Hillcrest and Mission Valley are getting new fire stations, but neither will come with public art.
The city of San Diego has a policy requiring 2 percent of the cost of city construction projects be spent on public art. So when new city buildings like fire stations, libraries, pump stations, lifeguard stations and water facilities are built, some of the budget pays for onsite sculptures or other art installations.
But back in 2011, former Mayor Jerry Sanders temporarily suspended the city’s public art policy.
He put the program on hold for roughly 13 months to prevent cuts to public safety and other city services deemed more critical than art.
There are seven total city construction projects in the pipeline that won’t have art included in them because of Sanders’ suspension of the city’s public art policy.
In this week’s San Diego Explained, NBC 7 San Diego’s Monica Dean and I explain why these seven public buildings will likely remain artless.