have been recruiting volunteers at Irvine high schools for Saturday’s graffiti removal. The city expects about 50 volunteers to show up, Condon said.

“We want to send a message out to the community that the teens do care, that they don’t want their areas marked up,” he said.

Condon added that with the City Council set to approve a stronger anti-graffiti law next week, the timing was right for the city to get involved.

The proposed anti-graffiti law would require owners to allow city workers to remove graffiti from their properties and would make it a misdemeanor to possess a large-tipped marking pen with the intent of applying graffiti.

Other members of the community are welcome to volunteer for Saturday’s work, Condon said. For details, call Condon at (714) 724-6643 or the Youth Action Team at (714) 724-6731.