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Builders battle California city ordinance making them pay for public art
Guardian ^ | Aug 2 2015 | Joseph Mayton

Posted on 08/02/2015 12:38:54 PM PDT by WilliamIII

A legal battle has broken out in Oakland, California, over whether construction companies should be forced to pay for public art in building projects.

An alliance of firms in Oakland is suing the city over laws that came into effect in February forcing them to spend between 0.5% and 1% of any project’s budget on public art.

There are more than 200 such public art ordinances across the United States and construction bosses will be closely monitoring the outcome of the lawsuit. Artists in Oakland, meanwhile, are fearful that a victory for the firms will be a defeat for culture in a city which has seen an influx of artists in recent years, and damage its status.

The Building Industry Association of the Bay Area (BIA), a group that represents about 300 builders, contractors, suppliers and others within the Bay Area housing sector, claim the rules violate the first amendment and the fifth amendment protection against “uncompensated takings”.

“Public art adds value to our life,” visual and performance artist Johanna Poethig said, describing the lawsuit as a “backwards step”. She said: “Any sophisticated city has art and the amount spent is not a lot … and [art] makes people want to live there.”

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: 2016election; california; carlyfiorina; election2016; johannapoethig; josephmayton; nancypelosi; oakland
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To: Chode

Search San Jose dog turd...


21 posted on 08/02/2015 2:15:08 PM PDT by null and void (If the government can't protect the Marines, how can we expect it to protect us?)
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To: WilliamIII

Maybe those who believe ‘public art’ is valuable should start a fund. Then all those who believe as they do can contribute and make it happen without compelling people who do not to foot the bill.


22 posted on 08/02/2015 2:15:30 PM PDT by Old North State
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To: Chode

“I don’t care if they want to put up these boring glass boxes, but why do they always deposit that little turd in the plaza when they leave?”

James Wines


23 posted on 08/02/2015 2:22:17 PM PDT by walkerk
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To: rbg81
Why don’t these developers get smart and set up shell companies to do the artwork?

I'd like to see developers hire their young children to make art on the walls.

24 posted on 08/02/2015 2:23:42 PM PDT by PapaBear3625 (You don't notice it's a police state until the police come for you.)
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To: null and void

I see sasquatch was in town.


25 posted on 08/02/2015 2:27:41 PM PDT by lowbridge
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To: rbg81
Why don’t these developers get smart and set up shell companies to do the artwork?

I went and found the legislation. In the city ordinance we have:

"Public art advisory committee" means a professionally qualified citizen committee recommended by the Oakland arts commission and approved by City Council to oversee quality control of the public art program, its projects, and to recommend to the Cultural Arts Division (CAD) the sites, scope of project, artworks and artists for the public art projects funded through the Public Art Project Account.
Only artists "approved" by the politically-connected committee will count. This is pure and simple cronyism.
26 posted on 08/02/2015 2:43:14 PM PDT by PapaBear3625 (You don't notice it's a police state until the police come for you.)
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To: WilliamIII

Art that someone wants to pay for tends to be superior to art which they are forced to pay for .


27 posted on 08/02/2015 3:07:03 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: Old North State

Exactly


28 posted on 08/02/2015 3:09:41 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: WilliamIII

“Artists in Oakland, meanwhile, are fearful that a victory for the firms will be a defeat for culture in a city ...”

I doubt the culture of Oakland has anything to do with art unless one considers third world mob rule “art”.


29 posted on 08/02/2015 3:26:12 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet (The cunning Venezuelan gov't has eliminated the toilet paper shortage by creating a food shortage.)
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To: PapaBear3625

Figures.


30 posted on 08/02/2015 3:43:19 PM PDT by rbg81
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To: WilliamIII

I was in San Francisco last week. While walking the streets, I could only come up with one descriptive word-squalor. Obama’s third world hell hole transition will start in the cities and overwhelm the country. Besides sleeping, squatting and throwing trash wherever they please, America’s ‘entitlement class’ also demands the right to urinate and defecate in public. 19th century Calcutta also comes to mind.


31 posted on 08/02/2015 4:36:30 PM PDT by Spok ("What're you going to believe-me or your own eyes?" -Marx (Groucho))
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To: null and void
ah i see... so it's a giant mexkin turd, i should have known
32 posted on 08/02/2015 5:05:04 PM PDT by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: walkerk
i heard that
33 posted on 08/02/2015 5:06:00 PM PDT by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: rbg81
100%!!! tell them only if the developer gets to chose the work
34 posted on 08/02/2015 5:07:20 PM PDT by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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