TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Mark Leyman, Parks and Recreation Director
Martin Betz, Cultural Arts Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Approval and Disbursement of Funds from the Public Art Trust Fund for the Installation of Eight Murals in Manhattan Beach (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
a) APPROVE
b) DISBURSE FUNDS
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval and disbursement of funds from the Public Art Trust Fund for the installation of eight murals in Manhattan Beach.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Consistent with City Council direction at the September 19, 2017 meeting, City Council appropriated $150,000 to install murals throughout the City. Locations and estimated costs for the murals are as follows:
1. Parking Garage Civic Center Entrance - $8,500
2. Ramp into Parking Structure - $27,000,
3. Elevator Structure in Civic Center Parking Lot - $19,000
4. Joslyn Community Center East Wall - $20,000
5. Metlox Plaza - $16,000
6. North Side of Racquetball facility, Marine Ave Park - $30,000
7. Skate Spot, Marine Ave Park - $15,000
8. Low wall in Lot 6, Highland Ave. - $10,000
The total cost of the eight murals is estimated at $145,500.
The current allocated balance of the Public Art Trust Fund, including $150,000 for Murals in Manhattan Beach (MB Murals) funding, is $716,058. The unallocated balance as of May 2, 2019, is $1,306,453. Expiration dates for unallocated funds are as follows:
December 31, 2022: $8,889; December 31, 2023: $1,040,320; December 31, 2024: $257,242.
BACKGROUND:
On September 19, 2017, City Council approved acceptable uses for the Public Art Trust Fund, which includes this item. One hundred fifty thousand dollars was appropriated to develop and execute murals in facilities and private businesses throughout the City of Manhattan Beach. In response, the Cultural Arts Commission created a Roster of Pre-Qualified Artists to be part of the MB Murals project. The purpose of the roster is to streamline the artist selection process for a range of upcoming mural projects. Artists chosen for inclusion in the roster will be eligible to be considered for future public art mural projects in Manhattan Beach. Inclusion in the final roster will be for a period of three years.
At the September 24th, 2018, meeting of the Cultural Arts Commission eight locations in the City were chosen; five in City facilities and four private business locations.
DISCUSSION:
The following three sections describe: (A) mural locations within City facilities, (B) public-private partnership mural projects, (C) proposed mural ordinance language and (D) the application process murals. Designs of each artwork or representative works are provided in the attachment.
A. Projects proposed for municipal facilities:
1. Parking Garage in Civic Center, Bo Bridges
Bo Bridges is a world-renowned artist photographer who owns a gallery located in Manhattan Beach. From diving the depths of the oceans to hanging out of a helicopter door, Bo is constantly pushing the boundaries of his work in order to share new perspectives with the world.
2. Ramp into Parking Structure, Civic Center, Bo Bridges
3. Elevator Structure, Northeast End Civic Center Lot, Joanna Garel
Actress, artist and former model, Joanna Garel spent 20 years living in Manhattan Beach and currently resides in Redondo Beach. Her paintings are influenced by her Southern California lifestyle as a surfer.
4. Joslyn Community Center, East Entry, Charles Bragg
Charles Bragg is a well-known Manhattan Beach’s artist. He is a sculptor, printmaker, and illustrator. Depicting and conserving the Earth’s ecosystems became his purpose in art and in life. He took his camera from the mountain tops to coral reefs throughout the world to photograph the ordinary and the extraordinary to combine the images into animated compositions of places, things and animals.
5. Marine Ave. Skate Spot, East Wall, Josh Barnes
Hermosa Beach artist, Josh Barnes is best known for his “live paintings,” one of which he created at the opening of the Skate Spot (on skateboards).
B. Projects proposed as public-private partnerships:
6. Metlox Plaza, South of Fountain, Kelsey Montague
Kelsey Montague is a street artist whose work went viral when Taylor Swift posed in front of her angel wing mural in New York. For the past two years, Montague has been traveling the world creating large-scale, interactive murals.
7. North Side of Racquetball Facility, Marine Ave. Park, Trek Kelly
Trek Thunder Kelly is a California based artist and adventurer. He has painted large scale murals in California and other parts of the country.
8. Lot 6, Highland Ave., Kid Wiseman
San Diego based artist known for community based youth participation projects (two in Manhattan Beach schools)
The timeline for the execution of the two-year Murals in Manhattan Beach project is as follows:
By December 2019
• Install the civic center ramp (wrap) mural by Bo Bridges
• Install the civic center garage (wrap) mural by Bo Bridges
• Install the civic center parking elevator shaft mural by Joanna Garel
• Install the Metlox Plaza mural by Kelsey Montague
• Install the Skate Spot mural; by Josh Barnes
• Install Lot 6 mural by Kid Wiseman
By July 2020
• Install Marine Ave Park mural by Trek Kelley
• Install Joslyn Center (Wrap) mural by Charles Bragg
C. Mural Ordinance Language:
In order to promote and facilitate the addition of murals to the civic landscape,
staff recommends the following language from Hermosa Beach’s Ordinance be added to the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code, Chapter 10.72 - SIGN CODE:
Under Definitions:
“Mural: An original one-of-a-kind image that contains only a non-commercial message defined as a message or image that does not include any branded, registered, or trademarked words, icons, or logos and is not used to advertise a business, service or product offered for sale, or to create a revenue stream as a result of its visible placement to the public. The original one-of-a-kind image is painted or applied to the exterior wall of a building or structure, and does not contain changeable or moveable elements or changeable illumination, including flashing or sequential lighting, or any other elements.”
Under exemptions to the standard sign regulations, add the following exemption for murals (Attachment):
“Murals approved by the Cultural Arts Commission may be permitted. In its review the commission may waive specific provisions of this chapter relating to total sign area, coverage, height, type and style.”
Please note that the Cultural Arts Commission has the authority to approve murals under this proposed second paragraph. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, the above definition and the above language (or similar language) will be incorporated into a draft Mural Ordinance that will be presented to the Planning Commission and will return to the City Council for approval.
D. Mural Application process:
• Initial mural installation request/inquiry submitted to the Community Development Department.
• Community Development will review the mural artwork to determine if the project is considered a mural or sign, per the City’s sign ordinance.
• If the mural artwork meets the requirements, Community Development will refer applicant to the Cultural Arts Division. The Cultural Arts Division will prepare a presentation to the Cultural Arts Commission, to include a determination of the murals appropriateness in its scope and location.
• The Cultural Arts Commission will make a recommendation to approve or deny the mural. If approved, Community Development will issue a permit to move forward with the mural. If denied, the applicant may appeal the decision to the City Council.
• Once the mural is approved, an agreement must be signed by the artist and property owner addressing graffiti removal, maintenance, and term.
• Permit fee paid.
E. Public /Private mural agreement (murals developed on private property in collaboration with murals in Manhattan Beach program).
• The Cultural Arts Commission will make a recommendation to approve or deny the mural. If approved, Community Development will issue a permit to move forward with the mural. If denied, the applicant may appeal the decision to the City Council.
• Mural will remain unaltered for a minimum of two years.
• Maintenance and damage repair are the responsibility of the owner.
• Murals shall not include electrical or moving components.
• Mural artist must be chosen from City of Manhattan Beach mural artist roster.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
The program was discussed at the joint City Council Commission meeting on September 19, 2017. It was also discussed at the September 24, 2018, meeting of the Cultural Arts Commission. A Request for Proposal for mural artists was published on the City website and promoted in local Newspapers in March of 2018. An article on the mural program was published in the Beach Reporter September 27, 2017.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Proposed Additions to Chapter 10.72
2. Mural Artists and Locations