GLENDALE : Task Force Urges Anti-Graffiti Steps

Although graffiti in Glendale has decreased by 40% since last year, a task force formed to study the issue has recommended that the City Council increase after-school activities and hire additional staff to toughen enforcement.

The Interagency Graffiti Task Force, formed last fall at the request of Councilman Larry Zarian, reported to the council this week that Glendale is “relatively graffiti-free.”

Zarian agreed with the task force’s findings and joked that “when Gov. Pete Wilson visited Glendale last month, we had a tough time finding graffiti for him to abate.”

Madalyn Blake, director of Community Development and Housing, attributed the sharp drop in graffiti to numerous volunteer groups that have participated in graffiti “paint outs” sponsored by the city.

The city’s neighborhood services section also removes about 35,000 square feet of graffiti each month from city property and community facilities.

To continue these successes, graffiti task force chairman Bill Skiles, neighborhood services coordinator for the city, recommended the council expand after-school programs for youths to deter them from picking up spray cans.

“One of the most destructive forces that can happen to youth is having nothing to do,” Skiles said. “Idle minds make for idle hands.”

A report drafted by the task force suggests the city research alternative funding sources, including grants, to broaden programs such as the school-based Drug Alcohol Resistance Education and library reading programs.

The report also concludes that the council should target neighborhoods for graffiti abatement and set up City Hall satellite offices in these areas. It further suggests the city decrease the amount of time private property owners have to remove graffiti from 20 days to three days.

To deter taggers, the task force recommended the council identify and prosecute high-profile vandals and ask the courts to broaden community service referrals to include graffiti cleanup efforts.

Council members approved of the committee’s recommendations saying local businesses must join the city in providing funds to implement the proposals. “This is not a city program only,” Zarian said. “It involves the entire community.”

The task force includes representatives from the Police Department, the city attorney’s office, the recreation and housing departments, the transportation bureau and the Los Angeles County Juvenile Probation department.

The group is scheduled to present a more detailed proposal to the council with specific cost estimates later this year.