Graffiti ordinance vote put off another week

Is it just us, or has the city's proposed graffiti crackdown been going on for a while? We first talked about it in late June, and then it came up again earlier this week. And after City Council discussed the would-be ordinance yesterday, councilmembers delayed a vote on the matter. Stamping out graffiti must be harder than it looks!

Councilmember Adrian Garcia has reportedly been working on the tougher graffiti ordinance for about a year; the proposal rolled out earlier this year would make it illegal for minors to carry around graffiti tools — spray paint, broad-tipped markers and the like — and could slap taggers who cause $1,500 or more in damages with a felony charge. The proposal would also narrow the window for property owners who get tagged to gave the graffiti cleaned up: They now have 30 days to get that done, but under the new rules, the deadline would be just 10 days. And that's never made much sense to us: Suppose you're a small business or homeowner and your property gets tagged, then the city tells you to clean it up in a week and a half or face a fine. Kinda seems like it's putting the property owners at fault, doesn't it?

Councilman Michael Berry said the proposed ordinance won't work in the long run because it doesn't focus on catching the taggers. "I know Councilmember Garcia has tried to catch these kids and I know it's very difficult, but let's be honest, we are today saying, 'We cannot catch these little kids who run through the neighborhoods and spray paint the buildings.' That's clear. We've told the world that," Berry said.

The ordinance will come up for a vote again next week.