L.A. requires anti-graffiti materials on all new single-family homes

Opening a new front in the city's efforts to reduce tagging, the Los Angeles City Council today approved an ordinance requiring that new homes built in the city include some type of finish that is resistant to graffiti spray paint.

The new law is an extension of rules that already exist in the Los Angeles Municipal Code that commercial buildings and apartments must be finished with a hard, smooth, impermeable surface, such as ceramic tile or baked enamel.

Previously, single-family homes and duplexes were exempt.

“The bottom line is we spend a lot of money on graffiti removal,” said council member Bill Rosendahl. “Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to spend this much money?”

The ordinance, which was unanimously approved, offers an exemption to owners who sign an agreement with the city to remove any graffiti that appears on their property within seven days. 

Architects and developers had complained that the anti-graffiti measure limits their choice of construction materials.

City officials acknowledge that not all construction materials are compatible with approved finishes. Some types of coatings also cause discoloration to a building’s surface.

The rules require that the first nine feet of the exterior walls and doors be covered by anti-graffiti materials.

Officials have tried many things over the year to reduce graffiti, including high-tech camera systems and programs to charge parents for their children's vandalism.

--Alexandra Zavis at L.A. City Hall.

Photo: Los Angeles Times file

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Comments

[Matthew]

Wouldn't it just be easier if we put a bounty out on taggers...

[snuggles]

Bill Rosendahl is an idiot, this is just another expense on homeowners. That garbage fee, then that other garbage fee was supposed to hire more police to protect and serve. Frankly what ghetto do you live in? I've never seen a home with graffiti on it. I do see fences, gates, telephone poles, sidewalks. Of course instead of attacking any real issues the City Council sticks its camel's nose where it doesn't belong and where it isn't appreciated. How about getting those rape kits tested before the statute of limitations expires? How about charging illegal aliens for their medical care. Why not charge illegal aliens $10.00 a month to send their children to school? Maybe expand the approved list of vendors so that we don't have to buy lunches for our police at special events from a restaurant 100 miles away? Guess you can't solve the problems that you already have so rather than show yourselves as the impotent dolts you are, you find something else that people already over-taxed and underemployed to waste their money on, thanks.

[larry]

Another completely idiotic new rule that shifts the burden of fighting graffiti onto the already financially burdened and besieged homeowner.

This requires a coating that is made of heavy plexiglass-type stuff or ceramic, and is NOT suitable for surfaces like wood, stucco, etc. which are MOST of the single-family homes existing and being built. You cannot paint or stucco OVER these ugly, expensive plastic coatings, which are intended for commercial use. Plus they are NOT graffiti-resistent anyway. It's a huge expense and contributes to depreciated aesthetics and home value that shifts the responsibility onto the homeowner.

The alternative is to sign a legally-binding, mandatory covenant requiring homeowners to paint over the graffiti within 72 hours of being notified by the city to do so. (If you're out of town or busy, can't afford it right now, etc., too bad: $550 fine for the first offense, it goes up from there.)

Graffiti taggers can paint over your property every day if they hate you, and YOU the homeowner are fined if you don't play their game.

Don't blame this one just on the tax-happy Democrats: this doozie comes from the office of the City Attorney and co-Republican sidekick Dennis Zine. Though the rest were only too happy to sign on, any excuse to shift responsibility for the graffit problem and its costs. Even as they ALSO voted to reduce police hiring, much to the glee of graffiti taggers, and said there's no money to staff the already-built new LAPD jail.

[Elson]

Why can't the aerosol paint industry just re-formulate their paints to make them easier to remove, and also make them more environmentally-friendly/less toxic?

[Ruby Jackson]

The "Leaders" of Los Angeles have all run out of good ideas.

Here's one that might work... try enforcing the laws, reduce support and services for illegal immigrants, and arrest and deport gang members.

This proposal is exactly the kind of reason that I'm purchasing a house in Pasadena instead of the city of LA.

[Huh?]

Nice. Lay the cost on the victims. Let's have residents pay for firefighters putting out a fire at their home. People who are mugged have to pay for LAPD sketch artists to sketch perpetrators on the loose. Charge victims for taking crime reports and collecting evidence. This thinking will surely solve the crime. We've got 15 deep thinkers around the council horse shoe.

[nrb]

Los Angeles proves again it is one of the dumbest cities available with this stupid, overbearing law that punishes home and building owners rather than the real culprits, the graffiti painters. First, LA limits the sales of spray paints, BUT that did not work!!!!! Surprise, surprise. The dunderheads of LA law should do what they should have done years ago, capture, arrest, and prosecute the graffiti painters --- and give them a serious public and memorable punishment so the crime will disappear.

[Loonesta]

This graffiti-resistant material will also need to be made easily available to both consumers and businesses, for these new homes will all eventually need to be re-painted (or would it now be "resurfaced"?).

[Thomas Nelson]

“The bottom line is we spend a lot of money on graffiti removal,” said council member Bill Rosendahl. “Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to spend this much money?”

Wouldn't it be great if we put these people behind bars? Or educate them, so they have some concept of personal property? Or send the illegal ones and their parents back to what ever counry they illegally came from?

Not all of us live in gang infested ghettos, or have gang banger kids or are gang bangers ourselves. Mr. Rosendahl knows this because he represents me in an area that even the little criminal taggers are smart enough to stay out of.

[DanO]

Wow! Isn't that putting the onus on the homeowners and builders. How about stopping the tagging in the first place? Nice defeatist attitude there LA.

[Erik Self]

....Excuse me~ why exactly in the heck are you penalizing the homeowners for the citys lack of effective immigration and gang control measures that adequetly address the problem....ha! it is funny to think you could possibly be this unfairly absurd i would fire you all who voted for this preposterous idea lol...Erik Self

[Valleymom]

Wow! Who would have thought that there would be such a simple answer to graffiti taggers? Instead of stopping them, just write laws to accommodate them! I wonder what our creative elected officials will tackle next - drive-by shootings? Here's a new ordinance: All Angelenos must wear bullet proof clothing. This is so easy!

[M]

How does this address sidewalk graffiti? What about graffiti on the LA River walls, signs and cars?

Why is it appropriate to give the responsibility to the victims instead of those that are committing the crime?

[Fred]

...they have tried "programs to charge parents for their children's vandalism"
I call bs - when has a parent had to pay up?

[Arrest the Taggers]

So the city is surrendering to the punk teenagers who have no respect for the property of others? Why is it so difficult to catch these thugs? They attack the same areas over and over again. Look at the bridge columns on the 10 freeway. They predictably get tagged the day after they're cleaned up. It would be so simple to just bait and catch these criminals. And it's not just the graffiti. More and more I read here about the ties between taggers and violent crimes.

Catch these taggers. Put them to work cleaning up the city. Take our power back.

[West Valley Dave]

Great. Penalize the home builder who then passes on the cost to the home buyer.

Why doesn't the city do their job and get the gangs and taggers off the streets! These empty suits in the Spring Street Gang of 15 have no sack and just keep sticking it to the tax payer.

Note to the council: The rest of the country is laughing at your ineptitude!

[gman]

As the above photo caption shows, the best way to minimize graffiti is to limit access. (The graffiti is no more than what is accessible from the ground, in this case.)

Another method is to use vegetation to cover fences, retaining walls, and other solid surfaces that are magnets for taggers. (See much graffiti on ivy covered walls?)

Yet another technique is to use fencing that isn't a solid plane (wrought iron).

The solution for homes is to limit access (open wrought iron fencing), install multiple, set-back , low retatining walls (to handle steep grade change) that can be covered/obscured with vegetation, and use vines to cover the accessible (at grade) portions of the building.

It takes some design skill, but it can be done!

[....]

screw you guys, either way you spend money on useless things

[annonymous]

This is good to see something necessary is happening. this paint should also be used for schools where graffiti is the number one thing you see when you walk on a high school campus.

[busytimmy]

Make the taggers pay for and apply the finish!

[Todd Sputnik]

Brilliant. What a great idea. I am sure that every new homeowner will rush to get this done just as soon as the city installs expensive ceramic surfaces on ALL of its walls, buildings, tunnels, the L.A. River.

[Raquel]

almost everywhere money is spent on fixing something that has been trashed like schools. i attend Schurr h.s. and we just recently recived new cameras around our campus to stop this vandilizim but the sad part is that we recive the money for this and for a police officer with their own little go-cart of some kind but our restrooms are still nasty... with almost 4 thousand kids (i believe,but not sure) and only two restrooms. thats not really the biggest issue but more of an example,People these days need to deal with the bigger priorities and then work their way to the little details.

[D]

what a coincidence, thats my favorite mural in LA. too bad it was ruined 5 days after it was restored. Taggers should be shot on the spot.

[D.Woodward Van Nuys.]

The next step for the city of LA ,is i guess to make thhis mandatory for all homes in the city,Good,when i get a notice from them, I will take it to the local city office and roll it up and throw it at them.

[Ruby Jackson]

The "leaders" of Los Angeles have run out of ideas.

Here's an idea... how about enforcing the laws? Stop providing free services for illegal immigrants, and deport convicted gang members who are in this country illegally. Stand up to the ACLU and punish criminals, regardless of skin color.

This is exactly why I'm purchasing my first house in Pasadena, instead of the trash pit that LA has become.