County to limit access to graffiti tools

Stephen Curran

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2005 | 10:43 a.m.

Phone numbers to request graffiti removal:

They can cite youths for possessing graffiti paraphernalia on one block but have no authority to confiscate the materials on another, Detective Dan Newman of Metro's gang crimes bureau said.

That inconsistency creates a patchwork throughout the valley that leaves officers forced to enforce two separate laws governing spray paint, one for the incorporated cities and another for the county, he said.

"We have little pockets in the city and in the county ... There was a lot of confusion among the police officers. That's what we're trying to alleviate," Newman said.

Clark County commissioners were expected to approve an ordinance this morning that will make it illegal for juveniles to buy or possess spray paint and other items frequently used to deface private and public property.

The law would make the county the last jurisdiction in the Las Vegas Valley to restrict access to the implements of graffiti.

The county ordinance, which Metro actively supports and is similar to restrictions in other communities nationwide, faced state legislative hurdles required before the commission could enact the law, Joe Boteilho, the county's chief of code enforcement, said.

A Senate bill passed by the Legislature earlier this year gave the board authority to cite retailers who sell to minors. That law helped kick-start the proposed ban planned for this morning's commission meeting.

Officials estimate that graffiti costs the county about $1 million a year to remove from public property, including bridges, walls and buildings. According to the county's public response department, about 13,000 homes were vandalized last year, up from the roughly 3,000 recorded four years earlier.

"It's certainly getting worse," Boteilho said. "It (a new county ordinance) is certainly going to be another tool in the toolbox."

Since April, code enforcement has had the authority to cite juveniles who try to buy spray paint at area retailers, he said.

Judges frequently order graffiti vandals to repay the county for the cost of the cleanup, which can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Commission Chairman Rory Reid said the proposed ordinance grew from a string of neighborhood meetings within his mostly urban district. When asked about their top concerns, graffiti was high on the list, he said.

Reid said he did not know why the ordinance wasn't enacted in concert with those in the incorporated cities.

"I don't know," why commissioners before him did not approve such an ordinance, he said. "... Every meeting I had with people in my district people complained about graffiti and rightly so."

Under the new ordinance, illegal possession of spray paint or any other "graffiti implement" will be punishable by a $1,000 fine or six months in jail, according to the county.

One particularly notorious spot, the Russell Road bridge over Interstate 15 is expected to cost more than $27,000 to clean and repaint, Boteilho said.

Boteilho said he had no doubts that a uniform law would reduce the amount of graffiti popping up throughout the valley.

"Anytime you have a law in one jurisdiction and not in another, certainly it's a challenge," he said. "Anytime you can standardize those laws it helps."