Larkspur officials are working on a policy to guide the city’s approval of public art proposals.

The City Council discussed a draft policy at its meeting on March 5. Assistant City Manager Shannon O’Hare said there has been a recent uptick of interest in public art in the city.

“Larkspur is already a beautiful place, but it can always be more beautiful, and public art has the ability to enhance the beauty and vibrancy of the community, further create a sense of place and contribute to economic development,” O’Hare said.

The draft policy outlines the requirements to submit a proposal for public art, such as proof of funding, letters of support and resumes. It also lays out what kind of art would be appropriate based on the site, the design and the maintenance needs.

The policy would apply to structures or spaces that can be seen or accessed from public rights of way such as sidewalks, plazas, parks, bridges, trails and parking garages.

O’Hare said the policy was created by analyzing 40 public art policies in municipalities throughout the state. The city does not have an arts commission, but submissions would be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission. Project appeals would be handled by city staff, not the council.

Regarding the review process, Vice Mayor Stephanie Andre said a submission to put a mural on the library, for example, would seem like a “pretty major thing,” unlike public art on a utility box.

O’Hare said certain areas could have standalone policies that could involve a different review process, or they could be deemed infeasible for public art.

“Should we narrow the definition so that it’s limited to ancillary or secondary structures rather than primary structures like City Hall and the new library?” Andre said. “I just felt like it’s really broadly written, and I’m fine with broadly written, although there were two structures, when I read it, where I was like, wow, these are our main public buildings and should they go through a different process, maybe.”

Councilmember Gabe Paulson said appeals should go to elected officials for public hearings. He said art can have political overtones that could be offensive.

The draft policy says artwork “will not portray themes that may be interpreted as derogatory as to race, religion, sexual orientation, natural origin, or physical or mental disability.”

“Any content considered obscene or indecent by community standards will be denied,” it says.

Councilmember Scot Candell asked how the city could protect itself from potential legal ramifications over allowing some pieces but not others.

Sky Woodruff, the city attorney, said he did not think the city would be exposing itself to litigation.

O’Hare said the policy requires community feedback over two commission meetings, encourages public outreach and states the art would be temporary.

The policy also has guidelines against potentially offensive artwork and precludes work that could be seen as advertising, or religious or sexual. Also, the art would not be allowed to promote a political candidate or include political text.

“If there was something that was clearly what the city thought would be outright hate speech, derogatory, offensive, it wouldn’t pass the staff level and make it to the commission,” O’Hare said.

The staff will prepare an amended policy for the council, along with an amendment to the municipal code to allow the Parks and Recreation Commission to make rulings on public art.