5.74.085 Public Monuments Review Criteria.

City Code Section

(Added by Ordinance 191649; amended by Ordinance 191876, effective September 27, 2024.)

  1. A.  A public monument may be considered for review based on one or more of the following reasons: 
    1. 1. There is sustained and significant adverse public reaction or reasonable large-scale community opposition to the public monument.
    2. 2. The artist, donor, or subject of the public monument, or their descendants, provides a written request to the City seeking removal of the monument from public display.
    3. 3. Community members most affected by the monument’s historical and cultural context have expressed a negative impact on community wellbeing.
    4. 4. The subject or impact of a public monument is significantly at odds with the City’s values of anti-racism, equity, transparency, communication, collaboration, and fiscal responsibility.
    5. 5. The public monument is damaged or requires restoration in gross excess of its value or is in such a deteriorated state that restoration is either not feasible or impractical.
    6. 6. The public monument interferes with the practical use of the site or significant changes in the use or character of design of the site affect the integrity of the monument.
    7. 7. The location of a site-specific public monument provides an environmental risk or is so severely altered that the work’s installation is no longer physically possible or conceptually relevant, or no suitable site for the monument is available.
    8. 8. The monument requires excessive repair or unreasonable maintenance or has physical faults in design or workmanship.
    9. 9. The work does not fit within the mission, goals, and objectives for the City’s public art program.
  2. B. If a public monument meets one or more of the criteria outlined in Subsection A., and is subsequently identified by the Office of Arts & Culture or its designee as requiring further review, the Office of Arts & Culture or its designee may provide a report to City Council and Historic Landmarks Commission detailing the nature of the issues raised. The report may include the following recommendations:
    1. 1. A recommendation for the Office of Arts & Culture, or its designee, to review the public monument in question and provide a report and recommendations to the City Council. If review is initiated by the public, the recommendation must include the following elements:
      1. a. Addition of historical context or information related to the public monument designed to enhance public understanding and awareness;
      2. b. Community engagement meetings such as town halls, public forums, and conversations;
      3. c. Evaluation of both historical and current community feedback, utilizing quantitative and qualitative measures as feasible;
      4. d. An analysis of the subject of the public monument in relation to the City’s core values;
      5. e. Review of the public monument subject, the donor of the piece, the artist, and historical acquisition of the monument;
      6. f. Assessment of the public monument as an ongoing rally point for gatherings centered on racist or bigoted ideology; and
      7. g. Examination of any legal considerations related to the disposition of the public monument.
    2. 2. A recommendation to appoint a Monuments Advisory Commission, with a primary purpose of evaluating the public monument(s) in question and providing recommendations to the Mayor and City Council. The commission will, to the extent possible:
      1. a. Represent a diverse body of at least six public members, including a minimum of two artists, one historian, one subject matter expert, and two community members most affected by the artwork’s historical and cultural context.
      2. b. Produce a report to the City Council, or designee, and include the following engagement activities:
        1. (1) A series of virtual and/or in-person community forums, listening sessions and town halls.
        2. (2) A minimum six-month public engagement process with artists and community members most affected by the public monument and develop creative responses or engagement activities in response to the public monument in question.
  3. C. If the public monument does meet criteria outlined in Subsection A., but is not considered for further review, the Office of Arts & Culture or designee will issue a response to the complainant within 90 days.

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