Fremont City Council Meeting: 04/05/22 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Planning
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
STAFF REPORT (ID # 4537) DOC ID: 4537
Updated: 3/29/2022 3:21 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1
PUBLIC ART FOR WARM SPRINGS PLAZA SITE IN THE WARM SPRINGS INNOVATION DISTRICT - Public Hearing (Published Notice) to Consider Art Review Board and Recreation Commission Recommended First- and Second- Choice Artists for the Design, Fabrication, and Installation of Artwork For the Warm Springs Plaza, To Authorize the City Manager or Her Designee to Execute an Agreement to Fund Public Art at Warm Springs Plaza, and To Find, Each on a Separate and Independent Basis, and Without Limitation, that No Further Environmental Review is Required For the Project Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15183, as the Project Is Consistent With the General Plan/Zoning and the Project Analyzed In the Approved Mitigated Negative Declaration Prepared For the Warm Springs BART West Access Bridge and Plaza Project; Section 15061(b)(3), as it Can Be Seen with Certainty that There is No Possibility the Project will Have a Significant Impact on the Environment; and/or it is Not a “Project” Required to Undertake CEQA Analysis, Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(2), (4)-(5), as it is an Administrative Activity that Will Not Result in any Direct or Indirect Significant Impacts on the Physical Environment.
Contact Persons:
Name: Mark Hungerford Joel Pullen
Title: Associate Planner Planning Manager
Div/Dept: Planning Community Development
Phone: 510-494-4541 510-494-4436
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: Staff is recommending that the City Council consider Art Review Board and Recreation Commission first- and second-choice recommendations for public artwork to be installed within the new Warm Springs Plaza located in the Innovation District.
The public art would be a component of the BART Warm Springs West Access Bridge and Plaza project, which opened last month to the public. Both hearing bodies unanimously recommended Vicki Scuri’s Lifting the Veil – Focusing the Lens as the first-choice selection and Ben Butler’s Momentum as the alternate selection for public art that would be installed within a 16’ × 16’ area bounded by concrete seat walls and low steel sidewalls within the southern half of the plaza.
Staff, the Art Review Board, and Recreation Commission recommend that the City Council approve Vicki Scuri and her Lifting the Veil – Focusing the Lens concept for the public art to be installed within the plaza and authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute a service agreement with the artist in an amount not to exceed $600,000 to be funded from the Warm Springs Innovation District Art Fund for the project.
BACKGROUND: The BART Warm Springs West Access Bridge and Plaza project consists of a pedestrian and bicycle bridge and urban plaza that connects the Warm Springs/South Fremont BART Station to properties west of the station. The bridge and plaza have been Staff Report (ID # 4537) Meeting of April 5, 2022
Updated: 3/29/2022 3:21 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2 identified as a catalytic component of the broader development in Warm Springs, that supports sustainable smart growth and multi-modal access and connectivity in the Innovation District. The City and BART collaborated on project design and negotiated an agreement that defines the responsibilities of each party in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the project. Per the agreement, the City owns the plaza portion of the project and thus public art was identified as the City’s responsibility.
The setting of the art installation is within the more passively designed southern half of the plaza in a location highly visible from multiple roadways, including the Innovation Way spine, and from the iconic cable-stayed bridge that connects the site to the BART station (see Informational Item “1”). The installation area measures 16’ × 16’ and is bounded by concrete seat walls and low steel sidewalls (see Informational Item “2”). The plaza’s bicycle racks and the bridge’s escalator and elevator tower elements are located off the installation area’s north end, and pedestrian-scale light fixtures and seating areas are to be located throughout the plaza, including in areas adjacent to the installation.
On February 17, 2021, the Art Review Board voted unanimously that the artwork be permanent (as opposed to being a temporary, rotational installation); that the artist selection process commence with a request for qualifications (RFQ) as the first screening step to establish a pool of artists that were asked to provide actual proposals; and that the art installation have a budget of $600,000.
On May 4, 2021, the City Council appropriated $720,000 to PWC 8853-502 for the purchase of the artwork (up to $600,000) and associated administrative costs.
In June 2021, a call for artists yielded a total of 97 qualifying artist portfolios. An internal review panel comprised of Community Development Department and Public Works Department staff evaluated each submission and presented artist recommendations to the Art Review Board at their special hearing on August 25, 2021. At the hearing, the Art Review Board selected five artists to produce conceptual design proposals: Ilan Averbuch, Ben Butler, Nancy Hou and Josh de Sousa, Owen Morrel, and Vicki Scuri.
On November 17, 2021, the Art Review Board received presentations and conducted interviews with the five selected artists (Informational Item “3”). Following deliberations, the Art Review Board selected Vicki Scuri and her Lifting the Veil – Focusing the Lens proposal as a unanimous first choice, and Ben Butler and his proposal for Momentum as their second choice.
On December 8, 2021, pursuant to the City’s Art in Public Places Program Policy, which requires that art in City parks be subject to Art Review Board and Recreation Commission recommendations prior to final consideration by the City Council, staff presented the Art Review Board’s recommended first- and second-choice artists to the Recreation Commission. The Recreation Commission unanimously approved the Art Review Board’s recommendations.
The West Access Bridge and Warm Springs Plaza opened to the public on February 3, 2022.
Installation of public art represents a final component of plaza development.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The installation of public artwork within Warm Springs Plaza supports the Warm Springs Innovation District Art Program, which was created to carry out Staff Report (ID # 4537) Meeting of April 5, 2022
Updated: 3/29/2022 3:21 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3 the Plan’s art-related objectives and create experiences that spur innovation, creativity, and economic development while fostering pedestrian activity and serving as a visitor draw to the Plan area. The artwork will be paid by funds appropriated by City Council from the Warm Springs Innovation District Art Fund, which is comprised of private development fees paid by developers in the Warm Springs area for purposes of procurement, installation, and proper long-term maintenance of area public art.
Lifting the Veil – Focusing the Lens, the recommended first-choice art selection, consists of an inverted truncated cone held aloft by steel supports. The piece features colored polycarbonate panels that are wrapped in a laser-cut metal skin, with an opening that invites skyward views from the Plaza level. The undulating curves of the outer cone and inner panels are designed to relate to the East Bay hills, which backdrop the site. The piece was designed to have low maintenance needs and work with both natural light and artificial nighttime illumination. The recommended alternate selection, Ben Butler’s Momentum, is a sculptural piece comprised of 60 individually cut and painted steel fins extending out from a hollow core. The cut and arrangement of the individual fins creates a semi-transparent rotational form that invites curiosity and exploration and invokes a sense of movement as one moves around the piece. The piece would feature uplighting and internal lamps for nighttime illumination, and its steel construction would be durable and low maintenance.
FISCAL IMPACT: Funding for the proposed artwork purchase is available in PWC 8853- 502, which was appropriated by City Council on May 4, 2021.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: No further environmental review is required pursuant to, each as a separate and independent basis, and without limitation, CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15183, as the project is consistent with the General Plan/zoning and the project analyzed in the approved Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared for the Warm Springs BART West Access Bridge and Plaza project; Section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the project will have a significant impact on the environment; and/or it is not a “project” required to undertake CEQA analysis, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(2), (4)-(5), as it is an administrative activity that will not result in any direct or indirect significant impacts on the physical environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Exhibit A - Vicki Scuri, Lifting the Veil - Focusing the Lens • Exhibit B - Ben Butler, Momentum
• Informational Item 1 - Warm Springs Plaza Plans and Renderings • Informational Item 2 - Art Installation Area Photos
• Informational Item 3 - Art Proposals Received but not Recommended • Informational Item 4 - Art Review Board Minutes, August 25, 2021 • Informational Item 5 - Recreation Commission Minutes, December 8, 2021
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Approve artist Vicki Scuri and Lifting the Veil – Focusing the Lens for the public artwork installation within the plaza area of the BART Warm Springs West Access Staff Report (ID # 4537) Meeting of April 5, 2022
Updated: 3/29/2022 3:21 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 4 Bridge and Plaza in accordance with the Warm Springs Innovation District Art Program;
2. Authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute a service agreement with Vicki Scuri in an amount not to exceed $600,000 to be funded from the Warm Springs Innovation District Art Fund; and
3. Find, on a separate and independent basis, that no further environmental review is required for the project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15183, as the project is consistent with the General Plan/Zoning and the project analyzed in the approved Mitigated Negative Declaration Prepared For the Warm Springs BART West Access Bridge and Plaza Project; Section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the project will have a significant effect on the environment; and Section 15378(b)(2), (4)-(5), as this is an administrative activity.