EDIT: To qualify for a front-facing mural on your business you must be located in an official Main Street District. Click HERE to see the full code.
The Artistic Mural Pilot Program launched in 2015 and restricted how and what you could paint on buildings within city limits, but as of last month, the City of Orlando has relaxed its rules concerning public murals.
More specifically, the changes allow for pieces to be installed on the front of buildings, rather than just the sides. The pilot program was created to test a new flow for the approval of artistic murals outside of the existing sign permitting process.
All signs require a permit and are restricted in size according to the size of the building they are advertising on. The three-year pilot program required that all murals go through a joint application from the artist and the building owner with a breakdown of the concept, size, and location of the piece and did not allow for the use of copyrighted images or logos, or murals on private residences. Any murals in the Downtown/CRA area would need additional approval of the Appearance Review Board. If outside of the Downtown core, the process would generally take under a week to be approved.
Click HERE to see an earlier report on the subject by Billy Manes for Orlando Weekly, including a list of requirements for the program.
College Park was the first district to take advantage of the recent mural policy tweaks with a newly installed mural on the front of Grounding Roots by Tony Philippou (Instagram | Website).
Up until May 14, the City of Winter Park had no regulations against murals besides not allowing for those that push a corporate/commercial message, but that’s all changed. They recently adopted an ordinance that restricts artwork that is “painted or affixed to walls, facades, or other exterior surfaces” to one wall only, on the first floor of a building and it can’t cover more than forty five percent of the first floor of that wall or signable area.
Larger walls will be taken into consideration on a case-by-case basis following a public hearing, and after notice is gen to adjacent property owners. All murals must not be commercial in nature and must provide “artistic value and benefit to the surrounding area.”
Side Note: Winter Park doesn’t allow balloons or banners.
