Maybe they don’t like Roccapolco.

http://burritojustice.wordpress.com/2008/12/07/billboards-tags-improvement/

There’s also the one on Valencia which I assume is Prop 8 commentary.

whether these particular “tags” were written by actual members of such organizations, or simply copy-cats of the style, i don’t know.

it’s less about deep content than it is about the life, and staking a claim & establishing credibility.

far as technicalities and bureaucracy, for private buildings there’s a permit process (Building Department) and a planning process (Planning Department). it’s the planning that can take a while. these are the people who decide if you can build a dormer on your house, or a second floor, or add a mote, or whatever. technically, pretty much anything one does, even build a fence or get new windows…is supposed to go through both of these processes, at least.

since a mural is just paint, a permit wouldnt be hard in theory…but it probably wont happen without planning’s blessing.

idea is that folks cant just build whatever the hell they want. it has to be “in line” with whatever’s around, not be a hazard, not be an eye sore, not obscure someone’s view, etc etc etc. different hoods have different levels of scrutiny.

anything like a mural would probably trigger “neighbor notification”, which is where you send a letter to all the neighbors within a certain radius telling them your plan. then there’s a hearing, where they can come & say their piece. this is where the neighborhood associations and / or individuals can make or break a plan – sometimes for the better, certainly

for a mural, if you were to go the permit route, you’d probably have to go through this whole process, so your “grafitti wall” would not TECHNICALLY be considered something you’d need to erase, lest the city do it for you and charge you back. graffiti being, technically, illegal.

then again. probably someone would have to complain about it to get the city’s attention. and THAT said, the mission has a lot of graffiti in it, so there are city employees that look for it , and they might just report you if they see it.

other hand, if your “graffiti wall” appeals to the political / aesthetic / humor / irony sensibilities of your neighbors AND those city employees, you could probably execute it and leave it up there without the process.

all comes down to what content “counts”, and to whom, and when, and how.

there’s a nice little mural on a garage door on 19th across from the PG&E barn. i bet they didnt get a permit. there’s a big ol mural on the barn itself. i bet they did get one. i think Precita Eyes did that one.

good luck. i hope you do your wall…and that it ascribes to Allan’s point of view …;-)

Regardless of your background, you can at least do a) clever or b) well-executed, not some sloppy shit like the DPBB above…

There’s a tag on the empty billboard above the Kragen on Valencia near Cesar Chavez that is just stunning. I’ll take a picture tomorrow if it’s still there – the colors are just phenomenal.