(a) Findings, intent, and purpose. The City Council finds that well-maintained exterior murals visible to the public provide a valuable means of artistic expression and enhance and contribute to the building of character and quality of place in Bloomington. The City Council further finds that other sections of this city code provide ample opportunity for businesses to erect signage containing commercial speech, ideas, or messages. The intent of this section is to promote additional expression within the city through murals in order to contribute to the building of character and quality of place in the city, while preserving aesthetics and high standards of appearance and preventing the further expansion of on or off-site commercial speech, ideas, or messages. These regulations pertaining to murals further the following purposes:
(1) To encourage artistic expression of a non-commercial nature;
(2) To stimulate the economic success of businesses in the city;
(3) To support creative professionals, artists, and entrepreneurs;
(4) To provide an opportunity for property owners to display unique artwork throughout the community;
(5) To promote a sense of place and pride in the community;
(6) To promote aesthetics and preservation of property values through regulation of the size, area, location, and other aspects of murals, and through long-term maintenance requirements and obligations;
(7) To ensure that murals do not compromise public safety or proper building function; and
(8) To promote the public health, safety, and welfare.
(b) Permit required.
(1) A mural permit must be obtained prior to the commencement of installation or application of a mural to a building or structure surface.
(2) Application procedures. The application procedures for a mural permit are specified in the Murals Policies and Procedures document.
(3) Application fee. The required fee for a mural permit is established in Appendix A to this city code.
(4) Approval authority. Mural permits are reviewed and approved by the city's Creative Placemaking Director and Planning Manager, or their respective designees.
(5) Appeals. The mural permit applicant may appeal a mural permit decision in writing to the Planning Manager within ten days of the decision. The City Council will review and act upon appeals of mural permit decisions at a public meeting. The required fee for an appeal to a mural permit decision is established in Appendix A to this city code.
(6) Expiration. Mural permits expire if installation of the mural has not commenced within one year of the issuance of the mural permit.
(7) Mural completion. The installation of an approved mural must be completed within two years of issuance of the mural permit.
(c) Prohibited mural types.
(1) Murals containing representations which imitate or appear to imitate any official traffic sign or device or which appear to regulate or direct the movement of traffic or which interfere with the proper operation of any traffic sign or signal, or which obstruct or interfere with a motor vehicle operator's view of approaching, merging, or intersecting traffic.
(2) Murals obscuring or concealing life safety equipment, including but not limited to fire department connections, wall hydrants, lock boxes, and water flow horns or strobes, as determined by the Fire Marshal.
(3) Murals that are directed to incite or produce imminent lawless action and are likely to incite or produce such action.
(4) Murals that convey threats of violence that are directed at a person or group of persons that have the intent of placing the target at risk of bodily harm.
(5) Murals which contain material that when taken as a whole (i) applying contemporary community standards, its predominant appeal is to prurient interest in sex; and (ii) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find the material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and (iii) a reasonable person would find the material lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
(d) General standards.
(1) Area. Murals on buildings are limited to a maximum coverage of 50% of the entire building wall area in elevation view totaled across all building sides.
(2) Height. No portion of a mural may extend above the surface on which it is installed.
(3) Projection. No part or element of a mural may project more than two feet beyond the plane of the surface upon which it is installed and must not encroach into a public easement of record without the written approval of the Director of Public Works.
(4) Sign incorporation within murals. Signs regulated by Chapter 21, Article III, Division D, the sign code, may be incorporated into an approved mural and must comply with all applicable sign requirements of this city code, but in no case may exceed ten percent of the total mural area. A separate sign permit is required when applicable for the sign type.
(5) Lighting. Any lighting incorporated into or utilized as part of a mural must comply with § 21.301.07 of this city code.
(6) Motion or flashing. Electrical, mechanical, or structural components that produce motion, flashing, scrolling, sequential lights, or any other effect of movement are not permitted as component or feature of a mural.
(e) Maintenance. Murals must be installed and maintained in a manner that complies with the minimum durability and maintenance requirements identified in the Murals Policies and Procedures document.
(1) Maintenance plan. A mural maintenance plan must be submitted for review and approval by both the Creative Placemaking Director and Planning Manager in conjunction with the mural permit application. The maintenance plan must include all the required content specified in the Murals Policies and Procedures document.
(2) Minimum maintenance requirement. Murals must not fall into a state of disrepair for the life of the mural and must follow the maintenance plan approved by both the Creative Placemaking Director and Planning Manager as part of the mural permit. A mural is considered to be in a state of disrepair when not preserved in a manner consistent with the approved design or approved maintenance plan documented within the approved mural permit.
(3) Mural repair or removal. Any mural that is not maintained according to the maintenance plan incorporated into the mural permit or that falls into a state of disrepair may be ordered to be repaired or removed by the Issuing Authority. Removal of an approved mural must include restoration of the building or structure surface in a manner deemed acceptable by Issuing Authority. Murals subject to a repair or removal order must be repaired or removed within 60 days from the issuance date of the written order. Additional time may be authorized by the Issuing Authority for good cause shown.
(f) Authority of the Creative Placemaking Director and Planning Manager. The Creative Placemaking Director and Planning Manager have the authority to implement and modify the Murals Policies and Procedures document for the purpose of specifying mural requirements, application procedures, and recommended best practices that are not established in this section. Modifications to the Murals Policies and Procedures document must be consistent with the requirements of this section.