CITY MIGHT INK BAN ON SHARPIE SALES MINORS USING PENS TO DEFACE PROPERTY.

Byline: Judy O'Rourke Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Those permanent markers that come in handy for labeling football helmets and hockey sticks could be off-limits to young athletes if the city restricts the product's sales to minors.

In some young hands the markers are as destructive as spray paint, wreaking graffiti havoc on Santa Clarita's stop signs and bus benches, so officials are considering banning their sale to people under 18, just like spray paint.

``White-tipped Sharpies are more destructive to the school environment, bus stops and buses,'' said Councilman Frank Ferry, who has proposed the restriction. ``In a pocket (they're) quick and go. They're not seen as a tool to schools.''

An analyst for the city is exploring the ramifications of a law that would restrict permanent-marker sales to minors.

The very quality that makes the pens so desirable - the longevity of their markings - is valued by legal users and by vandals.

``We promote the use of our products for their intended use, whether it be office, home or school,'' said Mike Finn, a spokesman for Sharpie. ``We emphasize the quality of Sharpie everyone can attest to. We do not condone the use of them illegally.'' Sharpie is a brand of Sanford, which is a division of Newell Rubbermaid.

Hindering sales to minors could pose a challenge for officials because the city of Santa Clarita is bordered by unincorporated areas in Stevenson Ranch, Castaic, parts of Canyon Country and beyond, where the pen sales would not be regulated.

``I think it would be difficult for us to enforce because there are legitimate uses for it,'' said sheriff's Detective Joe Dombrowski, of the COBRA unit, which investigates gang activity in Santa Clarita. ``With spray paint (it's easier) because we don't have to make the extra leap.''

COBRA detectives evaluate whether permanent markers in the hands of gang members or graffiti vandals are classified as graffiti tools. Stranger items have been labeled as tools of the vandalism trade: drill bits, routers, sandpaper and rocks. These objects are used to etch windows, and vandals who possess them have been arrested, these implements held as evidence.

Dombrowski said an ordinance that forbids simple possession of the pen by a minor would simplify the process of determining its intended use, but detectives would use common sense in enforcing the law. If city officials adopt a restrictive ordinance, Dombrowski said it would be used as ``another tool for us to do our job.''

Ferry, an assistant principal at Saugus High School, is running in April for re-election to the City Council.

Judy O'Rourke, [phone]

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com