Second time, almost exactly five years apart, exactly the same spot.
And Reiner Stass still doesn’t want the art he didn’t request.
Stass is the owner of the 118-year-old Mackenzie building, located at 3212-30th Avenue in downtown Vernon, and in early March, he was alerted to graffiti, or tagging, painted on the side of his building, visible to all traffic and pedestrians travelling east on the main street.
He is on the hook to have the tag removed, looking at a potential cost of around $700, as well as potential harm to the building.
“To remove the graffiti, it would have to be pressure washed,” said Stass, a retired Vernon businessman. “Because they’re old bricks, the original bricks, I don’t know if they’ll get damaged when pressure washed.”
The building was erected in 1907 as the Smith Building, and later became the longtime home of Mackenzie Men’s and Boys Wear. Stass bought the building from the Mackenzie family in 1998. He had the Smith name removed and replaced it himself with letters spelling Mackenzie, as a tribute to the longtime owners.
The property is on the Vernon Heritage Building Register.
In March 2020, the building was tagged in the exact same spot. To get to that spot, the artist, or vandal, would have to climb to the roof of a neighbouring building.
Stass was frustrated five years ago, and he’s frustrated now.
“I would like to see if somebody who calls her or himself an artist, that they would respect the heritage aspects,” said he said. “If you put something like that on concrete, you can roll some colour over it to remove it. I’ve done that numerous times in our back lane. But I can’t just on this particular spot. It’s prudent to keep that brick wall on Main Street in its original condition.”
The same tag, or signature, has also been found at two other locations in Vernon: on a rear wall at the Justice Court Plaza, and on the barrier over the railway tracks on the south side of Highway 6 at the railway bridge, in front of the Shops at Polson Park.
The City of Vernon Graffiti Bylaw, established in 2006, says no person shall place or cause graffiti to be placed on any wall, fence or other structure, thing in any street, or other public place. Nor shall graffiti be viewed from a neighbouring property.
It also states no owner or occupant shall allow graffiti to be placed on any wall, fence, building, or structure located on real property, adjacent to a street or other public place, and which may be viewed from a next door property.
Every owner shall, at all times, states the bylaw, keep graffiti off any wall, fence, building, or structure located on real property.
The city can enter the property to post a notice or have employees remove the graffiti as long as it gives the owner 15 days notice. If the city does come in to the property, it will be at the expense of the person so defaulting. Any charges unpaid on the 31st of December in the same year shall see the charges added to their tax bill.
Fines are anywhere from $100 to not more than $2,000 for each offence.
The City of Vernon says its Heritage Restoration Grant program may offer support for building restoration or maintenance related to graffiti removal, but the graffiti bylaw itself does not provide exemptions for heritage properties.
“All property owners, including those with heritage-designated buildings, are responsible for removing graffiti from their property,” said the city in a response to a Morning Star request for comment.
“Bylaw Compliance and Community Safety encourage voluntary removal through education and prevention resources. In some cases, monetary penalties may apply, and the graffiti may be removed by a city contractor at the owner’s expense. Prompt removal is a strong deterrent, as it helps prevent repeat offences and discourages further vandalism.”
A pro contractor who specializes in graffiti removal, said the city, is likely the best option to deal with removal of paint from 118-year-old bricks.
Asked if graffiti vandalism is a problem in Vernon, the city said its bylaw officers are aware, and “look for active tagging throughout their operational shifts and patrols through the downtown core, and will address and charge individuals where possible.”
“The RCMP volunteers also patrol the downtown core and lanes Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.,” said the city.
Building owners that experience unwanted tagging/ graffiti (Criminal Code offence mischief under $5,000.) should report it to police through the detachment non-emergency line 250-545-7171 or through RCMP Online Crime Reporting ocre-sielc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
