The purpose of this chapter is to benefit the public and public welfare by establishing an avenue to increase public art, meaning art on public and private property that is freely accessible without hindrance, in the community and implementing the policies of the Community Character and Design Element of the Rio Vista General Plan by facilitating public art in certain zoning districts of the city in order to make public spaces a welcoming place. Public art creates a form of collective community expression and civic pride. Public art enriches the environment for residents, businesses, and visitors of the city through the incorporation of visual arts; nurtures and enhances the art community; increases public access to artwork displays; promotes awareness of the visual arts in publicly accessible areas; promotes diversity and pluralism in the expression of art; contributes to the civic pride and identity of our community; supports the development of significant pieces of art throughout the city; and provides learning experiences to students and the general public while working with artists.

It is a primary objective of the public arts program that public art shall be representative of the city regarding history, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, industry, residents, past-residents, and the landscape of the city and its environs.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a developer to cede any identifiable property rights. No developer shall be required to pay in-lieu fees and may instead, at his or her sole discretion, opt to satisfy this chapter by complying with public art installation requirements.

Permit Required. A public art permit is required when the installation of public art is required pursuant to Section 17.72.080 or for the installation of any public art project on city property, including, but not limited to, walls, sidewalks, utility boxes, fire hydrants or other city owned property or improvements. The determination of location, placement, and artwork proposed is subject to review by the planning commission and approval by the city council.

Location. Public art may be located on the sides of buildings and walls on property, and on any property freely accessible to the public in any residential, commercial, special district, industrial zone, highway commercial manufacturing zone, business park zones, mixed use zone or public/quasi-public zoned district within the city.

Permit Issuance and Term. Public art permits shall be reviewed by the planning commission with recommendation and decision by the city council for permanent placement, or for a shorter duration, depending on the applicant's request. An applicant may be a person or a public or private entity.

Building Permit. If a building permit is required by the Rio Vista Municipal Code, a building permit shall be obtained from the community development department prior to the start of work on any public arts project.

Completed applications shall be submitted to the city for review and recommendation by the planning commission and decision by the city council.

Applications for public art permits shall be delivered to the community development department on an approved form and shall comply with the requirements of Section 17.72.050.

The application fee for small art projects shall be waived. An application fee of one percent of the one percent in-lieu fee estimate as described in Section 17.72.080 shall be charged for all other artwork, which fees shall be automatically adjusted, yearly, based on the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CA Consumer Price Index, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Such fee adjustments shall take place on the first day of the new fiscal year.

The application shall be duly processed by the community development department and scheduled for a hearing before the planning commission within 30 days after the application is deemed complete. If the application is part of a discretionary project application, such as site plan and architectural reviews, conditional use permits, et cetera, then such applications shall be processed along with the discretionary application by the planning commission and/or the city council.

A signature by the applicant and property owner;

If applicable, proof that an easement has been secured for the property on which the public art will be located;

A written description of the proposed artwork;

Photos, sketches, models, 3-D models depicting the art in its environment, or other documentation of the proposed artwork showing dimensional size, materials, and colors. All materials submitted shall be of sufficient descriptive clarity indicative of the nature of the proposed artwork;

The proposed location of the artwork;

Line-of-sight drawings (or view simulations) from all primary public viewpoints surrounding the artwork, not to exceed four directions;

A preliminary cost estimate of the artwork to determine cost feasibility;

A short biography of the artist, resume, and examples of their previous works;

An appraisal or other evidence of value of the proposed artwork, including acquisition and installation costs, if applicable;

A written agreement executed by and between the artist(s) who created the artwork and the property owner(s) which expressly waives the artist's rights under the California Art Preservation Act (California Civil Code Section 987) and other applicable state or federal laws such as the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (17 U.S.C. Section 101, et seq.);

Any other information as may be required by the city to adequately evaluate the proposed artwork.

Information contained in the application, or supplemental information requested from the applicant, is found to be materially false or misleading, or does not comply with this chapter, including, but not limited to, if the art does not represent the city regarding history, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, industry, residents, past-residents, and the landscape of the city and its environs.

The applicant fails to complete the application form within 30 calendar days after having been notified in writing that additional information or documents is required to further process the application.

The city council determines the proposed project is not consistent with the provisions of this chapter.

New Construction. For private and public developments that are $15,000 or greater in gross value, not less than one percent of building permit valuation (or engineer's estimate on public projects) shall be allocated for public art installed and maintained as part of the project. This provision shall apply to all categories of commercial, industrial, manufacturing, business park, mixed use public/quasi-public zoned districts, new planned unit developments and residential projects involving five or more units within the city. In residential developments, public art shall be required only at primary project entries or other locations of high visibility and accessibility. This provision shall also apply to the commercial/industrial portion (value) of a mixed use development and shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter. A development project shall not be piecemealed so as to avoid the application of this chapter.

Alterations, Physical Modification or Additions to Existing Structures. For private and public developments, any alterations, physical modification of existing structures and additions to existing structures that are $15,000 or greater in gross value, not less than one percent of building permit valuation (or engineer's estimate on public projects) shall be allocated for public art installed and maintained as part of the project. This provision shall not apply to residential buildings, but shall apply to all remodeling of all categories of commercial, industrial, manufacturing, business park, mixed use and public/quasi-public buildings within the city; and to the non-residential portion of a mixed use development. A development project shall be considered in its entirety and shall not be piecemealed so as to avoid the application of this chapter.

In-Lieu Fee. A developer subject to this chapter may, at his or her sole discretion, pay a fee to the city totaling one percent of the project building permit valuation (or engineer's estimate on public projects) in lieu of erecting public art. Such in-lieu fee shall be deposited in the city art fund in accordance with Section 17.72.090. The public artwork shall be installed on the property, or the in-lieu fee shall be paid, prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, unless an extension of time not to exceed one year is granted by the community development director, upon good cause shown.

Exempt Developments. The following developments or modifications, alterations and additions to the developments are exempt from this chapter:

Permitted Locations of Public Art. For any developer that installs public art on the project site, the public art may be located:

Issuance of Certificate of Occupancy. The project developer shall provide satisfactory evidence to the community development director of the developer's actual art investment as proof that this chapter has been complied with prior to the issuance of the certificate of occupancy for the development project.

Eligible Costs. A developer may include the following expenses in computing his or her actual art investment:

Non-Eligible Costs. A developer may not include the following expenses in computing his or her actual art investment:

Artist's Compensation/Verification of Costs. All financial arrangements shall be negotiated between the project developer and the artist, and shall be verified in a written agreement and evidence of payment. Copies of the executed contracts between the project developer and the artist(s) shall be submitted to the community development director prior to the issuance of the certificate of occupancy.

Maintenance and Removal of Artwork. The owner of the real property on which the artwork is located shall maintain the artwork installed pursuant to this chapter. No artwork may be removed unless an imminent threat to public health, safety or general welfare. Where artwork is removed, replacement artwork shall be required in accordance with the procedures in this chapter.

By this chapter, a fund is created known as the "art fund" to account for in-lieu fees paid pursuant to this chapter.

This art fund shall be separately maintained by the treasurer and the fees paid by a developer pursuant to this chapter shall be placed in the art fund. The primary purpose of the art fund is to acquire, construct, or install artwork on public property. The art fund shall be used for acquisition or maintenance of city-owned artwork. Up to 10% of the fund balance, in the aggregate, may be used annually for all of the following: (1) city-sponsored public art exhibitions; (2) construction or improvement of artwork on public property; (3) maintenance of city artwork; (4) purchasing liability and property damage insurance; and (5) the maintenance of property purchased for the above, and utility charges solely related to the public art, excepting that the city council may approve annual expenditures in excess of 10% for purposes of a public art project that results in exceptional community benefits. Up to five percent of the fund balance, in the aggregate, may be used annually by the city towards staffing and administration expenses of the public arts program.

The planning commission shall review and recommend, annually, the proposed utilization of the art fund to the city council.

Ownership and maintenance responsibility of the public artwork shall be determined and reflected in the application.

The artwork shall be designed and painted or installed by qualified artists or qualified installers with sufficient knowledge in the design, painting or installation of such projects. In the event of artwork in a public place, the design proposed may be in response to a call for public artists.

Design. The applicant and the artist shall consider the following criteria when selecting the artwork:

Maintenance. Maintenance of the artwork, as used in this chapter, shall include, without limitation, preserving the artwork in good condition so as not to constitute a public nuisance and protecting the artwork against physical defacement, mutilation or alteration, to the extent possible. Maintenance shall include the obligation to replace or repair the public art if stolen, defaced, mutilated, demolished, or otherwise materially altered from its original condition.

All artwork donated to the city shall become the property of the city upon acceptance by the city council; and

Recommendations shall be forwarded to the city council, which shall have the sole authority to accept or reject, or conditionally accept, the donated artwork.