Portsmouth Boards & Commissions members discussed draft temporary-public-art guidelines that would set a typical one-year installation limit, require sponsors to include deinstallation costs in budgets, and place maintenance responsibility on sponsors during public display.

Committee members emphasized that the one-year boundary should be explicit and that renewals should not be automatic. Several members worried temporary approvals could become de facto permanent installations without sufficient review, citing past murals and temporary pieces that lingered on private property. The group recommended that any piece kept beyond one year should be eligible to undergo a separate review process before being accepted as permanent.

Other draft provisions the committee discussed would require sponsors to submit a deinstallation date and ensure park staff manage and enforce that date. Members also recommended written expectations for maintenance, clarity on whether sponsors or the city assume maintenance costs if a piece transitions to permanence, and including deinstallation cost estimates in initial budgets.

The committee asked staff to revise the draft language to make renewals and the transition to permanent status explicitly conditional, to add clearer maintenance and budget rules, and to bring the revised draft back for another review before public posting.