The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the establishment of guidelines, procedures, and standards for the integration of public art into new development projects.
(Ord. 1613 § 2, 2020)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases are defined as follows:
means the total value of a development project’s hard construction costs as estimated and certified by the city’s building division as part of the standard building permit review process.
means any new nonresidential building construction, and/or the rehabilitation, renovation, remodeling, or improvement of an existing nonresidential building.
means a corporation organized under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), in good standing with the California Department of Corporations and in compliance with all federal, state, and local licensing, reporting, and tax requirements.
means and includes the programs established in Section 8.76.030 of this chapter.
means an amount paid to the city of South San Francisco pursuant to this chapter, not less than one-half of one percent of construction costs.
means the cost for the development, acquisition, and installation of the public art required by this chapter. It shall include the costs for the administration of this public art program.
means any of the following: professional artist in any medium, curator, art critic, art historian, arts educator, architect, or other design professional with a visual or arts background or fine arts collector.
(Ord. 1613 § 2, 2020)
A.
Every development project, as defined in this chapter, shall provide qualifying public art with a value equal to not less than one percent of construction costs for acquisition and installation of public art on the development site. However, if a development project consists of both residential and nonresidential developments, then only the construction costs for the nonresidential portions of the project shall be used for the valuation of public art as required herein. Further, if a development project involves rehabilitation, renovation, remodeling, or improvement of an existing building, the project shall only be subject to the requirements of this chapter if it creates a net increase in square footage of the existing building.
B.
Qualifying public art shall include the following:
1.
On-Site Projects. Works of visual art are meant to be enduring original artworks of the highest quality and craftsmanship. They should engage one’s mind and senses while enhancing and enriching the quality of life of the city. The artworks will be generally sited and an integral part of the landscaping and/or architecture of the building, considering the historical, geographical, and social/cultural context of the site. The artworks shall be constructed in a scale that is proportional to the scale of the development. These may include:
a.
Sculpture, such as in the round, bas-relief, mobile, fountain, kinetic, electronic, or other, in any material or combination of materials;
b.
Painting: all media, including, but not limited to, murals;
c.
Graphic and multi-media: printmaking, drawing, calligraphy, and photography including digital, any combination of various forms of electronic media, including sound, film, holographic, and video and other art forms but only when on a large public scale;
d.
Mosaics;
e.
Crafts: in clay, fiber and textiles, wood metal, plastics, and other materials;
f.
Mixed media: any combination of forms or media, including collage;
g.
Furnishings and fixtures, including, but not limited to: gates, walls, railings, street lights or seating, if created by a visual art professional as unique elements. The artworks can include water elements, walkways, and artistic or aesthetic elements of the overall architecture or landscape design if created by a visual art professional or a design team that includes a visual art professional.
h.
Any other qualifying forms of on-site public art as determined by the cultural arts commission.
2.
On-Site Cultural Program. These may include:
a.
Performance arts: theatre, dance, music;
b.
Literary arts: poetry readings and storytelling;
c.
Media areas: film and video, screenings, and installations;
d.
Education: art lectures and presentations;
e.
Special events: festivals and celebrations;
f.
Artist-in-residence programs in the arts;
g.
Any other qualifying form of cultural program as determined by the cultural arts commission.
3.
On-site art spaces or cultural facilities that include one or more of the following eligible components: gallery/exhibition spaces, resource libraries, visual arts slide registries, performance spaces, artist studio spaces and arts education facilities which are open and accessible to the public.
4.
The following types of objects and elements may not be used to satisfy the requirements of this chapter:
a.
Art objects that are mass produced of standard design such as playground equipment, benches, or fountains;
b.
Decorative or functional elements or architectural details, which are designed solely by the building architect as opposed to a visual art professional commissioned for this purpose, working individually or in collaboration with the building architect;
c.
Landscape architecture and landscape gardening, except where these elements are designed by the visual art professional and are an integral part of the work of art by the visual art professional;
d.
Directional elements such as super graphics, signage, or color coding, except where these elements are integral parts of the original work of art or executed by visual art professionals in unique or limited editions;
e.
Logos or corporate identity.
C.
Acquisition and installation of qualifying public art shall comply with the following:
1.
The property owner, or property owner’s designee as designated in writing, shall acquire qualifying public art pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.
2.
The creator of public art shall be a visual art professional who is not a member of the project architect, engineering, or landscape architect firm.
3.
Public art shall be installed on the development site in a location that allows the public art to be visible from a public right-of-way or from other public property.
4.
Public art shall be displayed in a manner that will enhance its enjoyment by the public.
5.
The installation complies with all applicable building code requirements including structural safety requirements.
D.
The property owner, or the property owner’s designee as designated in writing, shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, in good condition the public art continuously after its installation and shall perform necessary repairs and maintenance to the satisfaction of the city.
1.
The maintenance obligations of the property owner shall be contained in a covenant and recorded against the property by the applicant.
2.
Title to all artworks required by and installed pursuant to this chapter shall pass to the successive property owners of the development.
3.
Each successive property owner, or property owner’s designee, shall be responsible for the custody, protection, and maintenance of such works of art.
E.
If, for any reason, the property owner, or property owner’s designee, chooses to remove any public art installed pursuant to this chapter, the city must be notified in advance and the property owner, or property owner’s designee, shall replace the public art pursuant to the following requirements:
1.
The cost of the replacement shall be equal to, or greater than, the cost of the art to be removed;
2.
The location of the replacement shall meet the requirement for public accessibility in effect at the time of the replacement;
3.
The replacement art shall conform, in every respect, to all standards in effect at the time of the replacement;
4.
The replacement work, location and installation shall violate no other ordinance;
5.
The replacement public art shall be available for public view not more than one hundred eighty days after the existing art is removed, unless the property owner, or property owner’s designee, requests an extension of such time and the extension is approved in writing by the director of the parks and recreation department at their discretion. The director may choose to confer with the cultural arts commission in relation to approving replacement public art.
(Ord. 1613 § 2, 2020)
Any person subject to the requirements of this chapter may elect to make a public art contribution payment in an amount not less than one-half of one percent of construction costs into the public art fund, in lieu of acquisition and installation of public art on the development project site. The in-lieu contribution payment must be made prior to the issuance of a building permit.
(Ord. 1613 § 2, 2020)
A.
The city council may, at its sole discretion, exempt any project that is sponsored, funded, and managed by a government agency or by a non-profit agency acting on behalf of the city from the requirements of this chapter.
B.
Exceptions. The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to the following activities:
1.
Underground public works projects;
2.
Street or sidewalk repair;
3.
Tree planting;
4.
Remodeling, repair, or reconstruction of structures which have been damaged by fire, flood, wind, earthquake or other calamity;
5.
Residential development projects;
6.
Seismic retrofit projects;
7.
Utility pump stations and reservoirs;
8.
Fire sprinkler installation projects.
(Ord. 1613 § 2, 2020)
A.
There is hereby created a public art fund to account for the public art in-lieu contributions and any and all other revenues appropriated or received for public art and/or public arts and cultural programs, including donations from the public. The revenues in such fund shall be used solely for:
1.
The acquisition, commission, design, installation, improvement, maintenance and insurance of public art and/or arts and cultural programs identified by Section 8.76.030 of this chapter;
2.
The acquisition or improvement of real property for the purpose of displaying public art, which has been or may be subsequently approved by the city;
3.
Other expenses associated with the implementation and administration of the public art program.
B.
All fees collected under this chapter will be maintained, managed, and reviewed by the city manager and director of parks and recreation or their designee. The parks and recreation department shall initiate review of, and the city council shall review, the administrative costs of the public art program annually, including, but not limited to, staff support and related expenses; curatorial services; documentation; publicity, community education and any other services or programs in accordance with the intent of this chapter.
C.
If real property purchased with monies from the public art fund is subsequently sold, the proceeds from the sale shall be returned to the public art fund.
(Ord. 1613 § 2, 2020)
A.
Compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall be demonstrated by the property owner, or property owner’s designee, prior to issuance of a building permit, in one of the following ways:
1.
Installation of qualifying public art on the development project site;
2.
Payment of the full amount of the public art in-lieu contribution; or
3.
Written proof to the city of:
a.
A contractual agreement to commission or purchase and install the required public art on the development project site;
b.
A written acknowledgement by the visual art professional and the property owner, or property owner’s designee, in a form approved by the city, that the proposed public art complies with the following criteria:
i.
The public art shall be designed and constructed by any person experienced in the production of such art and recognized by critics and by his or her peers as one who produces works of art,
ii.
The public art shall require a low level of maintenance and that the proposed maintenance provisions are adequate for the long term integrity and enjoyment of the work,
iii.
The public art shall be related in terms of scale, material, form and content to immediate and adjacent buildings and architecture, landscaping, or other setting to complement the site and its surroundings and shall be consistent with any corresponding action of the planning commission, design review board or city council as it may relate to any development entitlements,
iv.
Permanent public art shall be a fixed asset to the property,
v.
The public art shall be maintained by the property owner, or the property owner’s designee, in a manner acceptable to the city,
vi.
The public art meets all applicable building code requirements;
c.
Security or other financial assurance provided by the owner or applicant in an amount and form acceptable to the city attorney to guarantee installation of the public art.
B.
If the city determines that the proposed public art project does not comply with this chapter, the project shall be referred to the cultural arts commission for review and a determination as to the project’s compliance with the requirements of this chapter. The cultural arts commission shall be the sole reviewing authority for public art projects.
C.
The determination of the cultural arts commission may be appealed to the city council in accordance with Chapter 1.28 of this code.
D.
The determination of the cultural arts commission regarding compliance of a proposed public art project with this chapter is also subject to review by the city council as outlined in this section.
1.
Two or more members of the city council may call for review of a determination of the cultural arts commission regarding whether a proposed public art project complies with the requirements of this chapter. A call for review must be filed within the fifteen-day appeal period. The call for review shall be processed in the same manner as an appeal by any other person. A call for review by at least two members of the city council shall stay all proceedings in the same manner as the filing of an appeal. Such action shall not require any statement of reasons and shall not represent opposition to or support of an application or appeal.
2.
Within two business days of a cultural arts commission determination on a proposed public art project, the department of parks and recreation shall submit a notice of the determination to the city clerk for distribution to the city council. Members of the city council may submit a call for review of a cultural arts commission determination by submitting a notice in writing to the city clerk or noting so on the record at a city council meeting within the fifteen day appeal period. If two or more councilmembers request review of a cultural arts commission determination, the city clerk shall set a public hearing in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1.28. The city clerk’s notice to the city council regarding a cultural arts commission determination shall include the date by which a call for review by a councilmember must be received by the city clerk or noted on the record at a city council meeting.
(Ord. 1613 § 2, 2020)