The writing is on the wall in Seminole County as Oviedo city leaders approved a new graffiti ordinance.
Tuesday evening, city leaders are giving the public a chance to chime in on the new ordinance to fight the problem.
No matter the name, graffiti or tagging can be a sign of gang activity and can bring a neighborhood’s aesthetics crashing down.
Code enforcement backed the new ordinance that was approved by the city council in its second reading.
Shawn O’Rourke, a code enforcement manager, said it's a problem they've never really had to deal with before. However, several recent cases of the unwanted artwork prompted Oviedo lawmakers to go back to the drawing board.
The old Mystic gas station on East Chapman Road was sprayed with graffiti and city lawmakers knew they had to do something.
According to Oviedo police Lt. Mike Beavers, the new ordinance prohibits persons under the age of 18 to have in their possession any graffiti implements like aerosol spray paint containers, etching equipment or graffiti sticks.
"If we see somebody with those materials in a time and in a place where it looks like they are getting ready to commit a criminal act, but we can take action beforehand," Beavers said.
Businesses would be responsible for cleaning up the mess or they too could face fines.