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Phoenix staff outline options to expand Art-in-Private-Development program; council asks for more study
Summary
City staff presented options to expand a voluntary Art-in-Private-Development (AIPD) program into a potentially mandatory ordinance with tiered thresholds, in-lieu payments, geographic guardrails and flexible compliance options; councilmembers asked staff to return with more outreach and legal analysis in 4–5 months.
Deputy City Manager Frank McCune and interim Arts & Culture Director Carrie Brown presented an overview and a menu of options for strengthening Phoenix’s Art-in-Private-Development (AIPD) program during the Economic Development & the Arts Subcommittee meeting on June 10, 2026.
Brown told the subcommittee that Phoenix currently uses a voluntary, incentive-based model—developers who install public art can receive density or height bonuses—but that the program’s reach has been limited beyond downtown. She reviewed comparative approaches from other cities: Philadelphia’s tiered mandatory program with in-lieu options, San Diego’s $5,000,000 valuation threshold and flexible compliance, Scottsdale and Tempe’s mandatory structures, and Louisville’s set-aside approaches.
Staff presented common elements to consider for Phoenix: a budget valuation threshold (staff noted $5,000,000 as a common trigger), a tiered percentage approach to avoid disproportionate burden on very large projects, options for compliance including on-site public art or an in-lieu payment (examples cited at 0.5% to 1%), geographic limits to keep funds near development, and a possible requirement to conduct a nexus study given recent case law.
Council members pressed staff on details. Councilwoman Stark asked whether the city would create a trust fund for in-lieu payments; Brown said yes, that is among the options. Councilwoman Pastor asked whether mandatory rules would limit community conversations with developers; staff responded that the goal is to preserve those conversations and offer flexible compliance paths, not to replace community engagement. Several members raised concerns about suburban coverage and whether large residential master-planned developments would be captured; staff said those points would be part of program design.
Katrina Kaler, president and CEO of ArtLink, spoke during public comment in support of a tiered, geographically responsive program and recommended program resources for artists and developers.
No ordinance was proposed for immediate adoption. Staff said they intend to gather additional stakeholder input, coordinate with the city law department, and return with refined program framework and potential ordinance language in roughly four to five months.
What’s next: staff will conduct further outreach, evaluate thresholds and compliance options, consider a nexus study and present refined recommendations and draft language to the subcommittee for further direction.
