HUNTINGTON BEACH : Murals on Seawall: Art or Eyesore?

To some, the seawall covered with artists’ images that stretches along Pacific Coast Highway facing the beach, is a relic.

To others, it has become an eyesore.

Resident Chris Sileski believes the nearly mile-long wall--once a giant canvas for artists to paint colorful murals--has turned the pristine beach into urban decay.

“Right now, it looks like the worst alley in Downtown Los Angeles,” Sileski told City Council members this week.

Sileski, 32, told the council that because the seawall art has been marred by graffiti, satanic symbols and a drawing of a topless woman and should be painted over.

But city officials fear that if the seawall, along the beach from Golden West to 11th streets, is painted a solid color it would turn into a new, clean canvas for graffiti vandals.

“As soon as we paint it out, it’s going to get graffiti,” said Ron Hagan, director of community services.

Hagan said his department is looking at getting community service and homeowners’ groups to adopt sections of the wall to paint over graffiti.

He also said it would be costly to continually paint over graffiti as well an extra expense to supervise volunteers.

Hagan plans to turn over a report to the council so they can discuss the matter at the July 5 meeting.

Sileski, born and raised here, regularly jogs along the beach next to the seawall and says the drawings are not artwork.

“It’s no longer what it started out to be. Now it’s just covered with gang junk,” he said. “I used to feel at home at the beach. Now I feel like an alien--that it belongs to gangs.”

The long-term solution to rid the wall of graffiti is to remove it, Hagan said. Future plans call for terracing the slope with shrubbery, and install a beach parking lot and lighting. But the city has no money for the project at this time, Hagan said.

In January, 1992, the city began the controversial Sea Wall Art Program, in which about 1,000 youngsters and adults obtained free city permits to paint on the wall.

Last June, the council voted to end the program after police charged that the program increased graffiti throughout the city.

Lt. Charles Poe said the Police Department “didn’t want to attract any more gang element into our city by providing something we felt would be attractive to gang-type people.”

Today, there are faint reminders of artists’ works. The gang-style markings proliferate the once distinguishable original artwork, and even the “No Painting” signs and portable restrooms along the beach have graffiti scribbles.

Poe said that since permitted seawall painting stopped, graffiti vandalism cases have reduced significantly citywide.

“I certainly feel that one of the factors was the closing of that wall,” Poe said.

Poe said that in 1993, there were 505 reports of graffiti. From January to May this year, there have been 98 reports of graffiti, he said.

Hagan believes the drop in graffiti is largely a result of a city hot line to report graffiti, a 24-hour city policy to remove graffiti, as well as the rewards given to people who report graffiti vandals to police, the use of anti-graffiti paint on public surfaces and stiffer penalties for violators.