May 24, 2006

Fresno Chamber Supports Effort to Clean Up Graffiti

The Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce conceptually SUPPORTS the City’s ordinance to take the authority to clean up graffiti on businesses because it has been identified as a very important issue to our business members, and it promotes business attraction and retention by forcing our city to take care of how it looks.

 

However, the Fresno Chamber recommends that the City give businesses 72 hours as opposed to 24 hours, as many businesses are not open over the weekends.
 

Background

On of Mayor Alan Autry's top priorities is to curb the graffiti problem in the greater Fresno area. According to our City Manager and Assistant City Manager the problem of graffiti is not being taken care of by local businesses effectively.

The City of Fresno has agreed they have the resources and time to clean up graffiti for a certain charge, and agrees that should be a priority in order to improve the image of our city.

Proposal

The City of Fresno would require businesses to clean graffiti off of their property within 24 hours. If that did not happen, businesses would have two options:
 

1. Businesses will have the option of giving the City permission as part of the business license process to enter the property after the 24 hour time period
 

2. If the City is not granted permission prior, the City will try to get permission thereafter to enter the property. If the City still could not get the permission the City would be able to enter the property without permission because it is a public nuisance. The City will charge the businesses the cost of the supplies, which averages $85 per hour.

 

Contact Amy Huerta, the Chamber's Government Affairs Manager for more information at (559) 495-4818 or ahuerta@fresnochamber.com