[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Washington 4-18-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-04. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Property maintenance — See Ch. 65.
No person shall damage, befoul, commit a nuisance on, or disturb
public property or the property of another so as to create a hazardous
condition. No person shall maliciously destroy, damage or injure any
person or property, including and not limited to acts considered "vandalism,"
"graffiti," and/or any other malicious mischief.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any persons to apply graffiti to any building,
structure, tree, shrub, curb, vehicle, or to other personal or real
property (public or private) located within the Borough.
B.
Nothing contained within this chapter shall prohibit the enforcement
of any other chapter of the Municipal Code of the Borough of Washington.
Easily removable markings (chalk or water-soluble) on public
sidewalks and streets used in connection with traditional children's
games, or Borough sponsored events, shall not be considered graffiti.
Committing an act of graffiti is a violation of this chapter.
Violations for committing an act of graffiti shall be charged on a
per-property or per-structure basis (one offense for each violation).
Violations do not reset over time. Upon conviction, each offense shall
have the following penalties applied:
A.
Each person shall be subject to a fine of $50 for the first offense,
$100 for the second offense, and $150 for each subsequent offense.
B.
In addition to any fines imposed (or waived), the court shall order
the offender to make restitution pursuant to this chapter.
C.
Restitution. Offenders shall make restitution to the victim for damages
or loss caused directly or indirectly by the violator's offense
in the amount (or manner) determined by the court.
D.
In lieu (or as part) of the penalties imposed by this section, it
is strongly recommended that the court order community service. Community
service shall be based on the following minimum requirements:
(1)
Offenders shall perform community service based on their level of
conviction as follows:
(a)
First offense: service sufficient to remove the graffiti and
restore the property to its prior condition.
(b)
Second offense: service sufficient to remove the graffiti and
restore the property to its prior condition plus 10 additional days
of community service.
(c)
Third (and subsequent) offense: service sufficient to remove
the graffiti and restore the property to its prior condition plus
20 additional days of community service.
(2)
Reasonable effort shall be made to assign the offender to a type
of community service that is reasonably expected to have the most
rehabilitative effect of the offender.
(3)
The order period of service shall be performed under the supervision
of a community service provider approved by the Chief of Police.
The provisions of this chapter may be enforced by the Zoning
Officer of the Borough of Washington or any police officer serving
the Borough of Washington.
