AGOURA HILLS : Anti-Graffiti Plan Aimed at Merchants

As part of a regionwide effort to combat graffiti, the Agoura Hills City Council plans to require merchants to keep spray-paint and wide-tip markers out of their customers’ reach, and to sell those items to adults only.

“I think people overall are frustrated about incidents of graffiti, and they want to do anything possible, no matter how small, to obstruct the graffiti artists,” said Agoura Hills Director of Public Works Vince Mastrosimone. “I don’t think anyone thinks this is going to eliminate graffiti, but if you make it harder to buy paint, maybe there will be less of it.”

The City Council plans to consider the new law at its regular meeting Wednesday night, and could give it final approval as early as Aug. 4, Mastrosimone said.

The ordinance would require business owners to keep spray-paint and markers with tips wider than 4 millimeters in locked cabinets or behind counters, in an attempt to keep vandals from stealing them. Most “hi-liter” pens are slightly smaller than 4 millimeters.

The proposal is part of a coordinated effort by cities in the greater Ventura area to follow the lead of the city of Los Angeles, which won a state Supreme Court decision last February, upholding its limits on spray-paint display.