|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A local nonprofit that has been trying for years to bring more outdoor murals to the downtown Mountain View area is now on a roll with its first art installation complete.
Earlier this year, Arts Mountain View facilitated a brightly painted mural that covers the side of an office building at 260 Moffett Blvd. Commissioned by Richardson Oliver Law Group, a law firm that specializes in patents, the mural depicts a microchip with colorful waves emerging from it, according to Anne-Sophie Gaudet, the artist who created it.
“It’s like a wave of movement because I think innovation is never static,” Gaudet said. “It’s always evolving.”
Anita Rosen, founder of Arts Mountain View, was involved in the project, working with Gaudet and the law firm to bring the mural to fruition. The nonprofit connects business owners to artists and helps them apply for the required city permit, but is not paid for its services, Rosen said.
A few years ago, Rosen had noticed a dearth of murals in Mountain View, especially compared to neighboring cities like Los Altos and Palo Alto. Rosen set out to change that but hit some obstacles along the way.
Mountain View did not have much of a structure in place for murals to go up on private properties, Rosen said. She also noted that it was expensive to put up murals since they could be considered billboard advertisements.
The city doesn’t define murals in its zoning code and so they are reviewed to ensure compliance with Mountain View’s signage ordinance, according to city spokesperson Lenka Wright.
“This review is necessary to ensure the mural doesn’t function as a commercial advertisement and meets zoning requirements for façade improvements,” Wright said, adding that this is a clarification to an existing process.
The permit for the Moffett mural took about 30 days to turn around and included a fee, which was $174, Rosen said. Since then, the city has updated its development review permit fee, which is now $1,145, Wright said.
Kent Richardson, of Richardson Oliver Law Group, commissioned the mural to differentiate his building from surrounding businesses and to brighten up the area. He described the process of selecting the mural design and getting it up on the building as straightforward. Once Gaudet created the design, it took her about two weeks to paint.
Working with the city wasn’t difficult for Richardson, as his firm often interacts with government agencies, but he said that the permit process could be confusing for businesses not used to filling out official forms.
A bigger issue for the firm was that it did not qualify for a façade improvement grant that the city has touted as part of its economic vitality strategy to uplift small businesses. The grant only applies to retail, according to Richardson.
“It was a little bit disappointing to see how hard it was for businesses to access it,” he said. “We can afford to do this, but I don’t know how other people will do it.”
The cost of a mural is generally roughly $10,000, Rosen said, although it can be more expensive depending on the size and how much detail is included. Less detail could make it far cheaper, she added.
Once a mural is painted, the maintenance is similar to what is needed to refresh a building. Richardson expects to repaint his building’s exterior in about 20 years.
The cost meanwhile is well worth it, Richardson said, noting that the mural is a great way to connect with the community.
“It adds something fun for people to discover,” he said.
Correction: An initial version of this article listed an outdated fee to receive the required permit for a mural. It is currently $1,145. This article was also updated to clarify Mountain View’s review process for murals and to include a response from the city. The Voice regrets the error.
This is so awesome to see our city getting more public artwork and brightening up our buildings. Cities like Petaluma and Seattle have so much of it and it makes it a joy just to walk around town and discover it.
I look forward to seeing more of this. Keep up the great work after this one, Arts Mountain View!
3-4 homes and at least one business in Old Mountain View have painted artwork on their exteriors. I have suggested to the Editor of the neighborhood newsletter “The Lamppost” that a future issue have an article about them.
The original Palo Alto murals from the 1970s were iconic, something everyone loved. https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/Community-Services/Arts-Sciences/Public-Art-Program/Murals/Greg-Brown-Murals
$1145 to paint a mural on your own building?
What exactly does that $1145 pay for?
Anyone?