Agenda Item Wording:
title
Consideration of a Mural Application request from Habitat for Humanity of Tulare / Kings Counties for one mural proposed on the east and north-facing facades of the commercial building located at 637 S. Lovers Lane.
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Deadline for Action: 6/20/2022
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Brandon Smith, Principal Planner, (559) 713-4636, brandon.smith@vislia.city <mailto:brandon.smith@vislia.city> Paul Bernal, Community Development Director, (559) 713-4025, paul.bernal@vislia.city
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends, based on the recommendation of the Mural Panel, that this mural application for the proposed mural located at 637 South Lovers Lane be approved with the image proposed by the applicant (see Attachments 2a and 2b).
Background Discussion:
The City of Visalia received a mural application on May 2, 2022, from Habitat for Humanity of Tulare / Kings Counties for a mural to be painted on the north and east walls of the building located at 637 South Lovers Lane. The building is owned by Habitat for Humanity and contains the ReStore. The mural would be visible from Lovers Lane, and the north-facing wall which alerts traffic to the parking lot entrance would be visible to southbound traffic. The mural application (see Attachment 1), a rendering of the proposed mural recommended by the Mural Panel for approval (see Attachments 2a and 2b), and a location map and photo of the existing wall (see Attachments 3 and 4) are attached. The objective of the mural is to refresh the building’s façade, which is currently painted in a predominantly white with colored blocks / bricks on the sides, and to help increase visibility of the building.
The proposed mural, measuring approximately 32 feet wide by 13 feet tall, is designed by Katy Kemalyan, an AmeriCorps Volunteer working with Habitat for Humanity and a former Kings Art Center art teacher. The mural itself will be installed by groups of experienced artist volunteers and general volunteers from the community. The east-facing mural looking toward Lovers Lane depicts a mixture of generally local and native flora (e.g., California poppies, Valley oak leaves, Indian blanket) intertwined with various home articles, gardening materials, and tools, all on a light blue background. This façade also includes a painted sign for Habitat for Humanity that was separately reviewed and approved as a sign permit for the use of the building. The north-facing mural depicts a giant sequoia tree. The mural is intended to suggest a narrative of community building and recycling, and to present an artistically inspired image that portrays Habitat’s contribution to the community.
No words will be incorporated into the mural, as the painted sign at the top was previous reviewed and approved separately as a sign permit. Materials used for the project will consist of a blue prime and paint, with deigns transferred via grid drawings, and sealed with a clear Perma-guard sealant for protection.
Work on the mural is expected to begin upon receiving approval from the City Council. Habitat for Humanity is the owner of the building and subject site, and the mural will be maintained by the owner with assistance from the artist in the case of any major vandalization. As stated on the mural application, the artist is a former art teacher and has a resume of work that includes four self-designed and painted murals within Kings County along with approximately one dozen murals that she has assisted with.
Mural Agreement:
The City’s Mural Guidelines requires that the property owner and applicant enter into an agreement that identifies the terms and conditions under which the mural will be applied. A draft of the mural agreement is attached to this report as Attachment 5, should the City Council elect to approve the mural application.
Staff Initial Review of Compliance with Mural Guidelines:
Habitat for Humanity initially consulted staff and submitted an application and rendering for the east façade of the building which strictly contained home articles, gardening tools, and building materials, together with the sign at the top of the façade (see Attachment 7). Staff indicated to the applicant that the mural appeared to conflict with the City’s adopted Guideline Nos. 2 and 3, which state:
2. Murals shall not contain copy, lettering, symbols or references directly to the promotion of any product, business, brand, organization, service, cause or place. Murals may contain limited commercial elements so long as they are not considered commercial speech with the purpose of promoting a commercial transaction. For those mural applications that may contain limited commercial elements, the Mural Panel will ask the question - “If the business on which the mural is located were to move, would the mural still be good quality art and something the community would want to remain?” If so, the mural is not considered commercial speech or advertisement but rather pure art.
3. Murals shall not be merely an extension or enlargement of a sign. If the theme of the mural is to promote a business, brand, organization, service, cause or place, it shall meet all requirements of the City of Visalia sign ordinance.
Staff advised the applicant to proceed first with obtaining a sign permit for the lettering along, since it was purely a sign on its face and was desired by the applicant for site identification.
Staff further indicated that the mural, if desired by the applicant, would need to meet the application’s submittal requirement consisting of a 1:12 scale drawing. Staff was already convening a meeting of the Mural Panel to review an unrelated mural application and allowed for Habitat for Humanity’s application to be reviewed by the Mural Panel for preliminary comment.
Mural Panel Review:
In accordance with the City’s Mural Guidelines and Procedures, the Mural Panel consisting of a representative from the Arts Consortium (Ampelio Mejia Perez), Arts Visalia (Alison Schlick Miniaci), and a mayoral appointment (Walter Deissler) convened to review the application. The purpose of the Mural Panel is to assure compliance with local ordinances and the mural guidelines, and to determine whether the artist has the ability to produce a quality piece of art. All members of the Mural Panel together with the applicant and artist met on June 1, 2022 to discuss the mural, followed by a meeting held on June 8, 2022 to review a revised mural rendering produced at 1:12 scale.
The Mural Panel reviewed the initial submittal (see Attachment 7) on June 1, along with some other concepts brought by the artist to the meeting. The Panel was favorable to the concept of the use of artwork and imagery on the façade, provided that the artwork itself would be a primary focus over the individual parts (i.e., objects) that composed the artwork. Following discussion between the Panel and the applicant, the applicant agreed to produce a 1:12 scale drawing with more detail, wherein the flora would comprise at least half of the rendering and would be interwoven through the image.
The Panel reconvened on June 8, 2022, to review the new image (attached as Exhibit 2) and voted to recommend that the City Council approve the mural. The Panel concluded that the mural was consistent with the City’s Mural Guidelines and did not constitute an enlargement of a sign. The Panel determined that the mural represented good quality art and could remain on the building even if Habitat for Humanity were to move from the site. While the image contains images of ordinary household objects, they are not the focal point of the image and does not bear advertising copy towards Habitat for Humanity. The Panel noted that the mural evokes artistic depictions of Visalia’s heritage involving agriculture along with supporting a hard work and do-it-yourself ethic and commended its pleasing display of artwork.
Fiscal Impact:
No fiscal impact to the City. The applicant and artist are responsible for the installation, maintenance, and removal of the mural.
Prior Council Action:
No prior Council action related to mural proposals on this site.
Alternatives: None.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to approve the mural application for a mural on the north and east façades of the building located at 637 South Lovers Lane as shown in Attachments 2a and 2b.
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Environmental Assessment Status:
The mural is considered Categorically Exempt under Section 15311 of the Guidelines for the Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as amended, due to the project being a placement of minor structure accessory to existing facilities including but not limited to signs.
CEQA Review:
The mural is considered Categorically Exempt under Section 15311 of the Guidelines for the Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as amended, due to the project being a placement of minor structure accessory to existing facilities including but not limited to signs.
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Application.
Attachment 2a: East-façade Rendering.
Attachment 2b: North-façade Rendering.
Attachment 3: Elevation of building prior to mural.
Attachment 4: Location map.
Attachment 5: Draft Mural Agreement.
Attachment 6: Mural Guidelines.
Attachment 7: Original Rendering submitted with application.