HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-02; Arts Commission; Minutes
Community Services
Library & Cultural Arts Department
1775 Dove Lane Carlsbad, CA 92010 442-339-2090
Memorandum
January 26, 2023
To: Growth Management Citizens Committee
From: Suzanne Smithson, Library & Cultural Arts Department Director
Richard Schultz, Cultural Arts Manager
Via: Eric Lardy, City Planner
Re: Recommendations for Arts and Culture and Growth Management (Districts - All)
This memorandum provides a recommendation from Library & Cultural Arts Department staff
regarding arts and culture and the Growth Management Plan.
On Nov. 30, 2022, city staff provided background to the Growth Management Citizens
Committee regarding the role of arts in Carlsbad’s quality of life and opportunities to enhance
arts in the future. Since that time, staff has further considered whether arts could be a feasible
performance standard in Carlsbad’s next growth management program and, if so, what that
standard could be.
Existing policy direction
The City Council has already provided significant policy direction on options for support and
increased funding for arts and culture, via the following documents:
• Cultural Facilities Needs Assessment (City Council Resolution 2019-214)
• Arts & Culture Master Plan (City Council Resolution 2018-118)
• Imagine the Possibilities (City Council Resolution 2016-013)
• General Plan - Arts History & Education (2015)
• Envision Carlsbad (2010)
• Strategic Cultural Plan (City Council Resolution 2001-366)
• Art in Public Places (1995, rev. via City Council Resolution 2015-049)
• A Cultural Plan (City Council Resolution 1990-356)
Resources to support arts and culture
The City Council has also made increasingly significant and consistent financial commitments to
arts and culture since 1986 when the Cultural Arts office was established:
• Annual Cultural Arts office budget has increased by 165% in 10 years, from $738,623 in
FY 2012-13 to $1,958,910 in FY 2022-23
• Ongoing 1% allocation of every Capital Project for public art, as well as special funding
opportunities. Some examples include:
o New Village Arts mural, 2022, $50,000
o Fire Station 2, 2023, $127,000
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo – Arts and Culture and Growth Management
January 26, 2023
Page 2
o Cole Library mural, 2020, $35,000
o Aviara Park bronze sculptures, 2020, $63,000
o Cultural Arts office mural, 2018, $25,000
o Pine Avenue Park, 2018, $133,000
o Coastal Helix, 2016, $100,000
o Fire Station 3, 2015, $50,340
o First Responder sculptures at Public Safety Center, 2011, $153,000
• Planned 1% CIP investments in future public art as well as special funding opportunities,
including:
o Chestnut Interstate 5 Underpass - $250,000
o Veterans Memorial Park - $350,000
o Village & Barrio Roundabout at Pine/Harding - $100,000
o Library Learning Center Mural - $50,000
• Funding and development of existing arts and culture facilities, including:
o Schulman Auditorium at Dove Library, built in 1999, renovated in 2016
o Cannon Gallery at Dove Library, built in 1999
o Mobile Stage, utilized at TGIF concerts and other city events, purchased in 2016
for $147,744
o A 20-year lease of the Bauer Lumber building to New Village Arts at a
significantly below market lease rate of $1 per year (estimated rent subsidy of
over $7 million over the 20-year lease period)
o Past and current funding for renovations to the New Village Arts building totaling
$865,633
o Award of 27 art grants to New Village Arts since 2013 totaling $156,638, along
with an additional $50,000 for a new, recently completed mural on the west wall
of the building
Conclusion and Recommendations
Based on the above background information, Library & Cultural Arts staff make the following
recommendations to the Growth Management Committee:
• Document the importance of arts and culture to Carlsbad’s quality of life in the quality
of life memo that will accompany the committee’s recommended performance
standard.
• Do not establish a new Growth Management performance standard or fee related to
arts and culture.
• Policy recommendations regarding additional funding for arts and culture, beyond those
already provided by the City Council through the adoption of previous plans (i.e., Arts &
Culture Master Plan, etc.), are not needed at this time.
The Library & Cultural Arts Department staff appreciates the committee’s willingness to explore
arts and culture in the context of the Growth Management Program.