THE Town of East Fremantle has passed a new graffiti vandalism policy that allows the town to remove unsightly or offensive graffiti on private property.
The policy was passed unanimously at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The Town now has the power to enter private property to remove graffiti even if it has been applied with the consent of property owners.
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READ NOWThe graffiti must be visible from a public place and be considered unsightly or offensive.
The council will also have the ability to recover costs of doing so from the person who was issued the notice.
No definition is given in the act to what is considered unsightly or offensive – it is at the discretion of the chief executive.
Town of East Fremantle mayor Jim O’Neill said the council has delegated its power under the act to the chief executive.
“If it was felt by the chief executive that matter may be controversial, the matter would be brought to the attention of council as soon as possible,” he said.
“Ideally the graffiti should be removed within the 24 hours; under the act a person served with removal notice has the right to lodge an appeal with the chief executive within the 28 days.”
Mr O’Neill said the Town was simply updating its delegation to expedite graffiti removal from private properties.
The City of Joondalup and City of Mandurah have both implemented the same act.