A city councillor is urging city staff to waive a $250 fee that a property owner must pay when painting a mural on their home or business to cover graffiti.
Vision Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie pointed out at a July 24 meeting the city does not charge a fee to a property owner when simply repainting over graffiti with a single colour of paint.
But, Louie said, the $250 applies when its a mural.
It seems odd to me that we would charge somebody to take off the graffiti that they are required to take off, or to paint over, and in the instance where theyre not painting a mural, that there be no charge to that, Louie told council So Id ask staff to do a bit of exploration on whether or not theres a possibility to waive that fee in those circumstances when, in fact, what theyre doing is some public service to eliminate the graffiti.
The fee is for a development permit, which covers administrative costs, according to Barb Floden, the citys manager of communications. Murals are considered public art and therefore area residents and businesses must be consulted before one can be painted on a building, Floden said in her email to the Courier.
The development permit process also ensures public artworks adhere to our city mural guidelines, which does not permit signage, advertising or religious/offensive content in the image, Floden said.
City staff responsible for public art, sign permits, building permits and heritage properties also review the proposed mural before deciding whether the property owner can proceed with the project.
Development services permit application process ensures that a meaningful community consultation is conducted and any objections/issues are addressed prior to the installation of the artwork, Floden added.
Deputy city manager Sadhu Johnston told council charging the $250 fee for a mural seems inconsistent with the citys goals of removing graffiti. He said he planned to investigate Louies concerns.
The city is responsible for removing graffiti in public places but it is the property owners responsibility to remove graffiti on private property. Under the citys graffiti bylaw, a property owner is required to remove graffiti within 10 days of being served a notice from the city.
If the graffiti remains, the city will remove it and bill the property owner for the work. If the owner doesnt pay the city for the work, the city will initiate legal action or add the cost to the owners property tax bill. The minimum fine for anyone caught writing graffiti is $500.
Hundreds of murals approved by the city between 2003 and 2010 can be viewed on the citys website.
Twitter: @Howellings
