[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Red Bank by Ord. No. 2003-17 (Sec. 3-9.14 of the 1987 Revised General Ordinances. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Disorderly persons — See Ch. 315.
No person shall commit an act of graffiti on public, quasi-public
or private property.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any inscriptions, words, figures or designs that are drawn,
etched, marked, painted, pasted, scratched, stapled or otherwise affixed
on any real or personal property. This includes commercial graffiti,
commonly involving the posting of bills or stickers, which means any
advertisement or notice of a commercial nature.
A person commits an act of graffiti if the person, having no
right to do so, intentionally applies graffiti or, in the case of
commercial graffiti, causes graffiti to be applied to property.
A.
Any person who is convicted of the provisions herein shall be subject
to imprisonment not to exceed 90 days and to a fine not less than
$250 but not to exceed $1,000. In addition to any other penalty imposed
by the court, any person who is convicted of the provisions herein
may be required to pay the owner of the damaged property monetary
restitution in the amount of the pecuniary damage caused by the act
of graffiti or the amount necessary for the removal of same and to
perform community service, which shall include removing the graffiti
from the property, if appropriate. If community service is ordered,
it shall be for either not less than 20 days or for not less than
the number of days necessary to remove the graffiti from the property.
As a condition of sentencing, the court shall have the authority to
order that the offender be responsible for cleaning, repairing, painting
or otherwise restoring the damaged property to the condition it was
in prior to being damaged, provided that a determination is made that
any restoration efforts made by the offender shall not subject the
offender to unreasonable risk of death or serious physical injury
or otherwise be in violation of law. In the event that the offender
is unable for any reason to comply with the above, the Court shall
have the authority to order that said offender make full monetary
restitution to restore the property to its original undamaged condition.
The court shall have the full discretion to set the terms of the restitution.
B.
In addition to the community service and any other penalty imposed
by the court, any person who violates the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a mandatory fine of
not less than $50 to be paid to the Graffiti Trust Account.
A Graffiti Trust Account maintained by the Borough specifically
for the remediation of graffiti on public property within the Borough
is hereby created. The governing body shall control the allocation
of the funds in the Graffiti Trust Account for the remediation of
graffiti within the Borough, which shall include cleaning, repairing,
painting or otherwise restoring the damaged public property to the
condition it was in prior to any remediation. Any remediation of public
property subjected to graffiti may be funded by the Graffiti Trust
Account at the discretion of the governing body.
A.
Any private property that has been subjected to graffiti shall not
be eligible for the Graffiti Trust Account. Such private property
owner must remediate his/her property within a reasonable time.
B.
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.59(c), the owner of record of
any private property subjected to graffiti shall be entitled to written
notice of an order to remove graffiti, which shall be delivered to
the owner by certified and regular mail. The order shall afford the
owner the opportunity to remove the graffiti within 90 days from the
date that the notice is sent; however, the Department of Transportation
shall be afforded 120 days from the date a notice is sent to remove
graffiti from property owned by the Department.
[Added 8-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-41]
C.
The notice to remove graffiti shall contain a form to be utilized
by a property owner to inform the Borough that the graffiti has been
removed. The form shall contain a provision stating that by affixing
a signature to the form, indicating that graffiti has been removed,
the owner is certifying that the facts set forth therein are true
and that the certification shall be considered as if made under oath
and subject to the same penalties as provided by law for perjury.
[Added 8-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-41]
D.
An owner who has been ordered to remove graffiti shall respond to
the Borough by personal delivery or by certified mail:
[Added 8-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-41]
E.
An owner who objects to an order to remove graffiti, pursuant to Subsection D of this section, may institute an action challenging the order before a court of competent jurisdiction within 60 days of the date of the order.
[Added 8-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-41]
F.
If a property owner does not undertake the removal of graffiti within 90 days of the date of the order, or in the case of the Department of Transportation, within 120 days of the date of the order, unless an action challenging the order to remove graffiti is still pending pursuant to Subsection E of this section, the Borough may remove the graffiti from that property and present the property owner with a detailed itemization of the costs incurred by the Borough, by certified and regular mail, for reimbursement from the property owner.
[Added 8-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-41]
G.
Whenever the Borough undertakes the removal of graffiti from any
building, structure or other exposed surface, the Borough, in addition
to assessing the cost of removal as a municipal lien against the premises,
may enforce the payment of such assessment, together with interest,
as a debt of the owner of the property and may institute an action
at law in the Superior Court for the collection thereof.
[Added 8-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-41]
