OJAI : Council Considers Anti-Graffiti Law

Ojai is considering an anti-graffiti ordinance similar to ones adopted in several other Ventura County cities.

The City Council on Tuesday reviewed a proposal that would make it illegal to sell aerosol containers of paint to minors, as well as waterproof and permanent markers with a tip of one-quarter inch or greater.

Although the problem is not as widespread in Ojai as in other cities, the city spent $20,000 last year on abatement of graffiti on public property, City Manager Andrew Belknap said.

The ordinance was proposed to the council six months ago by 20 Ojai residents who have formed the Group Against Graffiti, said group member Ron Saltis, 53, a former airline pilot who now tutors high school students.

“I’ve lived here since 1969,” Saltis said. “All of a sudden in the last year I began to see graffiti on stop signs, and it ticked me off.”

With the assistance of a retired attorney, the group reviewed anti-graffiti ordinances in other cities and tried to take the best parts of those laws and apply them to Ojai, Saltis said.

The Group Against Graffiti is trying to set up a 24-hour telephone line for residents to report graffiti for cleanup, Saltis said.

Unlike most cities, Ojai’s graffiti problem has been limited to tagging, the scrawling of initials on public and private property, said Ojai Police Lt. Joe Harwell.

The ordinance also calls for restitution from individuals found tagging as well as making them perform community service.

“This will allow us to take a proactive stance,” Harwell said.

Under the ordinance, private property owners will have 10 days to remove graffiti from their property or they will be charged by the city to have public works employees remove it.

“Ojai is conscious of its appearance,” Harwell said, “and any time graffiti shows up, even in the smallest amounts, it is a problem.”