EDITORIAL: The DDA and Graffiti Removal

REMOVAL OF GRAFFITI can cost a business owner between $500-$1,000 per incident. The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority Board’s allocation of $3,500 from a $29 million budget to fund $25 “grants” to downtown business owners is an abrogation of the group’s responsibility to fight blight. Downtown business owners deserve more than a token $25 payment toward “free” graffiti removal products provided by a local paint company.

While the DDA budgets $25 “grants” for individual business owners to fight blight, the entity has not diligently tended to the removal of graffiti from downtown signs or public property. Instead, in its recently approved budget, the DDA Board has funded $152,000 for consultants, staff pay raises and has in past years awarded a $50,000 “gratuity” to Republic Parking executives.

In 2009, Ann Arbor passed a graffiti ordinance that is complaint-driven. After notice from the city, the ordinance requires property owners to remove graffiti within seven calendar days. If the owner does not clean up the graffiti, city workers remove the graffiti and charge the property owner. In 2011, city officials announced a “crack down” on downtown graffiti. Community standards officers looked for graffiti on downtown buildings as opposed to waiting for the defacement to be reported. That knee-jerk public policy did little in the long-term to address core problems.

It’s better to prevent the defacement of downtown buildings than to pay to clean up graffiti after a building has been tagged.

In 2011, when the graffiti crackdown on downtown building owners was announced, former mayor John Hieftje told the media there would also be a discussion about beefing up the presence of downtown beat cops. A proposal to put beat cops back downtown put forward by Council member Jane Lumm was voted down by Council members, including Hieftje. Council members Anglin (D-Ward 5) Lumm, Eaton (D-Ward 4) and Kailasapathy (D-Ward 1) have repeatedly put forward budget amendments to fund more police. They have all spoken out in support of the return of beat cops to downtown and have all repeatedly voted in favor of increased funding in order to hire additional police officers. Unfortunately, their efforts have annually been voted down by a coalition of Council members who’ve played politics with public safety.

Graffiti is not just an eyesore. Numerous studies show direct links between graffiti, increases in crime and littering. Graffiti can also adversely impact citizens’ and visitors’ perceptions of public safety.

It’s important to differentiate between tagging and street art. Cedar Lewisohn in the book Street Art: The Graffiti Revolution points out the three basic differences between graffiti and street art: “(1) differences in physical technique of application, (2) differences in motivation and audience, and (3) differences in aesthetic appearance. Graffiti is applied by either spray paint or permanent marker, whereas street art can be expressed with almost anything on hand.” Graffiti, then, is of a solipsistic nature.

This discussion, however, is not about the nature of street art but rather about the need for City Council to return to our downtown the six beat cops whose jobs were cut by former City Administrator Roger Fraser. When Council votes on the DDA’s recently approved budget, members should send the budget back to the DDA Board with instructions to allocate less for discretionary funds, consultants and “gratuities” and exponentially more for graffiti removal and fighting blight.