Mission Hills : Anti-Graffiti Program Covers New Ground

Graffiti found in Mission Hills will now be removed within 24 hours, thanks to Thursday’s expansion of a city “zero tolerance” program already in effect in two other Los Angeles communities.

The graffiti-removal effort will blanket a 3.5-square-mile area bordered by Rinaldi Street to the north, Lassen Street on the south, Fox Street/Woodman Avenue on the east and the San Diego Freeway to the west.

The area was chosen for its location in the San Fernando Valley overlapping three City Council districts.

“We want to take a large area and keep it totally free of graffiti,” said Councilman Joel Wachs. “I’d like to couple this with tougher penalties for those who are caught. To me, [graffiti] is just a total disregard of people.”

Council members approved the $500,000 “zero tolerance” program last year to test anti-graffiti technology and strategies. Two other neighborhoods, one in Westlake and another in Reseda, have been covered by the program since spring.

Organizers say the program’s effectiveness relies upon prompt public reports of graffiti sightings and uses high-tech equipment for rapid color matches of vandalized surfaces.

Graffiti Prevention Systems, a Mission Hills company, is removing the graffiti with help from the North Valley YMCA.

The hot-line number to report graffiti is (800) 247-3395.