REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Potential Study Issue for 2020: Signs as Art
Report
1. What are the key elements of the issue? What precipitated it?
There are many examples of signs designed as art, or that have become considered art through unique style, vintage aspects, or lightheartedness. The City currently requires development projects to provide publicly visible art on-site. The art is proposed at the development stage, and approved by the City’s Arts Commission. This study issue would review how business signage may be another publicly visible way for a development to present art and meet their requirements.
This study may include:
• Evaluation of current art in private development standards;
• Consideration of criteria for when art could be incorporated into business signage;
• Outreach with the development community to understand if there is a desire for this allowance;
• Surveying other cities to compare standards; and
• Considering and developing guidelines or criteria that could be used to allow private art on business signage.
2. Origin of issue. Commissioner Simons (December 10, 2018)
3. Would this be a multiple year project? No
4. Staff comment.
Business signage is not often a part of the development stage of a project and is usually submitted for approval after a project is approved, and often under construction. Business signage (multi-tenant buildings) is not included in projects that go to a public hearing since the only element reviewed by the sign code is compatibility with the sign code. Therefore, it is not anticipated that many developers would take advantage of these allowances because the development stage is too early to consider the signage for the building. If a developer wanted to incorporate their signage into their private art requirement, they could do so at the Arts Commission’s discretion.