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Santa Rosa committee approves one Roseland mural design, asks for revisions to second
Summary
The Art and Public Places Committee approved funding for one of two proposed Roseland murals and asked the project team to revise the second design and return Oct. 6 with community-driven changes.
The Art and Public Places Committee on Sept. 8 unanimously approved the first of two proposed West End (Roseland) mural designs and recommended adding color, while declining to approve the second design and asking the project team to return with revisions at the committee’s Oct. 6 meeting.
Anna Orta, community engagement manager for the City of Santa Rosa, presented a Community Improvement Grant application seeking $2,500 in city funds to cover graffiti on two private fences in Roseland by funding murals. Orta said the two-property proposal included community volunteers and student involvement from Shepherd Elementary School for painting and maintenance, and that the applicants would match the grant with volunteer labor.
Committee members and public commenters discussed the two submitted designs, one featuring “Roseland” lettering with local imagery and another that included vineyard and truck imagery. Several committee members and commenters said the first design was clearly rooted in neighborhood references and recommended it be painted in color. Others said the second design relied on Sonoma County/viticulture imagery that some in Roseland found incongruent with everyday neighborhood life. The committee emphasized that because the murals would be on private property, the property owners retain substantial control, but city-funded murals on private property require committee design review.
Kristen Kiefer moved to approve the Roseland lettering design, and Lisa (committee member) seconded; the motion carried unanimously with committee members voting Aye. The motion included a formal recommendation that the artist and property owner consider adding color to the design.
On the second mural, committee members discussed options including approving the process but returning the design for rework by the applicant. Committee member Kristen Kiefer reframed a motion to continue the item to Oct. 6 to allow the community advisory board and applicants to respond to the committee’s feedback; Lisa seconded. The motion to continue passed unanimously with instructions that the project team return with a revised proposal that reflects committee guidance and neighborhood-relevant imagery.
Public commenters and committee members stressed the project’s community process: the applicants collected neighborhood signatures and used city library computers to complete the application, which staff said was a barrier for the applicants. Staff also noted that property owners are sometimes billed penalty fees for unresolved graffiti; approval or a hold on the mural funding can affect that enforcement status while the project is under consideration.
The committee recorded artist Daniel Sandoval as the lead artist named in the application. Staff said the Community Advisory Board (CAB) had previously reviewed the grant application; because the murals are on private property but request city CAB grant funds, the committee’s approval of design and expenditure is required.
The committee’s decisions: approve the first design with a recommendation to add color, and continue consideration of the second design to the Oct. 6 meeting with requested design revisions and a request that staff and the Community Advisory Board coordinate community feedback.
