HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 11629ORDINANCE ( l IIJ~,
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 23, "OFFENSES AND
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS" OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
FORT WORTH BY ADDING NEW SECTIONS; CREATING THE OFFENSE
OF POSSESSION OF AEROSOL-PAINT BY MINORS; PROVIDING
DEFENSES; PROVIDING PENALTIES; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES
AND PROVISIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND MAKING THIS
ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES NOT IN
CONFLICT; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY AND SAVINGS CLAUSE;
PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Fort Worth is a home rule municipal
corporation organized and existing by virtue of the Constitution
and laws of the State of Texas and by its Charter adopted in
December of 1924, and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City o,f Fort Worth finds
that the use of "graffiti" by members of the populace has grown
to such significant levels that entire areas of the community,
both public and private, are blighted by its existence; and
WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that graffiti serves
as a method of communication for individuals who engage in
illegal activities of all sorts, and therefore graffiti serves as
an aid in the proliferation of criminal activities, and
WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that a large
proportion of the individuals who engage in the criminal acrtivity
are in fact minors, and that the favored medium for the
application of graffiti is aerosol paint ("spray paint"), and
WHEREAS, the City of Fort Worth possesses all the rights,
powers and authorities possessed by all home rule municipalities,
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including the police power, as recognized in
5 of the Constitution of the State of Texas,
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes
graffiti, and of the implements of graffiti
power of the City of Fort Worth,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL
WORTH, TEXAS
Section 1.
Article 11, Section
and
that the control °of
are within the police
OF THE CITY OF FORT
That Chapter 23, "Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions" of
the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended, is hereby
further amended by the addition of Section 23-17 "Prohibition of
Possession of Aerosol Paint by Minors", which new section shall
be and read as follows
"Sec 23 17 - Prohibition of Possession of Aerosol Paint by
Minors
(a) Terms defined. In this section.
(1) Aerosol paint means an aerosolized paint product, including
a clear or pigmented lacquer or finish
(2) Minor means an individual younger than seventeen (17) years
(b) It shall be unlawful for a minor to possess aerosol paint of
any sort or character.
(c) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not to
exceed five hundred dollars ($500 00)
(d) It shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of this
ordinance that, at the time of possession, the minor was
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accompanied or supervised by a parent or guardian, a teacher in
connection with a bona fide school project, a supervisor during
the minor's regular employment or that the minor possessed the
aerosal paint on the property on which he or she lives or that
the possession occurred as part of an organized event sponsored
or supervised by the city, a school, a church or some other
officially recognized entity.
Sec. 23-18 - Reserved"
Section 2.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of
ordinances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas
(1986), as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance
are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and
such Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such
ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed
Section 3.
Any person, firm or corporation who
omits, neglects or refuses to comply with
enforcement of any of the provisions of this
fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars
offense Each day that a violation is
constitutes a separate offense
violates, disobeys,
or who resists the
ordinance shall be
($500.00) for each
permitted to exist
Section 4.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City
Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and
phrases of this ordinance are severable, and, if any phrase,
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clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be
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declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall
not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences,
paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would
have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation
in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause,
sentence, paragraph or section ~
Section 5.
The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is
hereby authorized to publish this ordinance in pamphlet form for
general distribution among the public, and the operative
provisions of this ordinance as so published shall be admissible
in evidence in all courts without further proof other than the
production thereof, as provided in Chapter XXV, Section 3, of the
Charter of the City of Fort Worth, Texas.
Section 6.
This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and
after the date of August 1, 1994 and thereafter, and publication
as required by law, and it is so ordained
APPROVED A^S.TO~FORM AND LEGALITY
~~~/v
Assistant City Attorney
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Date. ' L-
ADOPTED' ~ ~CO- CI`-~"
EFFECTIVE '/'~ ~~ 7 7
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City of 1Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE REFERENCE NUbIBER LOG NAME FAGE
06/28/94 G1O710 02GRAF 1 of 4
svsJECT SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION AND ADOPTION OF TWO ORDINANCES FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FORT WORTH GRAFFITI PROGRAM
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council
1 Adopt the attached supplemental appropriations ordinance increasing appropriations in the
General Fund by 519,862 and decreasing the unreserved, undesignated fund balance of
the General Fund by the same amount, and
2 Adopt the attached ordinance amending Chapter 23 of the Code of the C,ty of Fort Worth
by creating the offense of possession of aerosol paint by minors, providing defenses and
penalties, and providing an effective date of August 1, 1994, and ,
3 Adopt the attached ordinance amending Appendix B of the Code of the City of Fort Worth
by creating the offense of failing to remove graffiti, providing for notification of violation,
providing for the enforcement of such ordinance, providing penalties, and providing an
effective date of August 1, 1994, and
4 Authorize the City Manager to implement the Fort Worth Graffiti Program for the remainder
of fiscal year 1993-94 at a cost of 519,862
DISCUSSION
The City Council at its February 15, 1994 Pre-Council meeting discussed the graffiti problem in
Fort Worth, and as a result, the City Manager formed a task force to address this issue The
Graffiti Task Force met weekly in an effort to develop a workable and equitable graffiti program
for Fort Worth Representation on the Graffiti Task Force included the Mayor's Anti-Graffiti
inner-city Cleanup (MAGIC), the Police Department, Code Enforcement, the City Attorney's
Office, the Parks and Community Services Department, the Environmental Management
Department, the Transportation/Public Works Department, and the City Manager's Office
On April 5, 1994 the Graffiti Task Force presented an interim report to the City Council
concerning the direction that the Task Force was taking in developing a graffiti program for Fort
Worth, and on May 3, 1994 (I R 7825) the Task Force presented for the City Council's
consideration its final program recommendations At that time, the City Council requested that
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City of Fort Worth, Texsis
Mayor and Council Communication
DA
NUMBER LOG NAME
06/28/94 G10710 02GRAF 2 of 4
svaJECT SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION AND ADOPTION OF TWO ORDINANCES FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FORT WORTH GRAFFITI- PROGRAM
the Task Force develop aless-costly program for its consideration, and on June 14, 1994 (I R
7842) the Task Force presented its less-costly graffiti program The Task Force was then
directed to prepare an action item for the implementation of the program for the City Council's
consideration
The Fort Worth Graffiti Program provides the following initiatives in the areas of education,
abatement, and compliance
Education
1 Development by the FWISD of a curriculum module for implementation and use in schools
2 Development of information packets for distribution to the public, such as neighborhood
associations and youth serving agencies (i e Scout troops)
Abatement
1 Establishment of a graffiti abatement crew in the Parks and Community Services
Department, consisting of City staff and probationers, to abate graffiti both on City-owned
property and private property with the consent of the owner
2 Use of volunteer organizations, such as Scout troops, Boys and Girls Clubs, neighborhood
associations and CODE BLUE volunteers to abate graffiti
3 Enlargement of the current paint bank to provide paint to the graffiti abatement crew,
volunteer groups, and citizens to be used to abate graffiti
4 Coordination of an inaugural Graffiti Abatement Day in an effort to promote the abatement
of graffiti to the extent possible, conducted annually thereafter in line with similar
awareness programs, such as Earth Day and Cowtown Brush-Up
5 Solicitation of contributions from businesses and foundations, in conjunction with MAGIC,
to offset the cost of the graffiti program
~ ~~ Printed on recycled paper
City of Fart Worth, Texas
Mayor anal Councdl Communication
DATE
PAGE
06/28/94 ~-1U71O 02GRAF ~ 3 of 4
SUBJECT SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION AND ADOPTION OF TWO ORDINANCES FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FORT WORTH GRAFFITI PROGRAM
6 Establishment of a Graffiti Hotline in the Action Center
Compliance -Voluntary
1 Establishment of a "Responsible Retailer Program" requesting voluntary cooperation on the
part of spray paint retailers to locate spray paint in areas of stores less accessible to
minors, and donate non-marketable paint
2 Establishment of a "Retailer Sponsorship Program", whereby the retailer's name appears
on the graffiti abatement crew vehicle in exchange for free paint, or other in-kind or
monetary contributions, for a designated period of time ,
Compliance -Legal
1 Adoption of two ordinances to make the possession of spray paint unlawful for minors,
create penalties and fines not to exceed 5500 00 for minors possessing spray paint, and,
as a last resort, establish citations/penalty fines not to exceed 5500 00 for property owners
who refuse to abate graffiti on their property following offers of paint and/or labor
2 Encouragement of legislative changes at the State level, failing voluntary cooperation by
paint retailers, to
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a) allow cities to require that retailers display spray paint in such a manner that the
products are accessible only with the assistance of a store representative
b) require that spray paint be maintained under lock and key
c) outlaw the possession of spray paint by minors
3 Establishment of a cash reward system in the Police Department for the reporting of graffiti
offenders
4 Increased enforcement of the current laws by the Police Department, through the use of
"sting" operations, use of Citizens on Patrol for surveillance in neighborhoods, and the
occasional undercover monitoring of "hot" spots that experience recurring graffiti problems
~~, Printed on recycled paper
City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE REFERENCE NUMBER LOG NAME PAGE
06/28/94 G10710 02GRAF 4 of 4
SUBJECT SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION AND ADOPTION OF TWO ORDINANCES FOR
f
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FORT WORTH GRAFFITI PROGRAM
Responsibility for the Graffiti Program will be established in four departments the Parks and
Community Services Department, the Code Enforcement Division of the City Services
Department, the Police Department, and the City Manager's Office/Action Center The
519,862 00 cost for the remainder of fiscal year 1993-94 will be expended in the Parks and
Community Services Department and the Code Enforcement Division Funding for the~Parks and
Community Services Department totals 517,757 for the establishment of the graffiti abatement
crew and related supplies and operating costs
Funding for the Code Enforcement Division totals 52,105 00 for part-time temporary help and
supplies relative to the enforcement of the ordinance that establishes citations/penalty fines not
to exceed 5500 00 for property owners who refuse to abate graffiti on their property following
offers of paint and/or labor This ordinance allows fourteen days from notification by Code
Enforcement before a citation may be written to the property owner Citations would only be
written upon failure of the property owner to comply with the ordinance, following offers of free
paint from the paint bank and free labor, if needed Code Enforcement would notify the property
owner of the availability of the free paint and Tabor as part of its notification letter
FISCAL INFORMATIONlCERTIFICATION
T,he Director of Fiscal Services certifies that upon adoption of the attached appropriations
ordinance, sufficient funds will be available in the current operating budget of the General Fund
After adoption of this appropriations ordinance, the unreserved, undesignated fund balance of
the General Fund will be 524,859,796
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Submitted for Citc ~faaager's FL7~ aCCOL:~'f CE~'I'ER AAIOLI~"T CITY SECRETARY
Office b~~: i to ~
1 ~ GGO1 ~ ARIOL S OZ 14002 52 105 00
1 ~ GGOi ~ ARIOL"S 0808010 517 757 00 APPROVED.
Originating Department Head: C~Y C~~1\V!~
~from~ JU~ 26 ~9~
4 r GGO1 ~ aRIOC S 0214002 52 105 00
For additional Information ~ 4 ~ GGO1 ~ ARIOCS 0808010 517 757 00 ~ ~~~.~
Contact: Cih ~~7 a ~
City of Fort Wac~l~aat~
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