The board of supervisors of the county of Madera finds and declares that graffiti on public or private property creates a condition tending to reduce the value of such property, promotes blight and deterioration of surrounding property, and invites further vandalism; and it results in loss of pride in affected neighborhoods and loss of business to neighboring commercial enterprises. Although state law prohibits the sale of products used in graffiti to persons under the age of eighteen, graffiti continues to proliferate in the county due in part to the theft of aerosol paint products. Supplemental local deterrents to the availability for use of aerosol containers of paint are needed to further inhibit their use for graffiti purposes.
The board of supervisors further finds and declares that many landowners within the county of Madera do not take action to remove graffiti from their buildings and fences in situations where the perpetrators are not found, which results in further blight and deterioration of neighboring property and reduction of property value and invitation for additional vandalism.
Pursuant to Section 53069.3 of the California Government Code, the intent of this chapter is to provide procedures for the control and abatement of graffiti from both public and private property in order to reduce blight and deterioration within the county of Madera. (Ord. 558A § 1, 2007: Ord. 558 § 1(part), 1994).

As used in this section and chapter, the following terms have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:
“County” means the county of Madera.
“County abatement officer” means the county code enforcement officer or his designees, or any other individual or body appointed by the board of supervisors to enforce codes and which is authorized to administer this chapter.
“Graffiti” means the unauthorized writing, defacing, marring, marking, inscribing, scratching, painting, or affixing of markings on public or private buildings or structures, including, but not limited to, walls, fences, signs, retaining walls, driveways, walkways, sidewalks, curbs, traffic control devices, signs, and utility boxes, except as otherwise expressly permitted by this code. (Ord. 558A § 2, 2007).

A. California Civil Code Section 1714.1(b) provides that any act of wilful misconduct by a minor in applying graffiti in violation of any provision of the California Penal Code, where such misconduct causes damage to property, shall cause the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor to be jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from such misconduct in an amount up to ten thousand dollars. State law further provides that such liability shall include but not be limited to the costs expended to remove or otherwise abate such graffiti damage, court costs and attorney’s fees. Pursuant to this provision of state law, the county administrative officer shall seek recovery of and have the authority to seek reimbursement for the county’s damages including the cost of removal and abatement of graffiti to any county property pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1714.1(b).
B. The county shall provide assistance in the form of notification, advice and counsel for private citizens in the county of Madera seeking to obtain recovery under California Civil Code Section 1714.1(b) for damage to their property occurring in the county of Madera. (Ord. 558 § 1(part), 1994).

A. On and after July 1, 1994, every person who owns, conducts, operates or manages a retail commercial establishment selling aerosol paint containers containing anything other than a solution which can be removed with water after it dries, shall store or cause such aerosol paint containers to be stored in an area which is not accessible to the public in the regular course of business without employee assistance, pending legal sale or disposition of such paint containers.
B. For purposes of this section, “not accessible to the public” means that such merchandise is kept in a locked storage area so that the merchandise cannot be removed without assistance from an employee of the retail establishment. Such storage area may be visible to the public as long as the merchandise in the storage area cannot be physically accessed by the public without employee assistance. (Ord. 558 § 1(part), 1994).

No person owning or otherwise in control of any building or structure in the unincorporated area of the county of Madera shall allow or permit any graffiti to remain on that building or structure when that graffiti is visible from the street or other public or private property. A violation of this section shall constitute a public nuisance under Chapter 7.20 of this code and a continuing violation under Section 8.01.050(F) of this code. (Ord. 558A § 3, 2007).

A. When the county abatement officer determines that any property contains graffiti in violation of this section, the county abatement officer shall issue an administrative citation to be served on the property owner(s), as provided in Chapter 8.01 of this code, which shall notify the owner that the graffiti exists and must be immediately abated.
B. Within thirty days of receiving the citation, the property owner shall either abate the graffiti or sign and return a consent form authorizing the county abatement officer to enter the property and abate the graffiti at county expense, by cleaning, painting, or otherwise removing the graffiti. The consent form shall be prepared by the county and be served with the citation.
C. The property owner may contest the citation as provided in Section 8.01.070 of this code. The property owner shall demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she does not have the financial ability to abate the graffiti, or that there was no graffiti on the property at the time the citation was issued.
D. If the property owner consents to removal by the county as provided in subsection B of this section, the county abatement officer may enter the property and abate the graffiti.
E. If the property defaced by graffiti is owned by a public agency other than the county, the graffiti may be removed by the county abatement officer only after obtaining consent from that public agency to enter and abate. The costs of abatement shall be divided equally between the county and the other agency.
F. If the property is privately owned and the owner has failed or refused to appeal the citation, abate the graffiti, or consent to abatement by the county, or the owner’s appeal of the citation has been denied and the time for further administrative appeal or hearing has expired, the county abatement officer may proceed with and complete public nuisance abatement of the graffiti, including the imposition of an assessment of the costs of abatement against the owner and placement of an abatement lien. The county abatement officer shall enter the property to abate the graffiti after providing five calendar days’ advance written notice to the owner by personal service or by certified first class mail and posting on the property.
G. To abate the graffiti, the county abatement officer may use county employees, employees of other public agencies that have contracted with the county, volunteers, or private contractors. The county abatement officer may also use work crews or wards of the court or persons sentenced to community service work programs, provided that the chief probation officer or director of corrections has granted permission and that the work crews are under the direct supervision of the probation department or department of corrections.
H. The scope of removal or painting over of graffiti is limited to such areas as are determined appropriate by the county abatement officer and not the repair or masking of a more extensive area. (Ord. 558A § 4, 2007).