GRAND TERRACE - Joining a slew of other cities in the Inland Empire, the City Council on Tuesday adopted an ordinance regulating parolee group home operations.

The city's ordinance most closely mirrors that of Norco and restricts the number of parolees living in a home to no more than six. It also requires group home operators to obtain a conditional-use permit, City Manager Tom Schwab said.

In recent years, the cities of Highland, Fontana, Yucaipa, Murrietta and Norco have adopted ordinances regulating parolee group homes and sober-living facilities. Prison overcrowding and the potential for the early release of inmates back into local communities have prompted the effort.

Grand Terrace has had two parolee group homes in operation for years without any problems, according to a city staff report.

The city modeled its ordinance, about six pages, after Norco's due to its simplicity, Schwab said.

Also this week, a revised graffiti ordinance establishing stricter penalities for violators went before the City Council for a first reading.

The City Council approved the original text of the ordinance in March, but officials from Southern California Edison objected to the city using pressure washers to remove graffiti from Edison transformer boxes, fearing possible damage.

"So, we exempted franchise utilities," Scwhab said, adding that those utilities include Edison, The Gas Co. and cable television.

The new language written into the ordinance places the burden on the utilities to remove the graffiti within 24 hours of it being reported, Schwab said.