[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Beacon 5-16-2011 by L.L. No.
8-2011. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to facilitate and encourage the
installation of art in public locations and in a manner that does
not endanger the public health and safety, in order to create an enhanced
visual environment for City of Beacon residents and visitors, to commemorate
the City's rich cultural and ethnic diversity, to integrate the
work of artists into the City's Comprehensive Plan and to promote
tourism and economic vitality in the City through the artistic design
of public spaces. This Chapter shall also establish an application
and review process with respect to the installation of public art
on land owned by the City. The intent is not to censor or otherwise
monitor or prohibit content of public art in the City, but rather,
this chapter is to be applied without consideration to the content
or message of the public art, while allowing the City to consider
qualitative aspects of the proposed public art.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings set forth herein:
The City of Beacon, New York.
The Beacon Civic Arts and Cultural Development Committee as set forth in § 5-7 of the General Code of the City of Beacon.
The area above a public right-of-way.
All forms of visual art that do not constitute a sign as defined and regulated by Article III, § 223-15, of the General Code of the City of Beacon and are located:
Any federal, state, or local agency.
The State of New York.
Includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Paintings of all media, including both portable and permanently
affixed works such as frescoes and murals;
Sculptures of any form and in any material or combination of
materials, including statues, monuments, fountains, arches, structures
intended for ornamentation or commemoration, reliefs and mobiles including
kinetic, electronic or neon sculptures;
Other works, including inscriptions, stained glass, fiber works,
carvings, mosaics, photographs, drawings, collages, textile works,
prints and crafts, both decorative and utilitarian, in clay, fiber,
wood, metal, glass, stone, plastic, and other materials; and
Artist-designed landscapes and earthworks, including the artistic
placement of natural materials and other functional art objects.
A person, partnership, corporation, limited-liability company
or other entity wishing to display temporary and/or permanent public
art must complete a public art application, submit the application
to the Committee, and have the application reviewed and approved pursuant
to this chapter before installing public art in the City.
The provisions in this chapter do not apply to land located
within the City that is owned by the State of New York, Dutchess County
or any other public authority.
The provisions of this chapter are applicable to the City, and
the City must satisfy the requirements of this chapter before the
City can install public art on City property.
A.
The Committee shall supervise and oversee the application process
and approval of the installation for public art. This will include
coordinating all of the necessary consultations between and among
the Committee, the community planning and arts groups and the various
City and state departments, boards, agencies and councils.
B.
The Committee shall create and implement a public art master plan
to be approved by the City Council, in accordance with the City of
Beacon Comprehensive Plan, the purpose of which is to enrich the visual
and aesthetic environment of spaces within the City that are in some
way accessible to the public.
C.
The Committee shall be responsible for keeping an inventory of all
public art in the City, including all public art owned or loaned to
the City and art in or within view of a public place.
D.
The Committee shall promote and facilitate public art City-wide and
assist individuals and organizations in preparing applications for
approval.
E.
The Committee shall provide for the opportunity for public comments
on all public art proposals in the form of a public meeting. If requested
by the Mayor, the Committee shall facilitate community workshop meetings.
F.
The Committee shall review and advise the City on the installation
of public art owned by the City, and whether proposed donations or
loans of public art to the City should be accepted.
G.
The Committee shall submit an annual public art Report to the City
Council on its activities and report on a regular basis to the Mayor.
A public art application shall be made on forms provided by
the Committee and shall contain the following information:
A.
The full name, address and telephone number, e-mail and websites
(if available) of the applicant(s) which shall include the artist(s),
property owner(s) and installer(s).
B.
A description of the public art installation being proposed, including
detailed sketches/pictures of the proposed public art, and renderings/descriptions
of the proposed public art detailing the confines of the space in
which it is to go, the material the public art will be made of, the
term of the installation, the cost of maintaining the installation
and the source of financing for the proposed public art.
C.
The names, addresses and telephone numbers of the persons who will
install the public art and be responsible for its maintenance during
the entire term of the installation.
D.
The site or location of the proposed public art installation, and
if the site or location is owned by the State of New York, Dutchess
County or another public authority, it must be indicated in the application
and written permission for the public art installation must be appended.
E.
The signature of the applicant(s).
F.
Any other information the Committee determines will assist in deciding
whether to grant or deny an application.
A.
Upon receipt of a public art application, the Committee shall review
the application solely as to its location. Upon completion of its
review, the Committee shall make a recommendation to the Council who
shall approve or deny the location. The Committee has the right to
request further information, including but not limited to engineering
studies from the applicant. If the proposed location is not approved
by the Council, the reason(s) for denial of the proposed location
shall be provided to the applicant in writing. The applicant has the
right to identify a different location of the public art installation
and have the application reconsidered. No application can be approved
or denied by the Committee before the proposed site or location is
approved.
B.
Once the location has been approved by the Council, the Committee
shall submit the application to the applicable state and City departments,
boards and agencies. Once the Committee determines the application
is complete, the Committee shall convene a duly noticed meeting at
which time the applicant and the public will have an opportunity to
be heard. Thereafter the Committee shall recommend to the Council
approval or denial of the application.
C.
In the event the Committee does not recommend granting of the application,
the applicant may withdraw its application or file an appeal to the
City Council. In the event of an appeal, the Council shall schedule
a public hearing and hear from the applicant and the public and thereafter
make a decision on the application.
D.
In the event the Committee recommends granting of the application,
the City Council shall schedule a public hearing and thereafter render
a decision on the application. In the event of a denial by the Council,
the applicant may file an appeal with the Council which shall hear
only from the applicant and then render a decision.
E.
An application may only be denied based upon objective criteria set
forth by the City of Beacon Code, and the rules and regulations of
the City departments, boards, agencies, councils and the Committee's
written standards. If the Council denies the application, the Council
shall provide the applicant with written reasons as to why the application
was denied within 10 business days of its decision. This written notification
may be processed via e-mail.
F.
Once the public art application has been approved by the Council,
such approval shall be valid for the time specified in the resolution
granting approval. Approval may only be revoked in the event of a
finding by the City Council upon notice to the applicant of a public
safety threat posed by the public art. In the event of the Building
Inspector's determination of the presence of a threat of immediate
harm, the public art shall be promptly removed and the City Council
shall consider revoking its permission at a regularly scheduled meeting
within 30 days.
G.
Upon the installation of the public art, the Committee shall review
the public art to ensure it conforms to the approved application.
H.
In granting approval, the Council may include conditions regulating
the siting and display of the public art and to protect the public
health and safety.
