RED WING — Red Wing officials are considering changing a policy regarding a decades-long tradition of painting graffiti on a bluff.

Red Wing City Council is considering adding a referendum question to the November ballot that would ask citizens about a ban on painting on Barn Bluff, the Post Bulletin reported.

Under the current policy, city officials only evaluate graffiti if they receive a complaint. Pieces that are lewd, political, racist or offensive are painted over.

Police are concerned the current policy makes the city’s graffiti laws regarding public places uneven, said Brian Peterson, former city planning director who now heads special projects for the city. There are also safety concerns for the graffiti artists and city employees sent to paint over the art, he said.

The city surveyed residents about the graffiti in 2017, Peterson said. Almost half of the 400 respondents said painting on the bluff should never be allowed.