Whenever the director determines that graffiti has been applied to any privately owned
surface, structure or building on privately owned real property within the effective
area, the director shall direct county staff or its contractors or volunteers to arrange
for abatement of the graffiti according to the following procedures:
(a)
When the director determines that graffiti is on a privately owned surface, structure
or building within the effective area, the director shall attempt to contact the property
owner to issue a graffiti notice and direct the property owner to remove or repaint
the graffiti within five calendar days of receiving the graffiti notice or that the
property owner sign a right-of-entry agreement. The right-of-entry agreement shall
include consent for county's entry onto private property for graffiti removal and
a waiver of liability in the event of any damage caused by the county in removing
graffiti.
If the property owner cannot be contacted in person, the director shall serve a graffiti
notice on the property owner, as shown on the last equalized assessment roll, by certified
mail return receipt requested and by posting a graffiti notice at the graffiti site.
The director shall also contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff Department to report
the graffiti.
(b)
The director may direct county staff or contractors or volunteers to abate the graffiti
at county expense provided that the property owner has given consent in writing to
the County and that abatement of the same site does not exceed three times in any
twelve-month period. The director may also authorize graffiti abatement at a single
site more than three times within a twelve-month period if local graffiti abatement
funds are available.
(c)
The director may obtain property owner's consent to abate graffiti per subsection
(1) above for a period of time up to one year, renewable by mutual consent.
(d)
If the property owner does not remove or give consent to the county to abate the graffiti
within five calendar days of receipt of the graffiti notice the property owner shall
be issued a citation informing the person of the fines and appeal procedures set forth
in section 47-9.
