Montgomery County Precinct 3 crews removed graffiti from an abandoned gas station on Sawdust Road on Wednesday, Sept. 9, marking the first time the county used a new legal authority to clean up private property.

Members of Commissioner Ritch Wheeler's Road & Bridge and Sign teams handled the removal at the neglected station along the Sawdust Road retail and restaurant corridor, Woodlands Online reported.

Until recently, Precinct 3 had no power to step onto private land for graffiti cleanup. That changed when Montgomery County Commissioners Court passed an order allowing the county to enter private property and eliminate nuisances like graffiti.

The order draws on Texas Local Government Code §250.006. Under that state law, a county can require property owners to remove graffiti after receiving official notice. The county must first offer to do the work for free. If an owner refuses and does not remove the graffiti within 15 days, the county can enter the property and handle it.

The property owner accepted the free cleanup.

Wheeler's office worked with the Montgomery County Attorney's Office and Montgomery County Environmental Health Services to draft the countywide order. Wheeler called unaddressed graffiti "a blight on our community" that "can burden economic growth, devalue property and trigger community safety concerns."

More than 80 percent of Montgomery County is unincorporated. Without city governments to handle code enforcement in those areas, graffiti removal falls to the county. Precinct 3 crews already remove graffiti from public infrastructure like bridges and drainage channels. The new order extends that reach to private property.

Graffiti is a crime under the Texas Penal Code, with charges varying by the severity of the offense.

If a property owner does not pay for the county's graffiti removal, the commissioners court can file a statement of expenses with the county clerk and place a lien against the property.