BY STEFANIE BOWMANN, Eastern Shore Post
The Chincoteague Town Council on Monday, Nov. 4, approved an ordinance on murals with amendments recommended by a town resident.
Patricia Farley, who served on the art commission of her former city of residence, requested the ordinance following the installation of a large mural downtown.
That project was initiated under the town’s sign ordinance, “which seemed not to be a good fit,” she said.
She offered two “serious concerns” regarding the proposed mural ordinance.
The proposal stated that a mural may not be on a building’s primary facade, which is the side facing the road right-of-way or with the “primary pedestrian entrance.”
The proposal further stated that a building on a corner will be considered to have two primary facades.
This “essentially eliminates most future murals in the town of Chincoteague,” Farley said.
Studies have shown that a mural or other piece of public art “does enhance its environment and raises property values for the immediate vicinity and surrounding neighborhood,” she said.
Murals also communicate that “we care about our town and that there’s reason to either live here or visit here,” Farley said.
She said that, while the “wildly popular” mural downtown conforms to the proposed standards, it is “very rare to have a bare wall facing a wide parking lot.”
Farley also objected to a section in the proposed ordinance that prohibited a mural from containing any words other than the artist’s signature.
This would prevent a historic building or business from being identified in a mural, she noted.
Farley said Chincoteague planning commissioners and town council members should be allowed discretion to determine the suitability of either the proposed location or content of a mural.
Councilwoman Denise Bowden said she interpreted the prohibition of “words of any kind” in a mural as related to advertising. Bowden said she did not believe the intent was to prohibit, for example, the accurate depiction of a ship with its name displayed on its exterior.
Councilman Gene Taylor agreed and said the wording of the ordinance should be changed.
Councilman William McComb said the ordinance should clarify that words that are part of “slogans” or other advertising are not allowed.
Town Manager Mike Tolbert noted that the ordinance contained “guidelines” for murals, and the town council members could “bypass” those guidelines and approve an application for a mural that they deemed appropriate.
But the planning commission could reject the conditional-use permit application before it reached the town council, Bowden said.
Vice Mayor Chris Bott said the proposed ordinance may conflict with Chincoteague’s building code, which implies that a building has only one primary facade. He said a corner building should not be considered to have two primary facades, which would render the ordinance overly restrictive.
However, Bott said he agreed with prohibiting a mural on an exterior wall where a building’s primary entrance is located.
He asked how much it costs to file an application for a conditional-use permit. Tolbert said he believed the fee is $475.
Bott noted the applicant likely would also pay for the design of the mural.
“I’d hate for somebody to invest the time, money, and effort … taking a risk that they know it may not be approved,” he said.
McComb made a motion to approve the ordinance with two amendments: to change the language regarding a corner building having two primary facades, and to change the language prohibiting words in murals.
Bowden seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
