Graffiti Abatement

The Graffiti Abatement Painting Program is responsible for the abatement of graffiti on public property in targeted areas of the City. 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. Removal of graffiti continues to be a high priority of the City Council. This program maintains the painting schedule for graffiti abatement. Graffiti is an increasingly common problem that has a negative effect on property values as well as the overall appearance of the City.

The City of 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 graffiti found in parks, sidewalks, and in the public right-of-way here.
• Report any malicious mischief or graffiti vandalism to the Police Department by calling (909) 621-4771 or (909) 621-5873.
• For tips on how to remove graffiti from your private property, contact the Operations Division of the Public Works Department at (909) 625-9480.

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’.