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Council adopts 'Creative City' cultural plan to guide San Diego arts investments
Summary
The City Council unanimously adopted the 10‑year Creative City cultural plan after staff presented community engagement results and four goal areas. Staff and presenters emphasized extensive outreach and funding challenges; the council approved implementation steps and urged pursuit of philanthropic partnerships.
The City Council unanimously adopted the City of San Diego’s first comprehensive cultural plan, Creative City, on Jan. 13 after a presentation by Cultural Affairs staff and consultants describing goals and funding options.
Jonathan Glus, director of the Department of Cultural Affairs, said the plan is a 10‑year road map to guide city investments in arts, culture and the creative economy. David Plutner Saunders (presentation lead from Cultural Planning Group) described the plan’s four broad goal areas — centering artists and spaces; arts in community; creative entrepreneurship; and positioning San Diego as a global creative city — and noted the plan contains more than 150 action steps and a toolkit of implementation approaches.
Staff said the public engagement process included about 70 events and input from nearly 1,800 participants across all council districts, and the plan highlights tools to address space affordability, artist supports and equitable investment in historically underserved neighborhoods. Presenters also discussed funding options including private philanthropy, an arts-and-culture foundation, exploring modest admission fees at large venues, and targeted city general-fund allocations after budget conditions allow.
Public commenters from museums, cultural districts and community arts organizations — including Bob Layman of the San Diego Museum Council, Peter Kaminski of Balboa Park Cultural District, Christine Martinez of Arts and Culture San Diego, and others — spoke in support of the plan and urged robust implementation and attention to equity.
Council discussion acknowledged the plan’s broad public support and economic rationale while flagging funding constraints amid the city’s budget challenges. Councilmember Campillo moved to approve staff’s recommendation; Councilmember Whitburn seconded. The measure passed 9–0.
Next steps: staff said they will prepare an implementation plan for year 1 and pursue partnerships with philanthropy and other stakeholders; some actions can proceed without new city funding.
