December 2012 Volume 12, Issue 5
Happy holidays from the Oakland City Attorney's Office
 

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Greetings!BJP 

On behalf of everyone in the Oakland City Attorney's Office, I wish you and yours the happiest of holidays and a very special new year.

Very truly yours,

Barbara Parker
Oakland City Attorney
  
Recent News:
 
Oakland City Council votes unanimously in favor of graffiti ordinance
Final vote to adopt law scheduled for January  
 

In its last meeting of 2012, the Oakland City Council voted 8 to 0 in favor of a graffiti enforcement ordinance proposed by our office and City Councilmember Nancy Nadel.

 

Graffiti is a severe and very costly problem in some of our neighborhoods. Left unchecked, pervasive vandalism can encourage more serious blight and crime. Surprisingly, Oakland's Municipal Code does not include penalties against vandals and other remedies available under state law.  

 

The graffiti ordinance will update Oakland's law to provide enhanced penalties for vandals, additional code enforcement remedies and options for civil enforcement by the City Attorney's Office. It explicitly states that "for the purposes of this ordinance, graffiti does not refer to a style of art. This ordinance is intended to address the application of graffiti that does not have the prior consent of the property owner, and is a form of vandalism."

 

The ordinance will come back to the Council for a second and final vote in January.

 

More information