Title
Introduction of Ordinance Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Amending Chapter 30 (Zoning Ordinance) to Facilitate the City's Ability to Disperse Public Art Funds, and Amend the Fiscal Year 2016-17 Public Art Fund Budget by $200,000 and Capital Improvement Projects Fund Budget by $100,000. [The Proposed Amendments are Categorically Exempt from the Requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15305, Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations.] (Community Development 285)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Introduction of Ordinance Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Amending Chapter 30 (Zoning Ordinance) to Facilitate the City's Ability to Disperse Public Art Funds, and Amend the Fiscal Year 2016-17 Public Art Fund Budget by $200,000 and Capital Improvement Projects Fund Budget by $100,000. [The Proposed Amendments are Categorically Exempt from the Requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15305, Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations.]
BACKGROUND
Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-65 Public Art in New Commercial, Industrial, Residential and Municipal Construction (the "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 dedicated Public Art Fund (the "Fund"). The Fund can then only be used by the City to provide or support public art.
Through the Ordinance, eleven public art installations have been completed on-site or are in progress by private development. Because so many developers have chosen to install art on-site, annual in-lieu contributions to the Fund have been minimal, and the fund balance has remained relatively low. Historically, the small size of the Fund has made dispersal of funds a challenge, and the Fund has only been used for consulting and administrative costs. Use of the Fund has also been hampered by unclear language in the Ordinance about the types of art that the Fund can support. In recent months, the Fund has increased significantly due to an in-lieu payment from a large development. As of June 2016, the Fund’s accumulated available balance is $226,734.
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>.)
In November 2014, the City hosted a community meeting to discuss potential changes to the Ordinance based on recommendations in the consultant’s report. On February 18, 2015, the Public Art Commission (PAC) recommended that the City Council approve the amendments to the Ordinance, and on November 23, 2015, the Planning Board (PB) recommended that the amendments be forwarded to the City Council for adoption.
DISCUSSION
Based upon the Synergy report, recommendations from the community and the PAC, and a review of other municipal public art ordinances, staff is recommending a series of amendments to the Ordinance. The goals of the recommended amendments are to facilitate the City’s ability to disperse Fund monies regardless of Fund size, to clarify how Fund monies are to be used, and to improve the review process for on-site public art proposals by project developers. In addition, staff is recommending the appropriation of $100,000 to the Alameda Recreation and Parks department for public art at Jean Sweeney Park, and the appropriation of $100,000 to contractual services in the Public Arts Fund for public art installation(s), and or cultural arts and arts programming.
A strike-out/underline version of the Municipal Code identifying each specific change to the existing Municipal Code is included as Exhibit 1. The specific amendments are discussed in the attached Planning Board Staff Report (Exhibit 2), and are summarized below, along with additional recommended staff changes to the Ordinance. Exhibit 3 contains the minutes from the Planning Board meeting, and Exhibit 4 contains a listing of on-site public art produced under the current Ordinance.
Proposed Ordinance Amendments
A. Staff is recommending the following changes to the Public Art Ordinance regarding the Public Art Fund:
I. Allow up to 49% of Fund monies, but not more than $100,000 per biennial budget cycle, to be allocated for cultural arts and arts programming.
The current ordinance requires that Fund monies be split between physical public art (75%) and arts programming or facilities (25%). The proposed change is designed to provide more flexibility for the use of the funds. In the past, the 75%/25% requirement has resulted in insufficient funds to commission a public art piece, due to the small size of the fund. The proposed changes allow funds for physical arts, cultural arts and/or arts programming to be expended in a more efficient and flexible manner.
The PAC recommended inclusion of an amendment that would encourage developers to contribute their 1% directly to the Fund if the development project is worth between $250,000 and $1,000,000; and to split the money 80% for physical on-site art and 20% to the Fund if the development project is worth over $1,000,000. This amendment is not being recommended because developers must be allowed the option of providing in-lieu funds or installing the art themselves.
To be consistent with the spirit and intent of previous court rulings on public art ordinances, staff is recommending that the amount of funding allocated to cultural arts and arts programs should not exceed 49% of the Fund amount. Staff is recommending that no more than $100,000 per biennial budget cycle be allocated to cultural arts and/or arts programming.
II. Expand the list of allowable uses for the Fund to include grants to non-profit arts and cultural organizations.
Local non-profit arts organizations, cultural organizations, and/or educational organizations may be well positioned to use Public Art Fund grants to provide public cultural arts performances, events, and/or arts education, including events such as the recent Waterways projects sponsored by Rythmix Cultural Works.
III. Lower the cap on administration costs on public art fund programming.
The amendments reduce the maximum share of budget that can be used by third-party providers for administrative costs from 25% to 20%. Reducing the cap on administrative costs incurred by third-party art providers ensures that more of the public art funds will be used for actual arts or arts programming.
IV. Allow Fund monies to be used for maintenance and repair of municipal public art.
Public art comes with maintenance responsibilities. Neither Public Works, nor the Recreation and Parks Department, has a dedicated funding source for maintenance of municipal public art. Staff recommends that funding requests for the maintenance of public art on public land be included in the biennial budget cycle.
V. Change annual reporting requirements to coincide with the City’s biennial budget cycle.
The amendments eliminate the requirement to develop a public art plan for the use of the Public Art Fund each year, and enable the PAC, through a biennial report on the Fund, to recommend to the City Council priorities for the expenditure of Fund monies.
Staff time to prepare reports and recommendations for review by the PAC and the City Council must be charged against the Fund. Less reporting and more efficient reporting will preserve Public Art funds for public art. Furthermore, it will be more cost-effective to establish a biennial funding and reporting program as opposed to the current annual program.
B. To improve the review process for on-site public art proposals by project developers, staff recommends the following amendments:
I. Requirements and options for physical, on-site public art.
The proposed amendments include a more specific list of appropriate physical art forms to meet the on-site public art requirement. The proposed on-site list specifically precludes temporary cultural events, performances, and construction of stages, out-door performance spaces, and other physical structures that may support the arts.
II. Clarify ordinance exemptions.
Certain developments are exempt from the requirements of the Ordinance. The amendments clarify the list of exempt developments to include:
• Affordable housing (100% affordable),
• Designated monuments (Landmarks),
• Cultural facilities, and
• City parks and public projects that meet the following conditions:
a) A funding source of the project expressly prohibits contributions to Public Art; or
b) Based upon the characteristics of the project, it is in the best interests of the Alameda community to exempt the project from the Public Arts requirement.
III. Increase the cap on maximum public art expenditure from $150,000 to $500,000.
All projects with a development cost over $250,000 are currently required to spend 1% of the development cost on public art, up to a maximum of $150,000. The proposed amendments increase the cap to $500,000 for larger projects, with annual adjustments tied to the San Francisco Area Consumer Price Index. Historically, the City has negotiated additional public art requirements for larger projects such as Alameda Landing and Alameda Point Site A. The higher cap brings the City of Alameda ordinance into alignment with the caps established in other California Public Art ordinances, and minimizes the need to negotiate separate side agreements through the Development Agreement process on larger projects.
IV. Clarify the Application and Review Process for Private Applications.
The proposed amendments clarify the application and permit approval process and timelines for private applications for on-site public art. The revisions better reflect the City’s review process for public art.
V. Remove the requirement for public art to focus on Alameda’s historic and maritime traditions.
The current Ordinance contains a requirement that Public Art relate to maritime or historic preservation, and the Planning Board recommended that the focus on maritime art be preserved. Staff recommends removing these requirements in order to allow the Public Art Commission maximum flexibility in the design and installation of Public Art.
Appropriation of Public Art Fund Monies
The current balance of the Fund is $226,734. Staff is recommending the following appropriation of funds:
1. The appropriation of $100,000 to the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department for the design, installation and maintenance of public art at the Jean Sweeney Open Space Park.
2. The appropriation of $100,000 for public art installation(s), and or cultural arts and arts programming.
Requests for Proposals
Following adoption of the ordinance amending the Public Art Ordinance and the appropriation of the funds as described above, staff will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit proposals from artists, and arts and cultural organizations for public art installation(s), cultural arts and or arts programming for up to $100,000. The proposals will be brought to the PAC for its recommendation. Recommended awards exceeding $75,000 will be brought to the City Council for approval.
The RFP will require, at minimum, the following:
Concept of Proposed Art Piece, Cultural Art Activity or Art Program. Summary of the overall project being proposed, including:
a) Description and Work Plan: A detailed description of each of the components of the overall plan for the proposed piece, activity or program. Description of the major component activities, timelines, and the roles and qualifications of key personnel, as well as involvement of any other partners or partner organizations.
b) Goals: A statement of the goals and indication of the steps to be taken to achieve those goals. An indication of how progress toward goals would be evaluated or monitored.
c) Proposed Budget: A combination of narrative and table(s) that convey how Art Fund dollars would be dedicated to the various components of the proposed piece, activity or program and its administration. This would also show how other funding sources would be leveraged, if any.
d) Organizational Ability: A description of the proposer’s organization, including its history, track record for providing art, cultural art and or art programing, and ability to carry out the work proposed.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact to the General Fund to adopt an ordinance amending Chapter 30 of the Alameda Municipal Code (Zoning Ordinance) to make clarifications and improvements to the Public Art Ordinance. In addition, General Fund does not fund the administration of the Ordinance. All City time and resources spent administering the Ordinance are funded through the Public Art Fund.
Staff is proposing to amend the Fiscal Year 2016-17 Public Art Fund Budget to appropriate $200,000 from accumulated fund balance. The appropriations will be allocated as follows:
• $100,000 to the Jean Sweeny Open Space Park administered by the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department for the design, installation and maintenance of public art at the Jean Sweeney Open Space Park
• $100,000 for public art installation(s), and or cultural arts and arts programming
|
Fund/Account |
Project |
Amount |
|
Public Arts Fund |
|
|
|
Transfer Out |
|
$100,000 |
|
Contractual Services |
|
$100,000 |
|
Capital Improvement Projects - Jean Sweeney Open Space Park |
|
|
|
Transfer In |
91614 |
$100,000 |
|
Contractual Services |
91614 |
$100,000 |
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The Zoning Ordinance is proposed to be amended consistent with the General Plan, Alameda Municipal Code, and State law.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance regarding public art are categorically exempt under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 15305 - Minor Amendments to Land Use Limitations.
RECOMMENDATION
Introduce an Ordinance Amending Chapter 30 of the Alameda Municipal Code (Zoning Ordinance) to facilitate the City's ability to disperse Public Art Funds, and amend the Fiscal Year 2016-17 Public Art Fund Budget by $200,000 and Capital Improvement Projects Fund Budget by $100,000.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Potter, Community Development Director
By,
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Allen Tai, Planning Services Manager
Lois Butler, Economic Development Manager
Exhibits:
1. Proposed Changes to Municipal Code (Strike-out/Underline Version)
2. Planning Board Staff Report, November 23, 2015
3. Planning Board Minutes, November 23, 2015
4. Public Art Brochure