Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning And Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Oak Harbor moves art-plan policies into city comprehensive plan; website navigation updated to highlight arts
Summary
City staff and the art commission reviewed language from the Oak Harbor Art Plan that has been incorporated into the city’s comprehensive plan and reported website navigation improvements to make arts resources and the project-submission form easier to find.
Oak Harbor city staff told the Art Commission on Oct. 9 that policies from the Oak Harbor Art Plan have been incorporated into the city’s comprehensive plan and will be forwarded to council for adoption.
Staff reviewed the range of arts-related policies added to the plan’s policy database, including: project-selection best practices for arts commissions; urban-design policies to improve pedestrian experience and waterfront connections; wayfinding and entryway improvements to promote tourism; coordination with arts organizations, schools and military partners; and potential use of publicly owned property for cultural spaces. Staff also noted policy ideas to increase the creative fund’s share of utility tax revenues and to explore a downtown creative district to unlock state funding opportunities.
"We have included those policies from the arts plan into the comprehensive plan," the staff presenter said while reviewing the policy database. Staff indicated the final comp-plan update will move forward to city council for adoption after the internal review process is complete.
Commissioners and staff also discussed website navigation improvements made to help the public find the art plan and the new art-project proposal form. Staff reported that searches for "Oak Harbor Art Plan" now reach the plan page directly, and that the arts page now includes a clear link to the"art project proposal" form, an art map and inventory, and a planned "projects" page showing active arts projects. Staff said some external map resources (an ArcGIS art map and inventory created during the plan process) still require migration or access updates and the commission identified specific inventory corrections to request (for example, removal of an Octopus mural entry where the building no longer exists and a labeling correction for material by Tim Haslett).
Commissioners discussed outreach to community organizations to publicize the proposal form and other arts work. Tracy Davidson and other commissioners reported recent or planned outreach to Soroptimist, Main Street and other local groups to spread awareness that the public form is live. The commission suggested including a short blurb in the city's activity guide and a social-media post linking to the proposal form.
Staff described planned cross-commission coordination with the Planning Commission and Parks & Recreation on projects that overlap planning, placemaking, streetscape and waterfront efforts. Planning and public-works staff were also cited as participating in preliminary conversations about Pioneer Way and pedestrian improvements where temporary trees and public art might be used to create better connections between SR 20, City Beach and the marina.
Commissioners praised the inclusion of arts policies in the comp plan as a concrete step toward long-term implementation and cross-departmental collaboration. Staff said they will finalize the comp-plan edits and forward them to council for adoption.
