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Molalla council backs easement-based mural code, asks arts committee to refine details
Summary
After a staff presentation on three regulatory paths, Molalla councilors signaled support for an easement-based mural code (treating mural walls as government speech) and referred the proposal to the BNC arts committee for detailed review and fee/zoning recommendations.
Molalla Mayor Keiser and councilors directed staff to pursue an easement-based approach to regulating murals and asked the BNC arts committee to help craft detailed code language.
Associate Planner Clarissa Davis told the council that regulating murals raises First Amendment issues and presented three options: no restrictions; content-based restrictions (which she said carries significant legal risk); or an easement method, under which a property owner voluntarily grants the city an easement on the mural wall so the work can be treated as government speech. “Murals fall under First Amendment protections, and this can significantly limit the city's ability to regulate mural content,” Davis said. She added that the easement method “strikes a balance” by allowing some content standards while reducing legal exposure and that several other Oregon cities use the approach.
Councilors asked practical questions about costs, enforcement and how the city would deal with murals already on buildings. Staff said any application could include a fee to cover administrative time and that existing murals are currently not lawful under the city’s code; they suggested staff could work with property owners on compliance rather than immediate enforcement. On grandfathering, staff noted that murals currently on buildings are effectively noncompliant and would need to be addressed in whatever code the council adopts.
Council debate focused on where murals should be allowed (business core vs. residential zones), the distinction between artistic murals and advertising, and whether schools should be treated as exceptions. Mayor Keiser and multiple councilors supported assigning the BNC arts committee to review applications and provide recommendations to council; Davis said that assigning an independent review body and offering a council appeal option are common practices that reduce legal risk.
By consensus the council expressed support for option 3 (the easement method) and asked staff to draft ordinance language and return with specifics after BNC review. Next steps: staff will work with the BNC to define zones, application fees, appeals and any school exceptions and bring a draft mural code back to the council for formal consideration.
