EVERETT A graffiti crackdown proposed by Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon faces stiff opposition from the County Council, which has say over whether new rules are approved.
County Councilman Dave Somers said Reardon’s ordinance goes too far by charging innocent property owners with daily fines if graffiti isn’t swiftly cleaned up.
“The whole aspect of penalizing the victim doesn’t feel right to me,” Somers said. He said the stiffer penalties are too extreme.
Reardon said he is pushing the rules because graffiti is a blight on the community that damages property values and erodes public safety.
The proposed rules say that any graffiti reported on private property first would prompt a warning letter from the county asking for cleanup within three days.
Failing that, the property would be declared a nuisance and the owner would have three more days to clean up or face $100-a-day fines.
After that, the county could take steps to pay for the cleanup and send the bill to the property owner.
The County Council’s reticence to assess fines shows it doesn’t understand how big a problem graffiti is, Reardon said.
The fines are necessary to give police and county code enforcement officers the authority to eradicate graffiti and hold property owners accountable, Reardon said.
“By not enacting the enforcement provisions, the only property owners the council is protecting are the slumlords,” Reardon said.
“I encourage the council to take swift action on this ordinance before it becomes more of a problem in the community.”
The connection between graffiti and crime is logical, but fines against a private property owner could pile up, County Councilman John Koster said.
“I think this ordinance is rife with problems,” Koster said. “Gangs are the problem. They don’t go away because you take the graffiti away. We’ve got to deal with gangs.”
Further discussion is planned by the County Council in coming months, Somers said.
The county should consider putting someone on the payroll to clean up graffiti, County Councilman Kirke Sievers said.
County Councilman Gary Nelson confessed to being caught after painting graffiti on a water tower in his hometown.
“As a youth, I one time got involved in graffiti,” Nelson said. “There were four of us at a water tank during a rivalry football season.
“The worst thing that happened was when my dad found out.”
After facing the local police and a judge, the four had to clean and repaint the whole tower, Nelson said.
“You get out of that habit quickly,” Nelson said.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.EVER
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