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HIGH POINT - At the urging of the city's police, the High Point City Council passed a new graffiti ordinance Monday night.

The ordinance, a requirement of an anti-gang grant from the Governor's Crime Commission , makes those defacing property liable for its cleanup and any damages. If that person can't be found, the responsibility falls to home and business owners whose property has been tagged with graffiti.

That would bring High Point into step with neighboring Greensboro, which already has such an ordinance.

But the proposal prompted some questions from City Council members worried about innocent property owners getting stuck with the bill.

"Nobody wants graffiti," said Councilwoman Bernita Sims . "But I feel like when we start telling them they have to do this, when they didn't cause it, that becomes another cost of doing business."

Police Chief Jim Fealy was on hand to answer questions on the proposed ordinance. He said it would be rare for a property owner to end up paying for damages .

"We have many citizen groups who have volunteered to do this type of clean up just to improve the neighborhoods and the city," Fealy said.

"And we've had places like Lowe's and Home Depot donate paint for it, too. In a worst-case scenario, the city would actually do the clean-up and just bill the property owners for the services."

Fealy said the new ordinance makes graffiti a public nuisance in the same category as overgrown lawns, garbage and appliances left in yards. He said that's how people should begin to think of it - as something that harms public health and safety, detracts from a neighborhood and can actually be dangerous.

But graffiti is worse, Fealy said, because most of the tags his officers have come across have been gang related.

"What we've seen is that once you have graffiti, you're going to see more graffiti," Fealy said. "That area is going to become less safe. People are going to think it's a bad area. You're going to see more crime."

Lt. Steve Meyers said graffiti can be found all over the city, but the worst concentration is downtown near Grimes Avenue and South Centennial Street . An old cement plant and some abandoned buildings in the area have been repeatedly tagged with Crip and Blood graffiti, as well as individual tags from graffiti artists.

"Some of the gang graffiti is real, and some of it is just kids doing it because they think it makes them a part of something," Meyers said. "But it's all bad for the city and the property owners."

Richard Marcado, 46 , owns a house not far from downtown. He said it has been tagged repeatedly, and so has a building he has been renovating. He doesn't like the idea that owners are stuck with the responsibility of clean up, but he said that's part of owning property.

"In the end, it's about pride and taking care of what you own so the neighborhood has a good image," Marcado said. "It needs to be taken care of one way or another."

Contact Joe Killian at 883-4422, Ext. 228, or jkillian@news-record.com