Ottawa should spend $2M more to fight graffiti: committee

Last Updated: Friday, May 4, 2007 | 12:03 PM ET

CBC News

A city council committee wants Ottawa's anti-graffiti budget more than tripled next year to almost $2.5 million but was persuaded to save the city's two legal graffiti walls.

The transportation and community and protective services committee unanimously endorsed a plan Thursday that would boost the city's $585,000 budget for graffiti prevention and removal by $1.9 million. But the plan was revised so it would not wipe out a wall downtown and one in the city's south where graffiti is allowed.

'Nail the little donkeys that are doing the damage.'— Rob Sproule, Ottawa's business advisory committee

The plan must go to full council for final approval.

At Thursday's meeting, a number of speakers favoured cracking down harder on illegal, unwanted painting and scribbling on structures around the city that they say hurts tourism and civic pride.

"Nail the little donkeys that are doing the damage," said Rob Sproule, chair of the city's business advisory committee, who said he is sick of the problem.

Steve Desroches, councillor for Ward 22, Gloucester South Nepean, argued the extra money would be a good investment.

"If you have an area where people notice there may be graffiti and crime, that's an area where they don't want to shop," he said. "So I think the economic consequences of not going forward with the strategy are a lot worse than spending the money that we're talking about."

Legal walls encourage illegal graffiti: city staff 

The original staff proposal would have eliminated the two legal graffiti walls, a prospect that alarmed advocates such as Sabra Ripley, who made a presentation at the meeting.

"The thing is, you're throwing out the baby with the bathwater if you get rid of the legal spaces for people who want to do this legally," said Ripley, who organizes an annual graffiti festival called House of Paint.

City staff and police argued those walls encourage illegal graffiti in other areas.

'You're throwing out the baby with the bathwater if you get rid of the legal spaces.'— Sabra Ripley, House of Paint organizer

But after questioning Ripley for the better part of an hour, councillors agreed to allow graffiti artists to keep colouring the legal walls for least another year.

The plan approved by the committee increases the amount of money spent on promoting graffiti prevention and removal techniques. It also expands the number of zero-tolerance zones in the city, where staff search for graffiti and remove it before hearing complaints from the public.

Businesses said they were concerned about a part of the plan that includes fines for businesses that don't remove graffiti within a certain period of time, but staff assured them that part is targeted at absentee or negligent landlords.