By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor

Osceola County commissioners Monday on a 3-2 vote adopted an ordinance requiring property owners to remove graffiti from their property in the unincorporated area or face civil fines and possible liens.

Commissioner Ken Smith and Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr. voted against adopting the ordinance, which went into effect immediately.

The ordinance would give the property owner, agent, custodian, lessee or occupant seven days to remove or paint over the graffiti once the county has issued a notification to the owner of a violation. The person receiving notice would then have seven days to appeal and would be given a date for a hearing. If an appeal was not successful and the code enforcement board at the hearing determines that there has been a violation, then the graffiti would have to be removed within five days.

In addition, if the graffiti were not removed, the county could then abate the violation and could place a lien against the property for the cost of the cleanup. There also could be up to a $250 civil fine assessed.

Sherry Hopkins, assistant county attorney, told commissioners that there has been an increase in graffiti over the last year or so due to the large number of vacant and foreclosed properties in the county.

“This ordinance allows us to get the graffiti cleaned up faster,” she said.

Smith, who characterized the ordinance as an “attack on private property rights,” said he was concerned that the ordinance would put an undue financial burden on private property owners.

“This will not solve the problem,” Smith said. “Government is not the answer to every social problem that comes along. The property owner is not the person who put the graffiti there.”

Smith went on to ask whether the county in the future would require property owners to pick up litter on their property too, or face sanctions.

Commissioner Michael Harford, who supported the ordinance, said he didn’t think it would be a financial burden, adding that allowing graffiti to remain denigrates a neighborhood and just invites more graffiti.

In its effort to help combat gangs, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has a graffiti abatement program whereby on an as-needed basis, crews comprised of both Sheriff’s Office staff and volunteers using mostly donated materials help homeowners who don’t have the financial means to remove graffiti.

Sheriff Bob Hansell told commissioners that his office’s program is free but that not every property owner with graffiti on a building or fence takes advantage of it.

“People sometimes just don’t call in or a house is vacant and bank-owned,” Hansell said, adding that without the county ordinance, no one can require that the graffiti be removed.

The code enforcement department when sending out notices about graffiti violations also will include information about the Sheriff’s Office program, county officials said.

Commissioner John Quiñones, who voted for the ordinance, suggested that the county have jail trustees help the Sheriff’s Office so that graffiti can be removed as quickly as possible.

County Manager Don Fisher said that if a property owner is “making progress” to remove graffiti, then there would be some leeway in enforcement of the ordinance in terms of time given before the county would step in to abate the problem.

County officials also said that no additional code enforcement staff would be needed to enforce the ordinance but that at some point additional funding might be needed for materials if the demand goes up for the Sheriff’s Office program.