POLICY REPORT
PUBLIC ART PROGRAM
Date: June 12, 1995
Dept. File No.: SP
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Cultural Affairs, in consultation
with the Directors of Finance and Legal Services
and the City Engineer
SUBJECT: Private Sector Public Art Process -
Maintenance Amendments
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT developers at their option place up to 20% of budgets for
private-site public art work in an interest-bearing trust
account dedicated to maintaining such work, under terms
satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services.
B. THAT privately initiated public art intended for public lands
place a minimum of 10%, or up to 20% of project budgets in
exceptional circumstances, to the Public Art Maintenance
Reserve, upon occupancy or prior to installation, with
interest generated by the Reserve used to maintain public-site
art work.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A
and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
On June 23, 1994, City Council adopted the following provisions for
public art maintenance:
1. THAT privately initiated public art intended for public lands
allocate 10% of project budgets to the Public Art Maintenance
Reserve, upon occupancy or prior to installation, with interest
generated by the Reserve used to maintain public-site art work.
2. THAT art installed on private lands be the responsibility of and at
the risk of the owner, and be maintained at the owner's sole cost
for the life of the development.
PURPOSE
This report has two purposes: to recommend a new trust account option
to maintain public art at private sites; and to recommend an amendment
to the current maintenance provisions for art at civic sites, to
increase their flexibility.
BACKGROUND
Since June, 1994, developers and others siting art on public lands have
been required to deposit 10% of art project costs in the Maintenance
Account of the Public Art Reserve. Terms of reference for this Reserve
are proposed in a companion report. Developers siting art on private
lands have been required to maintain it at no cost to the art budget,
for the life of the development.
DISCUSSION
The New (Trust Account) Option
Urban Development Institute (UDI) has noted a discrepancy between
public-site and private-site maintenance provisions, and suggests a new
option to make them similar. This option would also encourage strata-
title corporations to initiate maintenance programs.
The recommended new option would allow developers to place up to 20% of
art work budgets in trust accounts dedicated to maintenance. Trust
account funds would be released only for specified art restoration or
maintenance. The amount of each deposit would be based on the estimated
maintenance needs of individual art works, to a ceiling of 20%. This
gives developers the freedom to select art works which may have higher
than normal maintenance needs.
This option makes the private-site and public-site maintenance
provisions roughly similar. The City Public Art Maintenance Reserve
functions like an insurance plan, that pools funds from many budgets to
maintain works having different maintenance needs. The private-sector
trust account, in contrast, will be based on one or two art works at
individual developments, and will not have a large pool of funds from
which to draw.
The private-sector maintenance accounts will thus eventually be
exhausted, because expenditures and inflation will exhaust the original
deposit. However, staff and UDI representatives believe the existence
of the account assures that art works will be maintained at the outset,
setting a desirable precedent.
City staff also note it is not practically possible to enforce strata
corporations to maintain things they do not want to maintain, and some
corporations may maintain art works only as long as funds are available.
Nevertheless, a dedicated trust account provides some initial security
for the art work, and, properly, leaves final responsibility for art
maintenance with its owner.
Staff recommend this option to Council, provided the trust account terms
ensure:
- That the trust accounts bear interest and that both capital and
accrued funds be dedicated to maintaining the public art work(s)
contributing to the account.
- That funds be allocated only to art restoration, conserva-tion,
repair, special cleaning or other non-routine maintenance,
requiring the skills of the artist, art conservator or specialist,
and conducted in accordance with the artist's maintenance program.
Amendment to the Current Private Sector Provisions
Staff also recommend an amendment to current maintenance provisions for
privately-initiated public art intended for civic sites. The intent is
to increase their flexibility.
Currently, developers and other sponsors siting art on civic lands must
deposit 10% of art work budgets in the Maintenance Reserve. Interest on
Reserve funds is used to maintain work which contributed to the Reserve.
Staff now believe that 10% should be the minimum deposit, required in
most cases, but that works expected to have a higher than average
maintenance costs should provide up to 20%.
Deposits greater than 10% would be negotiated in exceptional
circumstances, and enable the acceptance of art work wanted by all
parties but known to have higher than average maintenance needs. The
specific deposit would be set after a maintenance assessment. This
gives staff the flexibility to recommend acceptance of exceptional work,
without fear of draining the Maintenance Reserve.
Council should note that maintenance needs figure prominently in the
criteria for civic-site art work and high-maintenance work is generally
discouraged.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
Urban Development Institute representatives have indicated support for
the amendments recommended above.
PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE
At its meetings of April 10 and June 12, 1995, the Public Art Committee
recommended approval of the recommendations above.
All private-sector public art provisions adopted since 1990 were, in
1994, published together as the Public Art Policies and Guidelines. If
Council adopts one or both of the recommendations above, these
Guidelines would be amended to reflect the new provisions.
* * * * *