Graffiti Abatement

In recent years, one of the most common urban problems threatening the vitality and beauty of cities is graffiti. It has a detrimental effect on the attractiveness of our community, the value of real estate, and businesses' desire to remain in the community.

The Graffiti Abatement Painting Program is responsible for the abatement of graffiti on public property in targeted areas of the City.

This program also abates graffiti from all City signal control cabinets, and it maintains the painting schedule for graffiti abatement.

Montclair's plan to eliminate graffiti utilizes the physical effort of removal as well as an educational effort for prevention. Residents can help in the efforts to clean our City of this troublesome problem by following these tips:

• Keep a "sharp lookout" for people writing on walls, sidewalks, or streets.
• Report any malicious mischief to the Police Department by calling (909) 621-4771.
• If your property is a victim of graffiti, call the Maintenance Division of the Public Works Department for removal techniques at (909) 625-9465.
• Take steps to educate yourself on techniques available to remove graffiti so you can act in the shortest possible time.

Removal of graffiti continues to be a high priority of the City Council. Graffiti is an increasingly common problem that has a negative effect on property values as well as the overall appearance of the City.

To address this problem, two full time employees are assigned to abate graffiti from public property within the City. Parks, sidewalks, block walls, street light and utility poles, utility boxes, traffic signal poles are just a few of the areas where graffiti is removed.

Business and residential property owners are responsible for the removal of graffiti from their property, although Public Works staff will assist as time and materials allow. Before City staff can assist, the effected property owner must complete and return a ‘Liability Release Form’.

If you are not sure if the property that has graffiti is public or private, contact the ‘Graffiti Abatement Hotline’ at (909) 625-9429 and a member of our graffiti abatement team will inspect the site and respond to your inquiry.

If you witness anyone in the act or to make a police report of graffiti vandalism to your property, please contact the Montclair Police Department directly at (909) 621-5873.

To report graffiti in the City of Montclair, call the Graffiti Abatement Hotline at (909) 625-9429.