Supervisors Back Ban on Spray Paint Cans

Supervisors said Tuesday they favored a measure to ban standard spray paint in Ventura County and develop paint cans with anti-graffiti technology. But they postponed a vote that would allow such a ban, after industry representatives criticized them for failing to seek their input.

“I don’t believe cans cause graffiti--people do,” said Steve Sanchez, an account manager with United States Can Co.

Robert N. Hills, executive director of the National Council to Prevent Delinquency, an anti-graffiti group funded by the paint industry, said the measure would not stop vandals from scrawling on walls.

“They’re willing to use anything,” he said, adding that taggers are increasingly using sharp objects to etch initials or symbols on glass. “It’s a symptom of something that’s much deeper and no product is going to cure that.”

The proposal introduced by Supervisor Frank Schillo and backed by Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury would allow the ban once technology is developed and marketed to, in effect, turn spray paint cans on and off.

Technology now being developed would utilize an electrical device to be used with the can, so that spray painting could be done only near an electrical outlet, making spray painting of building exteriors nearly impossible for the average person, Schillo said.

It was unclear how much the device would cost or how much it would increase the price of spray paint.

Hills said he believes combining electricity with “an extremely flammable substance under pressure in a metal can” could be dangerous. Schillo said supervisors would not enact the ban unless they were certain such technology had been proven safe.

Similar legislation was explored in the mid-’90s at the state level, but failed to be enacted as law, Hills said. Bradbury said if the county passes such an ordinance it could stir interest statewide.

Sanchez and Hills urged supervisors to hold off on a vote until a meeting next month in Santa Rosa of the National Paint and Coating Assn., where they plan to discuss the proposed ordinance with industry representatives.

Supervisor Judy Mikels urged her colleagues to try to get the paint industry on board before passing the ordinance. But Flynn said the board should pass the ordinance soon, or the industry would have no motivation to work with them.