Politics & Government

LOOK: Proposed Graffiti Ordinance in its Entirety

North Canton City Council members expect to have their first reading next week on the ordinance that would punish business owners who leave graffiti on their businesses for longer than 10 days

North Canton officials nailed down details in their proposed graffiti ordinance and expect to have a first reading at their next North Canton City Council meeting Monday.

The proposed ordinance would give business owners 10 days to clean graffiti from their buildings before facing a civil penalty.

"It does kind of hold them to a tighter timeline in the general sense ... but not such a short time limit that it would punish people who really are victims here," Councilman-at-large Dan Griffith said at Tuesday night's North Canton City Council meeting.

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Griffith and others on the Ordinance, Rules & Claims Committee worked with to craft the proposed legislation.

Here are some highlights from the proposed ordinance:

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  • The ordinance not only defines graffiti but declares it a nuisance and states the property owner has a duty to keep his property clear of graffiti.
  • Any person applying graffiti on public or private property is responsible for the removal of the graffiti within 24 hours after notice from the city or property owner, according to the ordinance.
  • It's in violation of the ordinance for a property owner to leave graffiti on his building for longer than 10 days.
  • Exceptions to property owner responsibility include the property owner not being able to pay for the graffiti removal. Another exception is if the owner has an active program for the removal of graffiti and has scheduled the removal as part of that program.
  • The city may provide property owners with the chemicals needed to remove graffiti at the city's cost. (Three council members and Eric Bowles, superintendent of permits and inspection, at .)
  • If someone is in violation of Section 2 or Section 4 of the ordinance (applying graffiti, removal by the perpetrator, or a property owner's tardiness in the removal of graffiti), he will face a $500 fine. The punishment for a property owner is a civil penalty, according to the ordinance.

You can find the ordinance in its entirety in the media section of this update.

Editor's note: A PDF version of the proposed ordinance wasn't immediately available, so if the print is too small try zooming in on your screen.


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