For the purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section:

(a)   Graffiti means any unauthorized writing, inscription, word, figure or design which is marked, etched, scratched, drawn or painted on any structural component of any building, structure, or other facility, regardless of the nature of the material used in its application or upon which it is applied.

(b)   Graffiti removal levy means the charge made by the city and computed by the office of the city clerk for removing graffiti from property, plus all penalties for nonpayment of the charges which have accrued.

(c)   Owner as used in this section means any person so designated in the current files of the real estate division of the county clerk’s office, and also any person having or claiming to have any legal or equitable interest in the premises.

(d)   Property or premises means any lot, parcel, tract, or piece of land, improved or unimproved, in the city and includes any building or other structure located thereon.

In addition to all law enforcement officers, the following personnel employed by the city shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this Article.

(a)   All compliance officers;

(b)   All deputy compliance officers.

Any person who writes, sprays, scratches or otherwise affixes graffiti upon any property, public or private, in which another has an interest and without the consent of such other person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. In addition to such penalty the court may order the defendant to perform the necessary labor to clean up, repair, or replace the property damaged by that person, or to pay any costs incurred by the owner related to the cleanup, repair or replacement of property damaged by that person.

The existence of graffiti upon any building, residence, or other structure or property within the city is expressly declared to be a public nuisance and it shall be the duty of the owner and/or occupant of any building, residence or other structure or property that has been defaced by graffiti to clean up or otherwise cover such graffiti, or such graffiti shall be subject to abatement by the city as hereinafter provided. However, no person shall clean up or otherwise cover graffiti without first notifying the police department and allowing the police an opportunity to photograph such graffiti.

Whenever any city employee authorized to enforce this article finds graffiti on any property within the city which can be seen by any person using any public right-of-way, such authorized employee may forthwith, without notice to the owner, temporarily obliterate such graffiti, or cause the same to be temporarily obliterated, by the least destructive or damaging means then available. Such authorized employee shall then send notice to the owner to permanently remove the graffiti.

Whenever any city employee authorized to enforce this article finds graffiti on any property within the city which can be seen by any person using any public right-of-way, such authorized employee shall cause a notice to remove graffiti to be served upon the owner, as shown in the current files of the real estate division of the county clerk’s office.

The notice shall be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE TO REMOVE GRAFFITI

TO _____________________________________, as owner.

Pursuant to the provisions of the ordinances of the City of Park City, Kansas, you are hereby notified to remove from _________________________________________ (Description of property)

AKA ___________________________________________ (Address)

all graffiti as defined in the graffiti ordinance of the City of Park City within seven (7) days from the date of this notice.

□ (check if applicable) Action has already been taken by the City to temporarily obliterate this graffiti, but the same must be permanently removed within seven (7) days from the date of this notice.

If all graffiti is not permanently removed from the above described property within seven (7) days from the date of this notice, the City will cause it to be removed and the charges for removal shall become a personal obligation and a lien upon your property.

If you intend to remove such graffiti yourself, you are required to obtain from the City a certificate stating that the graffiti has been satisfactorily removed; otherwise if the City is dissatisfied with the manner in which the work has been done, the graffiti will be further removed at your expense.

If you object to the removal of the graffiti from your premises, you may appeal to the Park City City Council by filing a written notice of appeal upon the City Clerk, Park City Administration Center, 1941 E 61st St. N., Park City, KS 67219. Such written notice must be filed within five (5) days from the date of this notice. Failure to appeal shall be construed as your acceptance of the determination by the City’s authorized employee and any and all remedies provided by the ordinances of the City of Park City.

Dated: _________________________

_______________________________

City of Park City

The notice to remove graffiti shall be served upon the person whose name appears as the owner of the premises involved in the files of the real estate records division of the county clerk’s office. Such service may be made either by personal delivery or by depositing the notice in the United States mail, postage prepaid, as certified, first class mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the owner at the most recent address appearing in the files of the real estate records division of the county clerk’s office. If no address for the owner appears in the files of the real estate division of the county clerk’s office or if no address appears upon the actual premises, then service of the notice to remove graffiti may be made by posting the notice in a conspicuous place upon the property. Proof of service of the notice shall be made by affidavit of the person affecting the service, and the affidavit shall be sufficient for all purposes.

If there is an appeal filed with the city clerk, a copy of the notice of hearing shall be served by certified mail upon the owner who has appealed. The notice of hearing shall be served at least ten days before the hearing, and proof of service shall be made by an affidavit filed with the office of the city clerk. Service shall be deemed completed at the time of the deposit of the notice in a receptacle maintained by the United States Postal Service, with postage fully prepaid. The failure of any person to receive such notice of hearing shall not affect the validity of any proceedings under this Article.

(a)   At the time stated in the notice, the city council shall hear and consider all relevant evidence, objections or protests, and shall receive testimony from owners, witnesses, including city personnel, and interested persons relative to the alleged public nuisance and to the proposed removal of the graffiti. The hearing may be continued without further notice.

(b)   Upon conclusion of the hearing, the city council shall determine whether the premises, as maintained, constitute a public nuisance as set forth in this article. If the city council finds that such public nuisance does exist, it shall determine how the nuisance is to be abated and shall establish a time, not to exceed seven days, within which removal shall take place; and in the event the owner fails to correct the nuisance within the time described, the city shall cause the nuisance to be abated and the cost incurred by the city shall become a personal obligation of the owner and tenant and a lien upon the property.

(c)   A copy of the determination by the city council shall be served by mail upon the owner of the affected premises. Service shall be completed at the time of its deposit in a receptacle maintained by the United States Postal Service, with postage fully prepaid.

(d)   No legal proceeding or action shall lie against the city or any officer, agent or employee of the city to enjoin the enforcement of its determination or orders made pursuant to this chapter, unless such legal action is commenced within thirty days after the decision of the city council.

Every owner served with a notice or order to remove graffiti who upon his or her own account removes the graffiti from his or her property shall upon completion of the work immediately give written notice thereof to the city clerk. Such notice shall be either delivered or mailed to the city clerk. Upon receipt of such notice an authorized employee of the city shall cause the property to be inspected, and if no graffiti exists thereon, the owner shall be issued a certificate so stating. If graffiti still exists on the property, the authorized employee of the city shall cause it to be removed and the cost will be assessed against the owner and tenant and become a lien on the property as if no such notice of removal was received from the owner.

If any owner served with a notice fails to remove the graffiti from such owner’s property within the time stated in the notice, or order of the city council after appeal, the owner shall be deemed to have consented to such removal by the city whose designated employee will thereupon be authorized to enter upon the property involved and remove the graffiti.

The city shall, after completing the removal of graffiti from any property, compute all expenses so incurred by the city, including any applicable administrative fees as determined by the city clerk. All expenses shall be charged to and become an indebtedness of the owner of such premises. Provided, however, that no such charge or levy shall be made against any property or the owner of property where the city has received a written authorization signed by such owner, or his or her authorized representative, permitting the city, or any other volunteer group or organization engaging in graffiti clean up with the city’s consent, to enter upon such owner’s property for the purpose of removing any and all graffiti that from time to time might be located on such property. Such written authorization shall be effective until withdrawn in writing by such owner and shall prevent any charge or levy for graffiti cleanup expenses incurred after the date of such written authorization and for long as it remains effective.

Upon computing the expenses, the city clerk shall serve the graffiti abatement levy upon the owner of the property where graffiti was removed, as the owner is determined from the current files of the real estate division of the county clerk’s office. The notice to pay graffiti abatement levy shall be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE TO PAY GRAFFITI ABATEMENT LEVY

In accordance with the provision of the ordinances of Park City, Kansas, Park City has caused the graffiti upon___________________________________________ (legal)

AKA ____________________________________________________ (address)

to be removed at City expense.

You are hereby notified that the total cost of ____________________ is now due and payable to the City of Park City, Kansas.

Park City ordinances provide, in part, that the property owner, tenant or any other interested person may demand a hearing within fifteen (15) days of this notice before the Park City City Council on the reasonableness of the charges. Such demand shall be in writing, filed with the city clerk and shall describe the property involved, the reasons for objecting, and the name, address and interest of the appellant.

If no hearing is demanded, this payment shall become delinquent within thirty (30) days from this notice and if the amount due is not otherwise collected, a lien for this amount, plus a fee for preparation of the lien and any civil penalty shall be attached on the affected property and thereafter bear interest at the rate of 12% per annum until paid.

Within fifteen days from the date of the notice to pay, the property owner, tenant or any other interested person, may demand a hearing as to the reasonableness of such charges. Such demand shall be in writing and filed with the Park City City Clerk. It shall describe the property involved, state the reasons for objecting, and include the address of the applicant for service of notices in connection with such hearing. The Park City City Council shall thereupon set a date for a hearing of such protest. Such hearing shall be scheduled within a reasonable time. The city clerk shall send written notice of such hearing in the manner provided hereinabove. At the time set for such hearing, the city council shall hear all evidence pertinent to the reasonableness of the charges and shall then either confirm or modify the charges. The decision of the city council shall be final and the city clerk shall certify the costs of such removal. In the event the cost of graffiti removal is not assessed against the real property, the city may thereafter maintain an action in the appropriate court against the owner and/or occupant upon whom notice was served as required by this chapter to recover the cost of removing such graffiti.