Costa Mesa Arts Commission asks council to create public art fund and redirect parts of hotel and cannabis taxes

The Costa Mesa Arts Commission unanimously voted April 2 to ask City Council to restructure how existing local revenue supports arts programming and public art, including creating a dedicated public art fund and changing how two local taxes are allocated.

Commissioner Luchia, who co‑authored the proposal, said the commission was “not asking for new money,” and instead sought to fix how current dollars are used so resources “actually produce the results that the community can see.” The package contains four main elements: move the arts specialist position into the city’s general fund for personnel costs; create a dedicated public art fund so unspent public art dollars can roll over year‑to‑year; designate a portion of any future transient‑occupancy (hotel) tax increase to public art if council pursues a ballot measure; and increase the city’s cannabis tax allocation for arts and culture from one‑half cent to one full cent of the retail cannabis tax.

Director Gruner framed the proposal as a continuation of budget conversations the commission began in March, saying the recommendations are the product of staff consultation and the commissioners’ analysis. Commissioners and staff provided two illustrative budget models showing the difference between keeping the current 0.5% cannabis allocation and doubling it; staff estimated the current allocation produces roughly $230,000 annually, while doubling it would produce about $460,000 under present assumptions. Commissioners also noted city finance staff estimated a 1% hotel tax increase could generate roughly $1 million in new annual revenue, and the commission asked that a defined portion of any such new revenue be tied to the public art fund.

Commissioner Darian said a dedicated fund would allow the city to build resources for larger installations over time rather than reverting unspent dollars to the general fund each year. Commissioner Ford praised the public art fund idea as “brilliant” while asking about the consultant line in the draft master plan budget; commissioners said they would refine consultant scope and funding as the master‑plan update and RFP process proceed.

The commission approved a motion to forward the package to City Council for consideration and directed staff to incorporate the approved language into the presentation scheduled for council. The motion passed 5–0.

Next steps: the commission plans to present the recommendation package and accompanying slide deck to City Council on April 21; council will decide whether to adopt the structural changes, whether to place a hotel tax increase on the November ballot, and whether to amend the municipal code allocating cannabis tax revenue.