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Arts commission approves Ojai Valley Inn request to remove Topa Mountain Winery ceramic panel
Summary
The commission approved a request from the Ojai Valley Inn to remove a hand-painted glazed ceramic panel titled 'Tree of Life' from Topa Mountain Winery after staff appraisal showed the piece exists in a publisher's catalog as an open edition; removal passed 4–0 with one commissioner absent.
The Ojai Arts Commission approved a request from the Ojai Valley Inn to remove a ceramic panel titled Tree of Life from the Topa Mountain Winery, citing appraisal evidence that the work is a cataloged, open-edition piece.
Staff presented background materials, including an appraisal that found the panel listed in the artist’s catalog at a retail price of $7,350 and described the piece as an open edition. Staff and the commission discussed municipal public-art rules, referencing Section 4-16.204 (eligible uses and exclusions) and a separate provision, 4-16.217, regarding obligations when a work is freestanding versus affixed to a structure. Staff and counsel advised the commission that because the panel is affixed, the code does not require placement of fair-market value into the public art fund; instead, the larger redevelopment of the site will trigger any applicable new public-art obligation tied to the property’s new construction.
Staff moved that the commission approve the Inn’s request to remove the panel; a commissioner seconded the motion for discussion. Commissioners asked whether the panel ever functioned as a fountain, whether it could be preserved and whether federal visual-artist protections applied. Staff and city counsel said the appraisal’s catalog evidence suggested the work is an open edition (not a limited, numbered edition) and that statutes such as VARA (the Visual Artists Rights Act) did not appear to block the requested action given the work’s edition status and the facts presented. The appraisal and counsel’s review were accepted as part of the administrative record.
Roll call on the removal motion recorded four votes in favor and one absence: Commissioner Grau (yes), Vice Chair Steiner (yes), Commissioner Wright (yes) and Chair West (yes); Commissioner Leads was absent. The motion passed 4–0.
Staff indicated the planning department will be notified to reflect the commission’s decision in the project’s planning and renovation process.
