Ottawa couple replaces graffiti with mural that violates city bylaw. Told only permitted in institutional, business districts, not residential areas.
Posted By THE CANADIAN PRESS
An Ottawa couple received a notice from the city on July 10 stating they had 10 days to remove graffiti from their garage door. Alexandra and Tony Awad decided to heed the advice they found on the Ottawa police website.
The couple paid an artist $500 to paint a mural on the door. Alexandra Awad says they even called the city to make sure it was OK.
But, as it turns out, it wasn’t.
They have now been told to remove the mural because the city only allows them in institutional and business districts, not residential areas.
Susan Jones, director of bylaw services, said the city prefers the property be returned to its original look. Alexandra Awad hasn’t said what the couple will do now, but added it would be foolhardy go ahead and paint the door white and leave another blank canvas for vandals.
http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1131569
Carla Thaler Commentary
Hey!, what happened? Looks like the well-meaning folks are getting a bad deal, from all sides. Let’s take a look…
This is a great example of how lack of strategy and cooperation among municipal departments can confuse the issue of graffiti and continually victimize property owners. Even in cities that advertise a citywide graffiti management program.
Here is a couple that was victimized by graffiti on their property. The city contacted them and gave them 10 days to remove the graffiti. Not mentioned in the above article is the almost certain threat of fines and removal costs included in that notification.
Being responsible citizens they apparently set out to comply with the request and turned to their local community resources to find information on possible solutions. A Google search for the phrase “Graffiti in Ottawa” returns the Ottawa Police Department as the first listing. Just as the couple claimed mural creation is one of the recommended prevention strategies.
Below is a copy of the wording in question pulled today from the Police Department website.
Tips to deter graffiti
As a property owner, there are measures you can take to deter graffiti. They include:
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- Plant vines, shrubs or thorny plants to limit access to walls.
- Increase lighting and visibility. Consider motion or sensor lights to draw attention to any movement on your property.
- Move vehicles, dumpsters or other items away from walls and cover pipes to prevent access to the roof or upper levels of a building.
- Consider a graffiti repellent to protect surfaces against graffiti.
- Use fences and other barriers to discourage through traffic.
- Encourage community pride and respect in your neighbourhood and involve youth in community graffiti removal project.
- Consider adding a mural to your property.
- Encourage neighbours to look out for each other. Start up a Neighbourhood Watch program in your neighbourhood.
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No where in the City Graffiti Bylaws does it say anything about murals only being allowed in commercial and institutional districts.
In fact the bylaws address urban art as shown below:
What about Urban Art?
Public and urban art play an important role in our community and can contribute to community pride and beautification. Graffiti tagging is vandalism – not art. By encouraging residents to make responsible choices when placing art legally in public and private areas, we can maintain the integrity and the beauty of our city. Legal walls, community art programs and mural opportunities are available across the City to support artists and creative expression.
Check out some of these local programs and opportunities:
1. Ottawa School of Art (www.artottawa.ca)
2. House of Paint (http://www.hop.artform.ca/)
So maybe that’s not entirely straightforward you say? It does say that there are legal walls, community art programs and mural opportunities available, but it doesn’t advise anyone to put up a mural on their own property. Okay, that’s fair. How about this excerpt from the City of Ottawa Graffiti Management Program Prevent It page?
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- To deter graffiti vandals and prevent graffiti from occurring or recurring on your property, there are some simple methods that you can use.
- Remove any graffiti as soon as it appears. The faster graffiti is removed, the less desirable your property becomes to vandals.
- Make every effort to keep the appearance of your property clean and neat. Litter, broken fences and overgrown shrubs send a message of indifference, which can attract vandals.
- Plant vines, shrubs or thorny plants to limit access to walls.
- Move vehicles, dumpsters and other items away from walls and cover pipes to prevent access to the roof or upper levels of a building.
- Consider applying a special coating to protect surfaces from potential damage caused by graffiti removal.
- Design and build structures that are not attractive graffiti targets. Avoid large, smooth and light coloured surfaces.
- Use fences and other barriers to discourage through traffic near your home or business.
- Work with community artists to commission a mural on a persistently targeted wall.
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If you read the sign bylaws through you will find that all signs including “mural signs” require a permit and that mural signs are only allowed in District 3 & 4 of the city. Based on that when the couple called the City they should have been told that their mural would need a permit. The permitting process likely would have captured the conflict and the permit would have been denied.
However, the City failed to inform the couple that this was not acceptable when they were called to confirm the recommendation given by not one but two departments within the City. So now these property owners must once again spend their money to cover the mural and then repeatedly pay to remove subsequent graffiti on a high traffic surface.
How many times must a property owner be victimized by graffiti? Let’s count up how many times the Awad’s have been the victims so far?
One – When the original graffiti was applied by a vandal
Two – When the City gave them 10 days time to remove the graffiti or face fines and removal costs
Three – When they received recommendations from two local sources for a method that was in direct violation of the city bylaws
Four – When they called the City and were not told that they would need a permit or that murals were not allowed in their district
Five – When they invested $500 in an artist on what they thought was an expert recommended prevention method.
Six – When they have to pay to have the mural covered?
??? – How many more times will the first two victimizations reoccur?
In this case it looks likely that the Awads will be able to keep their mural. The fact that the mural is on their garage door that faces a service alley and the publicity to an embarassing situation were probably considered by the City. This is only one example though. Have you been victimized by graffiti? Tell me you experiences.
Tags: graffiti, property owner, victims
