Title
PLN15-0050 - Amendments to City of Alameda Public Art Ordinance. Public hearing to consider a recommendation that the City Council approve amendments to Section 30-65 Public Art Ordinance. The proposed zoning amendment is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines 15305 Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations.
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BACKGROUND
Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-65 Public Art in New Commercial, Industrial, Residential and Municipal Construction (the "Public Art Ordinance") was adopted in 2003, to require that major projects include on-site public art. The ordinance also permits an applicant to pay a fee in-lieu of providing the art on-site. Any in-lieu fees collected are deposited in the Public Art Fund (the "Fund"). The Fund can then be used by the City to provide or support public art.
Historically, the Fund has been quite small because most applicants choose to meet the ordinance requirements by commissioning public art to be placed on-site. The few applicants that do choose to pay the in-lieu fee do so because their public art requirement is minimal. For example, in a typical fiscal year, the Fund receives less than $5,000.
In January 2011, the City Council authorized a study to review, assess and update the City art program. Synergy: Public Art for Alameda, was completed in November 2014. (The Synergy report is available on the City website at http://alamedaca.gov/sites/default/files/department-files/2014-10-29/synergy_public_art_report_-final.pdf.) The report was funded through the Public Art Fund.
In November 2014, the City hosted a community meeting to discuss potential changes to the ordinance. In January 2015, the Public Art Commission (PAC) reviewed and recommended that the City Council approve a series of amendments to the ordinance. These amendments are discussed below.
Based upon the Synergy report, recommendations from the community and thePAC, and...
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