Montgomery County Precinct 3 crews removed graffiti from an abandoned gas station on Sawdust Road on Thursday, Sept. 10. The cleanup marked the first use of a new county order that lets government workers onto private property to deal with nuisances.

Commissioner Ritch Wheeler's Road & Bridge and Sign teams targeted a neglected station along the busy retail and restaurant corridor near The Woodlands.

Until recently, Precinct 3 had no legal authority to set foot on private land to address graffiti. That changed when the Montgomery County Commissioners Court passed an order granting the county that power, according to a Precinct 3 announcement.

The order is built on Texas Local Government Code Section 250.006, which allows a county to require property owners to remove graffiti after official notice. The law comes with a condition: the county must first offer to do the work for free.

The property owner accepted.

Wheeler's office drafted the order with the Montgomery County Attorney's Office and Montgomery County Environmental Health Services. Graffiti is a crime under the Texas Penal Code, with charges that vary by the level of offense.

"Unaddressed graffiti not only is a blight on our community, but it can burden economic growth, devalue property and trigger community safety concerns," Wheeler said in a Wednesday, Sept. 9, statement.

The new authority carries extra weight in a county where more than 80 percent of the land is unincorporated. The Woodlands, which operates as a township rather than a city, relies on county government for enforcement tools that cities handle on their own.

Precinct 3 crews already remove graffiti from bridges and drainage channels as part of routine maintenance. The new order extends that reach to private property for the first time.

The date the Commissioners Court approved the order was not included in the announcement. Residents who want to report graffiti can contact Wheeler's office through Ronda Trow at 936-202-9984.