Graffiti Control
Most people can quickly recognize graffiti. It’s seen on fences, walls, bridges, highway signs, and more. Despite being considered “art” by some, graffiti is an eyesore and against the law. Graffiti occurs on private and public property causing the property owner in some cases to be responsible for its cleanup because of the difficulty in finding the perpetrator(s). In Monroe, graffiti is considered a public nuisance.
Monroe Municipal Code (MMC) 9.22 defines graffiti as “unauthorized inscription, word, figure, painting or other defacement that is written, marked, etched, scratched, sprayed, drawn, painted, or engraved on or otherwise affixed to any surface of public or private property, to the extent that the graffiti was not authorized in advance by the owner or occupant of the property, or, despite advance authorization, would be highly offensive to a reasonable person and is not protected by the state or federal constitution.”
In addition to committing graffiti being against the law in Monroe, so is selling spray paint, paint sticks, or broad-tipped markers to persons under 18 years old. Further possessing “any graffiti implement” on school grounds if you are under 18 years old is illegal. Any person found with any graffiti implements on city property (e.g. city park), buildings (e.g. city park restroom) or city facility (e.g. city playground) or found near a bridge, underpass, etc. is in violation.
Controlling graffiti
Unfortunately, vandals who commit a graffiti offense are not always caught and the responsibility for cleanup rests with the property owner. If the City receives a complaint regarding graffiti, notification will be sent to the property owner requesting that it be removed within 20 days. Failure to do so will subject the property owner to civil penalties.
If your home or business is tagged, please report it to the City immediately as we want to track graffiti activity. Take photos before you clean it off and submit them with your online complaint.
A strong deterrent from graffiti happening again is to immediately remove it; the most efficient way to remove it is to paint over the graffiti. Using a primer on the surface before applying paint followed by applying a sealant should help keep the vandal’s paint from bleeding through. The sealant can make future removal easier. You are encouraged to contact a local hardware store to learn more about using sealants and solvents when removing graffiti.