Population: 425,195
Type of Requirement: Ordinance

Physical Address:
Cultural Affairs Department
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 9th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

Main Contact:
Kristen Zaremba, Public Art Coordinator, Cultural Affairs Division
Email Kristen | 510.238.2155

Josie de Mira, Assistant Public Art Coordinator, Cultural Affairs Division, Economic & Workforce Development Department
Email Josie | (510) 238-2006

Public Art Requirements for Private Development, Oakland, California, Municipal Code, Title 15, Chapter 15.78 (2018).

The Code establishes that private, non-residential developments with at least two thousand (2,000) square feet of new floor area subject to design review approval pursuant to § 17.136 and private residential building developments of twenty (20) or more new units subject to design review are subject to a mandatory public art requirement. Affordable housing developments are excluded from the requirement if the developer demonstrates that it would cause the development project to not be economically feasible. Non-residential projects are subject to a requirement of at least one percent (1%) of the development costs and one half of a percent (0.5%) of development costs for residential projects.

Projects may satisfy the requirement in one of the following ways:

• Installation of public artwork on the development site or the adjacent right-of-way (within one-fourth (¼) mile). Maintenance and conservation of the artwork is the responsibility of the developer or owner. If an artwork or dedicated public art space is subsequently removed or destroyed, the developer must pay an in-lieu fee equivalent to the original value;
• On approval by the Public Art Advisory Committee, art may instead be installed on the State highway right-of-way or on property owned by other public agencies which are freely accessible;
• Contribution of an in-lieu fee to the Public Art Project Account of the required percentage of development costs; or
• On approval by the Public Art Advisory Committee, the inclusion of one of the following and the balance of the contribution paid to the fund:
  • Inclusion of a rotating art gallery that is open to the public, free of charge; and/or
  • Inclusion of at least 500 square feet of space made available to the public for the primary use of arts and cultural programming.
• On approval by the Committee, the developer may instead choose to pay the in-lieu fee, in whole or in part, to a specified City-owned arts facility or facilities within one-half (1/2) mile of the development.