SOLANA BEACH — Although incidents of graffiti in Solana Beach can be traced back many years, city officials are making a renewed effort to reduce the amount of the troublesome tagging that blemishes signs, walls and buildings.

Deputy Mayor Dave Roberts is one of the officials who has been handing out “graffiti hotline” cards to local residents encouraging them to report tagging. The cards provide the phone numbers of the city’s graffiti hotline as well as the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

“Some people tag stop signs, city signs and artwork, so it gets frustrating sometimes,” Roberts said. “But I think this is a great program to maintain awareness.”

He said that each council member received 100 cards to distribute to various clubs and organizations in Solana Beach.

Deputy Sheriff David Gilmore of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said that graffiti activity in Solana Beach ebbs and flows, but La Colonia Park and the neighborhoods that surround it tend to see more incidents than anywhere else in town.

Those neighborhoods are home to a local gang known as Colonia Eden Gardens or the La Colonia Boys.

Gilmore said that in mid-January, several walls and surfaces at La Colonia Park were defaced with graffiti by a rival gang from Encinitas known as ENC.

“They basically do it to antagonize or intimidate local folks,” Gilmore said.

He added that flyers in both English and Spanish have been posted at the La Colonia Community Center in an effort to promote the graffiti hotline and abatement program.

“If there is damage to property we can take a report for vandalism, but unless there are witnesses it’s a hard crime to prosecute,” Gilmore said.

City Manager David Ott said that taggers have also been known to strike businesses along Cedros Avenue.

Once a resident or a business owner reports graffiti it goes straight to the city’s public works department. Graffiti on public property is typically removed within 24 hours.

“If it’s paint we can usually match the color of the existing paint pretty well,” Ott said. “But if the graffiti is etched on either metal or glass it’s a lot more difficult to remove.”

Roberts described graffiti in Solana Beach as a nuisance problem that could become more serious if left unchecked.

“It’s not something the residents of Solana Beach expect to see,” Roberts said. “If it can be quickly removed and discouraged, taggers won’t see their work stay up there.”

Residents who notice graffiti are encouraged to call the city of Solana Beach Graffiti Hotline at (858) 720-4457 or the Sheriff’s nonemergency number at (858) 565-5200.