9.12.080 Graffiti removal | Cudahy Municipal Code

9.12.080 Graffiti removal.

(1) Abatement of Nuisance. The city council hereby declares that the maintenance of the graffiti and/or a graffiti attracting surface is subject to abatement pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Furthermore, the city council authorizes the appropriation and use of public funds to remove graffiti or other inscribed material from publicly or privately owned real or personal property located within the city and to repair, restore, replace, or retrofit publicly or privately owned property within the city that has been defaced with graffiti or other inscribed material that cannot be removed cost effectively, or to otherwise abate graffiti attracting surfaces as defined above.

(a) In instances where a responsible person consents to the abatement of graffiti or graffiti attracting surfaces by city forces, the director of public works, or his designee, is authorized to immediately abate the nuisance.

(2) Notice to Abate. Whenever any enforcement officer determines the existence of a nuisance involving graffiti or a graffiti attracting surface as defined by and declared in CMC 9.12.030 and determines that city employees, representatives, or contract agents may need to abate said nuisance, the enforcement officer shall issue a notice to abate graffiti nuisance (hereinafter, “notice to abate graffiti”) to the owner and the entity in possession of or in control of the property on which the nuisance exists, or to any other responsible person, requiring the abatement of the nuisance within 48 hours of the date of service of the notice to abate graffiti, or within some other reasonable time in connection with a graffiti attracting surface.

(a) Contents of Notice to Abate Graffiti. A notice to abate graffiti issued pursuant to this chapter shall contain the following provisions:

(i) The address of the real property on which the nuisance condition exists;

(ii) A brief description of the nuisance condition(s);

(iii) A reference to the law prohibiting or pertaining to the nuisance condition;

(iv) A brief description of the required corrective actions;

(v) A time period and/or schedule in which to complete the nuisance abatement actions (with all required city approvals, permits, and inspections, when applicable) (hereinafter, “compliance period”);

(vi) The period and manner in which a responsible person may contest the notice to abate graffiti pursuant to this chapter;

(vii) A statement that if the violations are not abated within the time specified or a timely appeal is not made, such nuisance may be abated by city agents, in the manner provided in the notice. On such occasions, all costs of the abatement shall be assessed against the responsible person(s) and/or the subject property, as a lien or as a special assessment or in any other manner provided by law.

(i) Notice to abate graffiti shall be served upon the responsible persons by either personal delivery or by certified first class mail. The time and date on which a notice to abate graffiti is personally served or is placed in a U.S. Postal Service mail receptacle shall constitute the date of service. Failure of any responsible person to receive a notice to abate graffiti shall not invalidate any action or proceeding pursuant to this chapter.

(ii) The enforcement officer issuing the notice to abate graffiti to an owner of real property may rely on the owner’s mailing address according to the last equalized assessment roll of the Los Angeles County recorder’s office and/or as listed on any application for a city business license, permit, or other entitlement in determining a service address for the notice to abate graffiti.

(3) Method of Abatement. Where graffiti is being abated by the repainting of the surface on which the graffiti exists, the responsible person shall adhere to the requirements of CMC 9.12.070. As it relates to a graffiti attracting surface, a notice to abate graffiti may require, but shall not be limited to, any of the following modifications (or combinations thereof) to said building, structure, tree, shrub, sidewalk, curb, or vehicle (or the property on which said building, structure, tree, shrub, sidewalk, curb, or vehicle exists) as methods of abatement (the costs of which are to be borne by the responsible person):

(a) Retrofitting of said surface or structure (at a cost not to exceed 10 percent of the assessed value of the property on which the nuisance exists, as indicated on the last equalized assessment roll of the Los Angeles County recorder’s office);

(b) Application and/or use of anti-graffiti materials (as approved by the director of community development or his/her designee) to the surface or structure such as anti-etching films or anti-graffiti paints;

(c) Installation of landscaping (as approved by the director of community development) so as to screen or to provide a barrier to the surface or structure; and

(d) Installation of additional lighting (as approved by the director of community development).

(i) A responsible person receiving a notice to abate graffiti pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may contest the notice by filing a written request for an appeal and paying any applicable fees (as established by council resolution) with the city clerk within two business days of the date of service of the notice to abate graffiti. A written request for an appeal shall contain the following information:

(A) Name, address, and telephone number of each responsible person who is appealing the notice to abate graffiti (hereinafter, “appellant”), as well as a description of each appellant’s relationship/interest in the real property upon which the city intends to enter and abate a graffiti nuisance;

(B) Address and description of real property upon which the city intends to enter and abate a graffiti nuisance;

(D) Specific action being appealed;

(E) Grounds for appeal in sufficient detail to enable the hearing officer to understand the nature of the controversy; and

(F) The signature of at least one appellant.

(ii) Failure of the city clerk to receive a timely request for an appeal (including payment of applicable fees) constitutes a waiver of the right to contest a notice to abate graffiti. In this event, the notice to abate graffiti is final and binding.

(iii) The provisions of this section only apply to instances where the city has elected to establish the right, but not the obligation, to abate graffiti with city agents. In no event does this chapter limit the right of city officials to issue alternative written or oral notices of code violations to responsible persons, or to cause the abatement of graffiti nuisances in a different manner, including, without limitation, by court orders arising from the city’s exercise of its criminal or civil remedies.

(i) As soon as practicable after receiving the request for an appeal (and in no event more than 30 days from the filing date of the request), the city manager or designee shall schedule and conduct the appeal hearing. The city manager or designee shall provide each appellant with notice of the date, time, and location of the appeal hearing at least three calendar days prior to its occurrence. Service of the notice of hearing shall be made by first class mail, postage prepaid, to each appellant at the address(es) provided on the request for an appeal. The failure of any appellant to receive a properly addressed notice of hearing shall not invalidate any action or proceeding by the city pursuant to this chapter.

(ii) Appeal hearings are informal, and formal rules of evidence and discovery do not apply. The city bears the burden of proof to establish a graffiti nuisance by a preponderance of the evidence. The notice to abate graffiti and any additional reports/photographs submitted by the enforcement officer shall constitute prima facie evidence of the facts contained in those documents and such enforcement officer is not required to participate in the appeal hearing. The appellant and city officials, as well as any other responsible person, shall have the right to present testimony, witnesses, and evidence at the hearing pertaining to the alleged nuisance or other ground of appeal, as well as to cross-examine any witnesses testifying at the hearing. The appellant and the enforcement officer may represent himself/herself/themselves or be represented by anyone of his/her/their choice. The appellant, or other interested persons, may bring an interpreter to the hearing at his/her/their sole expense. The city may, at its discretion, record the hearing by stenographer or court reporter, audio recording, or video recording.

(iii) The failure of any appellant to appear at the hearing shall constitute a rescission of the request for an appeal hearing, and the appellant will be deemed to have waived his rights to a hearing. In this event, the notice to abate graffiti shall be deemed final and binding.

(iv) The city manager or designee may continue the hearing on his/her own motion.

(i) Within a reasonable time, not to exceed 10 calendar days following the conclusion of the appeal hearing, the city manager or designee shall make any one or more of the following determinations in a written decision (hereinafter, “order to abate”):

(A) A finding and description of each graffiti nuisance at the subject property, or the nonexistence thereof. In the event of a finding of nonexistence of all nuisance conditions contained in the notice to abate graffiti, the city manager or designee shall cancel the notice to abate graffiti.

(B) The name of each person responsible for a graffiti nuisance at the subject property, as well as the name of any appellant who lacks responsibility therefor;

(D) Any other finding, determination, or requirement that is relevant or related to the subject matter on appeal.

(ii) The decision of the city manager or designee is final and binding. The order to abate shall also contain the following statement:

This Order to Abate is a final administrative decision of the City, and judicial review of this decision is subject to the time limits set forth in California Code of Civil Procedure sections 1094.6 et seq.

(iii) A copy of the order to abate shall be served on all appellants by first class mail to the address(es) stated on the request for appeal form. In the event that a responsible person was originally served with a notice to abate graffiti but was not an appellant, such responsible person shall also be served a copy of the order to abate by first class mail to the address(es) at which the notice to abate graffiti was served. Failure of an appellant or other responsible person to receive a properly addressed and mailed order to abate shall not invalidate any action or proceeding pursuant to this chapter.

(5) Scope of Abatement. Whenever the city authorizes the use of public funds for the removal of graffiti, the painting or repairing of surfaces containing graffiti, or for the abatement of graffiti attracting surfaces, the city shall not authorize or undertake to provide for the painting or repairing of any more extensive area than that where the graffiti or graffiti attracting surface is located, unless the city manager, or his designee, determines in writing that a more extensive area is required to be repainted or repaired in order to avoid aesthetic disfigurement to the neighborhood or community, or unless a responsible person agrees in writing to pay for the costs of repainting or repairing the more extensive area.

(6) Costs of Abatement. The costs of abatement performed by city forces, or agents thereof, shall constitute a personal obligation against the responsible persons (as defined in this chapter) and may be assessed in any, or all, of the following manners:

(a) Special assessment or nuisance abatement lien;

(b) Graffiti abatement lien against any property owned by a minor or other person (or the parent or guardian of any minor) creating, causing, or committing a graffiti nuisance, as authorized by Section 38773.2 of the California Government Code (or any successor statute thereto);

(c) Special assessment against any property owned by a minor or other person (or the parent or guardian of any minor) creating, causing, or committing a graffiti nuisance, as authorized by Section 38773.6 of the California Government Code (or any successor statute thereto);

(d) Any other manner provided in the city’s graffiti abatement protocols/policy (in instances where a responsible person consents to the removal of the nuisance by city forces);

(e) Pursuant to an order of restitution by a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with California Penal Code Section 1202.4, California Government Code Section 38772, or any other applicable state or federal law; and

(f) Any other manner provided or authorized by law. (Ord. 659 § 6, 2016).