Pico Rivera : 2 New Ordinances Aimed at Cutting Down Graffiti
Two new anti-graffiti ordinances approved this week could make it easier to remove graffiti and to convict those who paint it.
The first ordinance authorizes Pico Rivera to remove from any building, fence or property graffiti that are visible from a public street or alley. The city will take matters into its own hands only if the property owner fails to remove the graffiti. Any city costs will become a tax lien on the property.
The second ordinance, patterned after a Los Angeles law, offers a $250 reward to anyone who provides information resulting in “the identification, apprehension and conviction” of graffiti taggers or other vandals. The City Council allocated $5,000 for the rewards.
“Such an incentive might encourage more people to report these crimes,” said Mayor Garth Gardner, who encouraged residents to “get a video recorder and go after them.”
The city spends up to $200,000 a year to remove graffiti, which the ordinance characterized as a dramatically increasing problem. Both ordinances received unanimous council endorsement. Councilman Alberto Natividad, however, said he doubted that even an award would be enough incentive for some residents to testify against potentially dangerous gang members.
The council must approve the ordinances on a second reading at its next meeting before they become law.
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