The purpose of this article is to provide opportunities to enhance the interest in, attractiveness, and features of the city's Main Street area and Downtown Historic District, through graphic representations of cultural, social, historical, and aesthetic features of this city. Murals are considered a component of a community's public art inventory.
(Ordinance O2025-07-08 adopted 7/15/2025)
Mural
Means the following:
(1) 
A mural is a graphic displayed on the exterior of a building, generally for the purposes of decoration or artistic expression, including, but not limited to, painting, fresco, or mosaic.
(2) 
It is artwork applied to the wall of a building that covers a substantial portion of that wall and depicts a scene and/or an event of natural, social, cultural, or historic significance to the city.
(3) 
A mural is not interpreted, and shall not be considered, as advertising or a sign, or as a billboard, nor used for advertising purposes.
(Ordinance O2025-07-08 adopted 7/15/2025)
(a) 
Approval.
A new wall mural shall be subject to approval of the Main Street Board for the City of Hillsboro. Properties in the Historical Cultural Landmark Preservation Overlay (H-C) in the Downtown Historic District shall obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the Hillsboro Historic Preservation Commission in accordance with Article 1.900 of the Hillsboro City Code of Ordinances. If the determinations by the Main Street Board and Historic Preservation Commission are in conflict, the City Council shall determine final approval.
(b) 
Content.
A wall mural shall primarily be composed of artistic elements and sensibility as opposed to primarily informative or instructional.
(c) 
Use as advertisement.
Wall murals are intended to be artistic or historic and shall not be used primarily as signs or advertisements.
(d) 
Maximum number of wall murals.
Exclusive of legal nonconforming wall murals or wall signs, the number of and location of wall murals within the Main Street area and the Historical Cultural Landmark Preservation Overlay (H-C) in the Downtown Historic District shall be subject to the discretion of the approval process previously stated in this section.
(e) 
Permit required; expiration.
(1) 
No wall mural may be erected or replaced unless and until the person in control of the display applies for and obtains approval from the Main Street Board and if necessary, obtains a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the Historic Preservation Commission.
(2) 
All approvals required for the erection or replacement of wall murals shall be documented by notation on the permit application during its evaluation. No permit shall be issued if the approvals required have not been obtained.
(3) 
A permit shall be construed to be a license to proceed during the life of the permit with the erection or replacement of the wall mural as described in the approved permit application. All permits and applications for permits shall be in the name of the owner of the wall. Such permits shall convey to the owner or his/her designee all rights and privileges which may be assigned, and imposed upon such a person all duties which may be delegated. The name and contact information for the owner and a designee, if any, in control of the wall shall be maintained by the city with the permit. Nothing shall be construed as authorizing the erection or replacement of a wall mural without the consent of the owner or person in possession of the wall where the wall mural would be located.
(4) 
A permit to erect or replace a wall mural shall expire if the wall mural is not erected and bearing a display within three months after the date of the issuance of the permit.
(5) 
The supportive material and/or hardware for the mounted mural shall be removed if it has no display for a continuous period of three months. It shall not be re-erected or replaced without obtaining a new permit.
(6) 
The city shall keep a permanent record of all permits issued for wall murals including dates and times of issuance, which shall be available for public inspection and copying.
(7) 
Changes shall be approved by the same process as the original granting of a mural permit.
(f) 
Standards for determining whether to issue permit.
An application for a permit to erect or replace a wall mural shall be granted if the wall mural as proposed satisfies the criteria. Such criteria are in addition to the standards and guidelines as prescribed herein and authorized elsewhere in the Code of Ordinances for a permit, Main Street Board approval, a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA), or other approval by any agency or official of the city except those set forth in the building code addressing structures and materials for murals and for signs, as determined by the City Building Official.
(1) 
No permit to erect or replace a wall mural shall be issued if, while the permit application is pending, a notice issued regarding any violation as stated in the Code of Ordinances or the building code is unresolved as to the building on which the proposed wall mural would be placed. A mural may be issued upon resolution of the alleged violation that is the subject of the notice.
(2) 
No official of the city is authorized to establish criteria, standards, or guidelines that add restrictions, conditions, or requirements. However, each reviewing official shall be allowed to follow its procedural rules and regulations, unless those rules and regulations conflict with the requirements stated herein. In that case, these requirements shall govern.
(3) 
Murals shall be consistent and compatible with the recommendations and requirements set forth in the Design Guidelines for properties located in the Historical-Cultural Landmark Preservation Overlay (H-C) in the Downtown Historic District.
(4) 
The proposed mural(s) shall not create a public safety issue.
(g) 
Application for permit.
(1) 
Each application shall address one wall mural proposed for one wall.
(2) 
The applicant for a permit shall file such application with the Main Street Manager, who shall forward the application to the appropriate agency (or agencies) and/or official(s) responsible for reviewing the proposed mural.
(3) 
The Main Street Manager shall record on the application the time and date upon which each application is filed, and maintain all filed applications or copies permanently from the date of filing.
(4) 
The application shall be accompanied by a scale color photographic, drawing and/or digital image of the proposed wall location in the context of adjoining properties, and the same color image shall also depict the proposed wall mural to represent with general accuracy the appearance of the wall with the addition of the mural. The Main Street Board and/or the Main Street Manager responsible for evaluating the application may require additional photographic and/or digital images to be submitted with the application. The photographic and/or digital image shall indicate the length and height of the mural and the length and height of the wall for the proposed mural. If the proposed mural is located within the Historic-Cultural Landmark Preservation Overlay (H-C), the Historic Preservation Officer may require the same.
(5) 
The application shall also be accompanied by:
(A) 
The materials and information required by the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Hillsboro, Texas and any applicable building codes adopted by the City of Hillsboro;
(B) 
The street address of the building upon which the proposed wall mural would be located;
(C) 
A list of streets and other vehicular rights-of-way to which the proposed mural principally would be oriented;
(D) 
A calculation of the area of the wall upon which the wall mural would be located and a calculation of the area of the expected display;
(E) 
A description of the medium to be used for the display. The applicant shall describe weather procedures and a long-term maintenance schedule for preservation of the mural;
(F) 
The telephone number, e-mail and postal address of the applicant and the name, telephone number, e-mail and postal address of the owner of the building to which the wall mural would be secured and a statement as to whether the owner or person in possession of the wall has consented to erection of the proposed wall mural, including the approval of the time period requested for the placement of the mural, as well as the proposed location of the mural on said building.
(h) 
Time for granting or denying application for permit.
(1) 
Within sixty (60) days after receiving an application for a permit or up to an additional sixty (60) days if requested by the applicant or needed by the city official responsible for evaluating the application, the Main Street Manager of the city shall notify the applicant of the decision.
(2) 
An application shall be deemed denied only by written notification to the applicant.
(Ordinance O2025-07-08 adopted 7/15/2025)
Whenever a wall mural does not conform to the requirements, or the structure of the wall mural or its attachment to the building is in a hazardous condition constitutes a violation. Additionally, a mural that is peeling and/or deteriorating constitutes a violation. Violations shall be forwarded to Code Enforcement for the City of Hillsboro.
(Ordinance O2025-07-08 adopted 7/15/2025)