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&Zi n LEE COUNTY • Committed Today for a Better Tomorrow MEMORANDUM TO: LEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FROM: K. R. HOYLE, COUNTY ATTORNEY d/j* DATE: MAY 27, 2007 REF: ANTI GRAFFITI ORDINANCE The North Carolina Constitution authorizes the General Assembly to give "such power and duties to counties, .....as it may deem advisable". Pursuant to that provision in the • Constitution the General Assembly has enacted many statutes delegating power to counties. Chapter 153 of the General Statutes is entitled "Counties". Article 6 of that Chapter is entitled "Delegation and Exercise of the General Police Power". The first statute in that article is Section 153A-121. Section 153A-121(a) of that statute reads as follows: "A county may by ordinance define, regulate, prohibit, or abate acts, omissions, or conditions detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of its citizens and the peace and dignity of the county, and may define and abate nuisances." The General Assembly has also enacted Section 153A-4 entitled "Broad Construction" which reads as follows "it is the policy of the General Assembly that the counties of this state should have adequate authority to exercise the powers, rights, duties, functions, privileges, and immunities conferred upon them by law. To this end, the provisions of this chapter and of local acts shall be broadly construed and grants of power shall be construed to include any powers that are reasonably expedient to the exercise of the power." The form presented by the representative of the Sheriff's Department has been followed in making the ordinance which you are to consider. This format sets out the basis for the action, defines what graffiti is, declares it to be a nuisance, prohibits it as a crime and sets the penalties for violating the ordinance and a procedure to abate the nuisance. The Board can set the time periods for the ordinance as they see fit and may want to make each continuing day a separate offense but I thought it a reasonable format to follow in ® attacking the problem.