On Tuesday 01.10.12 at 1 PM in City Hall, Code Studies staff conducted a workshop and public hearing for the Mural Ordinance discussion draft. Here is the presentation. Please submit comments to tanner.blackman@lacity.org by 02.08.12. Thanks.

2. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
O v e r v i e w
understanding the current mural prohibition
recent direction from City Council to
preserve existing murals
and permit new murals
details of the mural ordinance discussion draft
next steps to adopt a mural ordinance
your input
MURAL WORKING GROUP

3. …is this a mural?

4. …is this a mural?

5. …is this a mural?

16. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
Current Code Definitions
sign
any whole or part of a display board, wall, screen or object, used to
announce, declare, demonstrate, display or otherwise present a message
and attract the attention of the public.
mural sign
a sign that is painted on or applied to and made integral with a wall, the
written message of which does not exceed three percent of the total area of
the sign.
wall sign
any sign attached to, painted on or erected against the wall of a building or
structure, with the exposed face of the sign in a plane approximately parallel
MURAL WORKING GROUP
to the plane of the wall.
LAMC SEC 14.4.2

17. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
Are murals banned in LA?
YES (sadly) … and … NO (kind of)
currently, murals may be permitted:
-on city property
-on county, state, or federal property
-on private property pursuant to
a legally adopted specific plan,
supplemental use district,
or development agreement
LAMC SEC 14.4.4 B. 10
MURAL WORKING GROUP

18. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
What?! Why?!
-pre-1986 – murals not mentioned in LA Municipal Code
- 1986 – murals first mentioned in sign ordinance, exempted
- 2002 – general ban on murals, creation of “sign districts”
- 2007 – most recent mural approved on private property
MURAL WORKING GROUP

19. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
W h a t n o w ?
Direction from the City Council on Oct. 19, 2011:
1
preserve & protect existing murals
vintage mural permit
enable creation of new murals
original art mural permit
2 report back on costs & funding
for a public art program
MURAL WORKING GROUP

20. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
W h a t n o w ?
Direction from the City Council on Oct. 19, 2011:
1
THE MURAL
preserve & protect existing murals
vintage mural permit
ORDINANCE
enable creation of new murals
original art mural permit
2 report back on costs & funding
for a public art program
MURAL WORKING GROUP

21. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
Te r m s
content-neutral
the City cannot control content, at all
time / place / manner
duration, placement, location, material, historic protections, etc.
administrative permit
no discretion
original art mural
new approach to define murals in LA
Permit Considerations
MURAL WORKING GROUP
1st Amendment
implementation

23. preserving
existing
murals
intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps MURAL WORKING GROUP

24. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
V i n t a g e
existing mural stock
city, extra-jurisdictional, & private property
murals created before ban “grandfathered”
but not clear in code
vintage mural permit
how to establish date created:
copyright, historic news clippings, records/receipts, other?
MURAL WORKING GROUP

25. permitting
murals
new
intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps MURAL WORKING GROUP

26. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
Original Art Murals
purpose
administrative permit to allow “original art murals”
with no regulations on content
in a simple, accessible way
possible definition of mural
a hand-produced work of visual art,
which is tiled or painted by hand directly upon
or affixed directly to
an exterior wall of a building
MURAL WORKING GROUP

27. Original Art Murals
a time/place/manner timeline

28. • mural to remain in place for 5 years
• building owner cannot receive compensation
• no mechanical parts or changing images
• may not exceed height of structure
• may not protrude more than 6” from wall
• historic & design overlay protections
• neighborhood involvement process
• administrative application & small fee
proposed time/place/manner regulations

29. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
Original Art Murals
benefits
-encourage murals citywide (“let art happen”)
-separates art murals from signs
-potentially simple and cheap to administer
-time/place/manner, administrative approach
-no regulations on content
issues
-training & implementation
-assessing public sentiment
-new legal approach
MURAL WORKING GROUP

30. P
o
c
e
s
s
r
intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps MURAL WORKING GROUP

31. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
DCP Public Participation Policy
between day 1 &
day 1 day 60 day 76 day 90
day 60
release conduct end of release CPC
draft workshops / comment finalized, hearing
ordinance staff period signed
hearing staff
recommendation
report
MURAL WORKING GROUP
Dec.7 Jan.10 Feb.8 TBD TBD

32. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
Four critiques …
1. fee
2. media restrictions
3. duration requirement
4. VARA/CAPA
MURAL WORKING GROUP

33. intro | definition | background | approaches | next steps
T h a n k Y o u
Questions? Comments?
Tanner Blackman
City of Los Angeles | Department of City Planning
MURAL WORKING GROUP
Code Studies | Office of Zoning Administration
tanner.blackman@lacity.org | 213.978.1195
*NOTE: all images used in this presentation are either City resources or publicly available
on the internet. Citation information for each image is available upon request.