STAFF REPORT - CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY/PUBLIC FINANCE AUTHORITY

Staff recommends the following actions from City Council:

• Council review of the current mural guidelines and provide staff with any recommended changes; and,
• Support staffs recommendation to reduce the number of public hearings required for mural applications to one (1) public hearing.

On June 23, 2016, the City Council approved and adopted the Mural Guidelines and Procedures to establish a formal process for reviewing and approving murals within the City of Coalinga. The guidelines were intended to encourage high-quality public art while ensuring murals are consistent with community standards and are not commercial advertisements. The adopted procedures include guidelines for reviewing the mural concept, artist qualifications, maintenance responsibilities, and final inspection.

At the last council meeting, councilman Schindler requested that staff bring back the mural guideline and procedures to allow the Council the opportunity to review the guidelines prior to accepting and considering any mural applications and provide recommendations for any changes. . 

Mural Procedures

Under the current approval process, mural applications are reviewed by the Planning Commission on two separate occasions before being forwarded to the City Council for final approval. These procedures are summarized below and attached as Exhibit A.

Step 1: Applicant submits a mural application to the Community Development Department.

Step 2: Planning Commission reviews the proposed mural concept to determine whether it complies with the Mural Guidelines and Procedures.

Step 3: Planning Commission conducts a second hearing to review the artist’s portfolio or other evidence that demonstrates the artist’s ability to produce a quality mural. Planning Commission makes a recommendation to the City Council.

Step 4: City Council conducts a public hearing to take final action on the mural.

Mural Guidelines

The general guidelines for all proposed murals in the City are provided below and attached as Exhibit A.

1.       The emphasis of the murals will be on artistic expression and must not include an advertisement or be commercial in nature. All murals must comply with City ordinances that prohibit indecency or obscenity in public.

2.       Murals shall not contain copy, lettering, symbols or references directly to the promotion of any product, business, brand, organization, service, cause or place.  Murals may contain limited commercial elements so long as they are not considered commercial speech with the purpose of promoting  a commercial transaction.  For those mural applications that may contain limited commercial elements, the Planning Commission will ask the question - "If the business on which the mural is located were to move, would the mural still be good quality art and something the community would want to remain?"  If so, the mural is not considered commercial speech or advertisement but rather pure art.

3.       Murals shall not be merely an extension or enlargement of a sign.  If the theme of the mural is to promote a business, brand, organization, service, cause or place, it shall meet all requirements of a sign pursuant to the City of Coalinga Municipal Code.

4.       Not more than 1% of the mural will contain the name of a sponsor and/or sponsor product likeness.  The artist's signature shall not be more than 1% of the mural.

5.       Temporary murals will receive, as is reasonably practicable, expedited review by the Planning Commission. Temporary murals shall be required to comply with the provisions of these guidelines and will be removed no later than one year after completed. After one year, if there is a desire for the mural to remain in place, the owner will resubmit a mural application and follow the standard process as outlined herein.

6.       Mural artists will be required to demonstrate their ability and experience to create high quality, well designed and well executed murals and/or art.  The artist must provide the Planning Commission a portfolio of work that is reflective of the style of the proposed mural.  This will be used to help determine whether the artist will be able to uphold the standards for quality art within the City of Coalinga.  For those artists without a portfolio of work, the Planning Commission will consider other presented forms of art that demonstrate an ability to create a quality mural.

7.       New murals erected without receiving proper approval and that did not go through the mural application and approval process will be required to retroactively go through the process.  Property owners will have 30 days after receiving notification to submit a mural application after which the mural will be deemed a sign and subject to all sign permitting requirements.  The retroactive mural applications will be required to comply with all mural guidelines and must receive City Council approval. Murals that fail to be approved will be removed within 30 days after the denial at the property owners expense.

Staff Recommendation

Staff recommends amending the Mural Guidelines and Procedures to eliminate two public hearings and require only one public hearing before either the Planning Commission or the City Council as the sole discretionary review for mural applications.

Under the revised process, applicants would submit a complete application package to the Community Development Department that includes the proposed mural rendering, artist portfolio (or other evidence demonstrating artistic ability), and all required supporting materials. Staff would review the application for completeness and compliance with the Mural Guidelines and Procedures prior to scheduling the application for a single public hearing. Following the public hearing, the hearing body would approve, conditionally approve, or deny the mural application.

Reasons for Recommendation

Under the existing guidelines, mural applications require two separate Planning Commission hearings before being forwarded to the City Council for a third public hearing and final action. This process increases processing time, requires additional staff resources to prepare multiple public hearing agendas and reports, and creates unnecessary delays for applicants seeking approval of projects that are generally straightforward in nature.

Staff believes the two (2) of three (3) public hearings can be eliminated without reducing the City's ability to ensure that murals are consistent with the adopted Mural Guidelines and Procedures. Instead, applicants would submit a complete application package, including the proposed mural rendering, artist portfolio (or other evidence of artistic ability), and all required supporting materials, to the Community Development Department. Staff would conduct a thorough review of the application for completeness and compliance with the adopted guidelines before scheduling the item for a public hearing before either the Planning Commission or the City Council.

Consolidating the review into a single hearing would:

·Reduce the overall processing time for mural applications.

·Eliminate duplicative public hearings.

·Reduce administrative costs and staff time associated with preparing multiple agendas and staff reports.

·Maintain the hearing body’s ability to review both the proposed mural and the artist’s qualifications during one comprehensive hearing.

Staff believes the existing review process provides more procedural steps than are necessary to achieve the City’s objective of ensuring high-quality murals. This change would reduce administrative burdens on both applicants and the City while maintaining the City’s ability to approve murals that enhance the community and are consistent with adopted standards.

Environmental Review

The City is the Lead Agency for this Project pursuant to CEQA Guidelines (Public Resources Code [PRC] Section 15000 et seq.). This update is subject to CEQA Guidelines section 15061, which states that “The activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.” This item does not alter existing development potential of the City as expressed in the General Plan.

• Eliminate two public hearings and require only one public hearing before either the Planning Commission or the City Council as the sole discretionary review for mural applications. (Recommended)
• Direct staff to alter the policy and bring back to Council for review and approval (Alternative)