Edmonds weighs graffiti fairness

Published 10:58 pm Wednesday, August 29, 2007

EDMONDS The city is taking steps to crack down on graffiti, but the question remains how much of a burden it will be on property owners.

The Edmonds City Council this week discussed an anti-graffiti ordinance that would give people 13 days to remove graffiti or face fines of $250 per day until the tagging is cleaned up. After reviewing the ordinance, the council asked staff to come up with an ordinance that is more flexible for property owners.

Councilman Michael Plunkett suggested removing fines against property owners. Although the council voted 4-3 to reject his suggestion, the majority of council members said they’d like their new ordinance to be less rigid.

“I’m very aware of the fact that people who have been vandalized are victims, and it’s unfortunate they would be put in a predicament where they are responsible for cleaning it up,” said Councilman Richard Marin, who voted against getting rid of fines. “But it is important for us to clean things up in the community.”

The ordinance aired at the meeting would allow people to appeal their cases to the city’s hearing examiner.

The ordinance would also allow police to cite people for having intent to commit graffiti.

Plunkett said the graffiti ordinance should allow the city to be flexible with people who are working to remove graffiti. It should also provide consequences for those who refuse to take care of the problem.

Council members suggested allowing city officials to waive fines on a case-by-case basis, or lengthening the amount of time people have to remove graffiti before fines kick in. They also suggested using cash from the fines to provide financial assistance to low-income residents who can’t afford to remove tagging.

“We have to declare that graffiti is in fact a nuisance and will be punished, and people will be held accountable for it,” Plunkett said. “In my opinion, unfortunately, the ordinance will make the property owners responsible to the extent as of fining them.”

The City Council plans to revisit the graffiti ordinance in September.

An anti-graffiti ordinance proposed by Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon has faced similar criticism. County Council members voiced concern about charging property owners with daily fines if graffiti isn’t swiftly cleaned up.

Graffiti is a growing problem in Edmonds. More than 100 incidents of graffiti were reported in the city during the past year, Plunkett said.

Under the city code, people can already be fined for not cleaning blighted property. However, the current codes lack immediate timelines that force people to remove graffiti quickly.

“If you have graffiti and it isn’t taken care of right away, then it just becomes a bigger and bigger problem,” City Council President Peggy Pritchard Olson said.

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.