Several walls, utilities and spaces in Benicia could soon be undergoing artistic makeovers, as the Arts & Culture Commission (ACC) presented its plans for a bold new public art initiative at Thursday’s Historic Preservation Review Commission (HPRC) meeting.

The plan? Take large, empty spaces on walls and paint murals on them. Also, take trash cans, benches and utility boxes and liven them up with artistic designs. However, that is just the start.

ACC members Susan Garske, Jan Radesky and chair Terry Scott were present at Thursday’s HPRC meeting, with Scott delivering the presentation. ACC members delivered a presentation on the initiative to the City Council in March, and councilmembers were very receptive. Scott said the goal of the evening was to form a partnership with HPRC members on the project, as several proposed locations were in the historic district.

Scott stated the objectives for the initiative were to “enhance the public landscape…create a cultural ecosphere of Benicia to develop a more vibrant, more visible and coordinated public art program.”

“Every time you talk about Benicia, everyone says ‘Wow, that’s that really cool little arts community,’” he said. “It’s got this really cool vibe, but in reality, from a public art perspective, we do our own for a number of international, local artists. We have Open Studios in a few weeks that will again attract big numbers, but in terms of the ecosphere—the things that people see and touch— there is not a lot of public art.”

Scott noted that Benicia’s public art mainly consisted of artwork in the library, Granizo’s tiles along First Street and such designs as Robert Arneson’s sculpture at the Benicia Marina and Linda Fleming’s “Dona Benicia’s Mantilla (envelops the General’s chair)” at the corner of First and B streets. Scott then identified the types of public art other communities like Oakland, Napa, Walnut Creek and Vallejo were doing and envisioning a similar thing for Benicia.

Potential areas for murals that Scott highlighted included the space above the marquee at the Majestic Theatre, the wall on the alley next to Elviarita’s, the dugout at Fitzgerald Field, the underpass on Polk Street and the bathrooms at the end of the First Street pier. Scott suggested that the murals could focus on Benicia’s history and that the Benicia Historical Museum might be willing to provide historical artwork or vintage photographs or advertisements that could be transformed into new artwork.

“We have so much to offer,” he said. “Why don’t we indulge ourselves and our visitors and bring in more visitors to say ‘Wow, let’s go down and see what’s happening in Benicia’?”

Other potential ideas that Scott mentioned included a possible archway entry for areas like the Arsenal, markers for each Benicia neighborhood to make them more defined and collaborating with Benicia Unified School District to have elementary school students compete each year to have their work displayed publicly on 4 X 8-foot panels.

Scott said the commission had received approval from Caltrans and Pacific Gas and Electric. PG & E’s only restrictions for the utility boxes were that the art should not cover the box numbers or warning signs. Caltrans’ only criteria for approval is that the art is not “vulgar or tasteless,” Scott said.

The ACC aimed to begin the funding process by forming a stakeholder committee, whose membership would include one or two HPRC members. Scott hoped that the ACC could soon make a recommendation to the City Council with the process and begin work on the program by the end of summer.

The HPRC was very amenable to the other commission’s proposal. HPRC member Jon Van Landschoot mentioned how when he and his wife visit communities in the Foothills, they see people stop and touch the art. Scott said that was part of the idea.

“The rationale behind this thing is not just to put up art,” he said. “It’s to put up art with a purpose. That purpose is to set the tone of the community and bring people into the community.”

Van Landschoot asked how much money the ACC would need to start. Scott said it would not take much, and the fundraising has already begun. He also figured there was grant money the commission could apply for.

HPRC Chair Tim Reynolds inquired about the entitlement process and how the HPRC could help streamline it. Although making clear that he supported the idea of public art, he noted that Department of Interior standards may need to be applied on certain buildings. Scott said the ACC would likely start with three or four murals and that although they know of which historical hotspots to avoid, they have not finalized where the artwork would go yet.

During the meeting, commissioners Van Landschoot and Toni Haughey volunteered to join the stakeholder committee, and they were unanimously nominated by their peers.

In other business, the HPRC approved a landscape and irrigation plan for Benicia Health and Fitness Club as well as design review renewal application for a commercial property at 901 and 903 First St.