CITY OF SAN MATEO
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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 8 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 10-3159 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Community Development Department
MEETING DATE: November 18, 2024
SUBJECT:
Art in Public Places Annual Report, Renewal of Civic Arts Committee, and Reappointment of Committee Members - Approval
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the Art in Public Places Annual Reports for 2023 and 2024; renew the Civic Arts Committee for two years; and reappoint the current Civic Arts Committee members.
BACKGROUND:
The City of San Mateo’s Art in Public Places Ordinance (Ordinance) was approved in July 2005 to promote the development of cultural and artistic resources within the community (Chapter 23.60, “Art in Public Places”). Annual reporting is required by the Ordinance, and each year an Art in Public Places Annual Report (Report) is prepared for review by the Civic Arts Committee (CAC). The Report provides information about projects that have been completed during the calendar year, projects in progress and in the pipeline, and administrative activities. The 2022 Report was approved by City Council on November 7, 2022. Due to staff changes and limited information to provide, no annual report was provided in 2023. This Report covers both 2023 and 2024.
The Civic Arts Committee reviewed the Annual Reports for 2023 and 2024 at their September 9, 2024, meeting and recommended approval of the Annual Reports, renewal of the Civic Arts Committee, and reappointment of the current members.
Administration
The Ordinance requires private developers of projects over $3 million to either install an art piece of a certain value or pay an in-lieu fee that is deposited into the Art in Public Places Fund (Fund). The Fund may be used for Ordinance administration, art acquisition, installation and/or improvement, maintenance of City-owned public art, development of an Art in Public Places Master Plan (Master Plan), and other public art related activities. On November 15, 2021, as part of the City’s comprehensive fee study, the Ordinance was revised to increase the art obligation/in-lieu fee amount from 0.5 percent to 1.19 percent of the total building valuation, excluding the value of land acquisition and off-site improvement costs.
Planning
On November 7, 2022, the City Council approved the 2022 Annual Report and the Civic Arts Committee (CAC) request to develop a Public Art Master Plan. Due to staffing transitions and other high priority policy initiatives, including the General Plan and Housing Element update efforts, limited progress was made in 2023 and 2024. To date, staff has begun researching various jurisdictions similar to San Mateo that have developed art master plans, or are in progress of doing so, to better understand best practices and gain insights from others. Next steps to proceed with the Master Plan would include interdepartmental collaboration to identify the subjects and activities to be included in the Master Plan and
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preparation of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a consultant to facilitate the process and assist in development of the Master Plan.
Since preparation of the Master Plan will require monetary and staffing resources to complete, staff recommends that this CAC request be considered as part of the City Council’s 2025-26 goal setting workshop. To assist in considering this request, staff will provide additional information about the potential cost, scope, and timeline for completing a Public Art Master Plan ahead of the goal setting workshop.
Public Art
On February 13, 2023, the CAC reviewed 12 submissions in response to a Request for Proposals seeking an artist for the Racial Equity Art Project and invited finalists to submit design proposals. On May 31, 2023, the CAC reviewed six proposal submissions containing 26 designs and the community feedback resulting from public engagement activities.
The Committee recommended artist Rafael Blanco for Council approval. The Committee also requested Council to direct the Committee to work with the artist on the final design decision. On June 20, 2023, the City Council approved Rafael Blanco as the artist selected for the Racial Equity Art Project. As reported in the last annual report, the closing of B Street blocks for a permanent Pedestrian Mall allowed for its use as a unique and large enough space to use for the project.
The Council directed the CAC to work with Mr. Blanco in revising and approving the design to expand to both Pedestrian Mall blocks and incorporate feedback from the public, the City Council, and the CAC. This CAC held a study session to review and discuss the draft designs on August 14, 2023, and voted unanimously to approve the final design on September 11, 2023. The mural unveiling took place on October 28, 2023.
On November 13, 2023, the CAC reviewed the City public art project for the Fallen Heroes Memorial and recommended to City Council a budget transfer of $103,400 from the Art in Public Places Fund for the fabrication of the Fallen Heroes Memorial artwork. On December 4, 2023, the City Council approved the budget transfer, and the artwork was completed and unveiled on May 23, 2024.
On January 8, 2024, the CAC reviewed and made recommendations for a proposed art project as part of a new commercial development at 31-57 S. B Street (1st & B). The developer has not yet returned to the committee with an update on the proposed design.
Committee Renewal and Terms
The Civic Arts Committee (CAC) is a special committee subject to the provisions of Section 6.09 of the City Charter that states that the terms of such committees are not to exceed two years but may be extended by action of the Council for a period not exceeding the original term of the committee. This means that the CAC may be renewed by the Council every two years for a two-year period and the current committee members may be reappointed. There are no term limits in place for this committee although the representative of the Planning Commission is subject to the existing term of that body. Current members are:
• City Arts of San Mateo Representative — Dianne Whitaker • AIA Architect Representative — Robert Gooyer
• Professional Artist Representative — Ginger Slonaker
• Planning Commission Representative — Seema Patel
• Chamber of Commerce Representative — Stephen Tabler
BUDGET IMPACT:
This recommendation has no budget impact. This report is a ministerial action only for the Civic Arts Committee. As of September 1, 2024, the Art in Public Places Capital Improvement Program (CIP) account has a fund balance of approximately $1,044,000.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
The approval of the report, renewal of the committee, or reappointment of committee members are not projects pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), because they are organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
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NOTICE PROVIDED:
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 - Art in Public Places Annual Reports for 2023 and 2024
STAFF CONTACT
Jennifer Rosas, CDD Business Manager
[email protected]
(650) 522-7164