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Council updates public‑art policy on murals, removes ban on political/religious language for private murals
Summary
Springdale revised its Public Art and Art Review Board policy June 11 to clarify mural sizing, placement and color rules and to remove a blanket prohibition on political or religious messaging for privately funded murals.
The Springdale Town Council on June 11 approved revisions to the town’s Public Art and Art Review Board policy that clarify standards for murals while removing a blanket ban on political or religious messaging for privately funded works.
The art board’s recommended changes state murals must be scaled to the architecture, limit total mural area on a property to 250 square feet, prohibit murals that function as signage, and prefer murals be located close to grade (preferably under 8 feet and no more than 15 feet above ground). The policy also adopts the building color palette for murals (a more limited palette than the signage palette) but allows limited exceptions through a review process.
Councilmember Jack Burns said the art board did a thorough review; he also moved to remove a provision that would have prohibited political or religious messaging outright. Town counsel had advised that the town could restrict messaging on town‑funded or town‑owned public art but could not enforce a blanket restriction on private property owners’ speech. Burns’s motion to remove the political/religious ban passed unanimously.
The council also accepted a $150 application fee for mural review; the fee will be established in the town fee schedule. The revised mural policy continues to bar illumination of murals and restrict murals in residential zones unless they are not visible from off the property.
