PORT HUENEME : City Approves Plan to Clean Up Graffiti

The Port Hueneme City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved an agreement that enables the city to remove graffiti from homes and businesses when the property owner cannot keep up with the problem or when the owner is out of town.

“It’s essentially a timesaver,” said Tom Figg, director of community development. “One of the important features of (working with) graffiti is to arrest it immediately. If we didn’t have this (agreement) the graffiti would remain for days on end.”

Under the agreement, property owners can give workers under contract with the city pre-approval to go onto their property and paint over the graffiti.

Figg said three property owners, who have been subjected to repeated taggings, have expressed interest in the program.

The city has allotted $15,000 a year for its graffiti removal program, Figg said. Port Hueneme residents can receive rebates of up to $100 if they remove the graffiti themselves.

In 1992, there were 55 reported graffiti incidents on private property in the city, 27 of which were cleaned up by the city, a city official said. The cleanups cost the city $2,043.