OUR VIEW: Graffiti bill from town should be last resort

»Cleanup enforcement should be handled on a case-by-case basis and only after all reasonable avenues have been exhausted.

It’s amazing the trouble a few miscreants with spray-paint cans can stir. Their handiwork has shown up around Culpeper of late, to the consternation of more than a few in the area.

Police Chief Scott Barlow and Town Attorney Bob Bendall are crafting an ordinance that would require property owners to clean up gang graffiti within a reasonable amount of time or pay the town to do it for them.

The action has the blessing of the town’s Public Safety Committee, but we can understand the view of those who disagree.

Common sense is the key here. Town employees are not going to fire up the lawnmowers if your grass is an inch too tall. But if the inspector needs a scythe to hack his way to your front door, you can expect some town-authorized landscaping.

Most people are going to have enough pride in their properties that they’ll clean up graffiti shortly after it appears. In other cases, such as the recent vandalism of our own press building, insurance companies get involved and they need time to send somebody to document the damage. We understand that, and we think town officials do too.

This proposal is mainly directed at those who know about the problem and do nothing.

We think the ordinance is a good idea, but it must be used sparingly. Charging homeowners and businesses to clean up someone else’s mess should be the last-case resort.