LA City Council to vote on plan to clean up graffiti-covered downtown high-rise complex

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The Los Angeles City Council is set to vote on a plan to clean up the downtown area high-rise complex that has been marred with very visible graffiti for months.

The motion going before the council Friday would force the owners of the Oceanwide Plaza to remove or cover up the graffiti, which envelopes each of the three towers of the complex.

Four people were arrested for trespassing at the complex earlier this week.

Councilman Kevin de León, who introduced the motion, also wants to require them to secure the site by installing stronger fencing and hiring private security.

The abandoned and graffitied high-rises in downtown L.A. have become a magnet for taggers. Meanwhile, city officials are preparing to order the owners to clean it all up.

The complex has been essentially abandoned since the Chinese developers it belongs to went bankrupt nearly four years ago.

If the motion passes, they would have two weeks to clean up the site or the city could intervene and send them the bill.

Part of the motion also instructs the city to find the funds to do it itself in the event that it has to pay for clean-up up front.