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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCultural Master Plan REQUEST FOR CITY COUNC'iL ACTION 9i=:4 J Date November 7, 1994 Submitted to: Honorable Mayor and City Council Submitted by: Michael T. Uberuaga, City Administrator��_ (�— Prepared by: Ron Hagan, Director, Community Services APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL Subject: CULTURAL MASTERPLAN — /f 7 I9ff Consistent with Council Policy? [ ] Yes ( ] New Policy or Excepi.no CfFYCLERx Statement of Issue, Recommendation,Analysis, Funding Source, Alternative Actions,Attachments: STATEMENT OF ISSUE The city's Cultural Masterplan has been completed and is ready for Council's consideration. RECOMMENDATION 1. Approve the revised Cultural Masterplan as presented. 2. Direct staff to solicit applications for a Mayor's blue ribbon committee to examine all potential funding mechanisms to support city-wide cultural programs and return to Council with recommended appointments. 3. Direct staff to set up a joint meeting with the Library Board, Allied Arts Board, and Historic Resources Board to explore organizational structure and the administration of cultural services within the city. ANALYSIS In 1992, Council approved $62,000 to complete the Cultural Masterplan (a 10-20 year community planning document) along with the preparation of an Historic Element for the General Plan revision. The document, which includes a needs assessment and recommendations for consideration (involving both public and private cultural efforts), was developed by the Wolf Organization and the twenty-five member Cultural Masterplan Task Force and modified with input from the Allied Arts Board, Historic Resources Board and Library Board, as well as all departments. Originally, the Wolf Organization was scheduled to complete the work as a subcontractor for Envicon. However, as the work of GPAC labored on, a decision was i PI O 5/85 Cultural Masterplan November 7, 1994 Page 2 made to expedite the process and the city contracted directly with Wolf.in 1993. The work took nine months and was completed this past June. Specifically, the task was a structured community-wide, public/private process, that identified community arts and cultural resources, needs and opportunities, action plans and resources to address priority needs and financing. Staffs plan, like most others, involved an outside consulting firm which was responsible for writing the plan. With the Wolf Organization, the planning process relied heavily upon the face-to-face methods of interviews, small group meetings and regular sessions with the task force to review the findings. The main focal points of the needs assessment section included issues of cultural program and facility development, audience development, arts in education, marketing and fund development strategies. Also key were issues of cultural diversity and access; improved cooperation between arts groups; contribution to downtown development; urban design; improved arts and cultural programming, as well as the encouragement of artists. Following the assessment, the Task Force, along with the Wolf Organization, developed thirty-five recommendations addressing a broad range of needs including such areas as public art; financial infrastructure; guiding principals for future facility development; to historic resources and preservation issues. The plan succeeds the earlier work of the Allied Arts Board with its ten year plan; the Cultural Services Division's five-year plan; the 1987 Library Needs Assessment; and the historic sites report and goals and objectives of the Historic Resources Board. Of course, other community organizations such as the Huntington Beach Playhouse, Golden West College and the Huntington Beach High School District have also completed work in this regard, and those efforts were reflected through the Task Force members and are addressed within the plan. In April, a preliminary document was presented to the city and copies were made available for staff and public comment. All comments were taken into consideration by the Task Force and consultant and developed into the final document. The final document was delivered by the Wolf Organization in June. The plan was approved by the Allied Arts Board and Historic Resources Board as presented. Most recently, the document has been reviewed by all related boards and city departments and their concerns have been studied and are included as part of the revision. Cultural Masterplan November 7, 1994 Page 3 Staff is prepared to begin the process of prioritizing the recommendations that fall within the city's jurisdiction and will return to Council for further consideration at a later date. For those recommendations that fall outside the city's jurisdiction_, staff and relevant boards and committees will encourage the various cultural-organizations to cooperate in partnership with each other and with the business community to accomplish their goals. An aside, an Historic and Cultural Element to the General Plan (also a part of the task of the consultant) was completed in August, following work of the Cultural Masterplan. Recommendation V.2 of the plan also identifies this need. The element takes into consideration the finding of the needs assessment, the guiding principals and the recommendation of plan. The element was subsequently approved by GPAC in September following a joint study session with the Cultural Masterplan Task Force and after taking into consideration the modifications from relevant city departments. FUNDING SOURCE N/A ALTERNATIVE ACTION Do not accept the Cultural Masterplan and direct staff to work with the interested groups to refine and modify the document for future Council consideration. ATTACHMENT Attachment 1/Revised Cultural Masterplan RH:MM:bs RCA/cmplan A Cultural Masterplan for Huntington Beach Final Report October, 1994 by Marc Goldring Carol Goldstein Bill Moskin Jane Preston The Wolf Organization, Inc. 8 Francis Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 492-2167 FAX(617) 492-7525 Cultural Masterplan Task Force Philip Mosbo, Chairman Jerry Chapman, Vice Chairman Karen Akamine David Anthony William Anderson Lloyd Baron Ralph Bauer Lana Campbell Diana Casey Norma Clapp Linda Couey Anna Friesen Elaine Hankin Natalie Kotsch Sid Kuperberg Carole Lung Linda Moulton-Patterson Michael Mudd Maureen Rivers Steve Schwartz Mary Shebell Ann Thorne Table of Contents ExecutiveSummary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i Part I: Introduction and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 History of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 How to use this report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Overview of Arts and Culture in Huntington Beach 2 Draft Vision Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Part II: Priorities for Art and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . 8 A. Needs of Artists and Arts Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 B. Cultural Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 C. Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 D. Arts in Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Part III: Role of the Cultural Services Division . . . 46 Part IV: Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Part V: Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Appendix A: List of Interviewees Executive Summary In September of 1993, the City of Huntington Beach contracted with The Wolf Organization, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts to assist in the development of a community cultural masterplan. After a se- ries of interviews with over eighty individuals from all sectors of the community, the consultants submit their report with findings and recommendations for the community's consideration. The future of arts, history, and culture in Huntington Beach is bright. The City has the opportunity to build on the strengths of its existing cultural "assets" to create a community-wide vision of "arts and culture" that is inclusive— of all residents and visitors and of all arts disciplines and types of work. The consultants propose a defini- tion of culture that includes both the conventional fine arts as well as the traditions, history, and customs of its new and old residents. With the opening of the Central Library addition and the imminent opening of the Art Center in June, a new and highly visible focus for arts and culture will emerge. These facilities and their programming, along with the proposals in this report , have the potential to create an identity for the City as a regional cultural hub. The consultants note that there are many additional programs, facili- ties, and activities that are needed to round out the arts, historic, and cultural components of community life. In particular, they have made recommendations in the following key areas: -page it- • Artists and Arts Groups: The consultants propose a system to desseminate information about arts and culture, including avail- able spaces, sources of funding, and other key facts. A program of basic technical assistance for artists and arts groups is also proposed. The facility needs of the community are detailed, along with a proposal to better utilize existing facilities, systems to set priorities among various facility needs, and strategies to coordinate cultural facilities planning with other City planning efforts. • Cultural Identity: The consultants propose a series of pro- grams to highlight the heritage of the community. They also suggest that the existing ad hoc public art program be phased in to a comprehensive program, and that a "cultural corridor" be established to promote the City's complete range of cultural as- sets, beginning with the downtown area. The need for an his- toric resources and preservation plan is emphasized as well as the importance of enhanced cultural components of existing community events. • Communication: Programs to improve networking and com- munication between arts groups and among arts groups and the general public are proposed, as well as an "awareness cam- paign" to educate the community to how arts, history, and cul- ture can improve the lives of everyone. The consultants also recommend programs of outreach to new audiences, including people of color and other underserved constituencies. A private-sector umbrella leadership group is proposed to advo- cate in support of arts, historic, and cultural concerns. • Arts in Education: To conduct planning and advocate for arts education, the consultants recommend the formation of a City- wide Arts Education Planning Group. They emphasize the school districts' primary responsibility for arts education, while also supporting additional participation by arts groups in -page lit- school arts programming. Suggestions are made to enhance the City's programming in support of arts education. • Cultural Services Division: The consultants propose that the Division be designated as the City's offical local arts agency, emphasizing its role as facilitator and catalyst, to assure its abil- ity to apply for state and federal funding. They also propose that all City cultural endeavors be coordinated by the Division and some activities (primarily arts and crafts classes) be moved into the Division. Additional staff is recommended and propos- als are made to strengthen the role of the Allied Arts Board. • Resources: Options to increase the earned income of arts, his- toric, and cultural groups are discussed, as are ways to increase contributions from the private sector, focusing primarily on in- creasing sponsorships. Mechanisms to increase public funding are detailed, including General Fund support for core functions of the Cultural Services Division, a sales tax assessment district, and a percentage of City parking fees to support cultural pro- gramming and facilities. The consultants also recommend that issues relating to the required level of "self-sufficiency" for the Division be resolved quickly. • Next Steps: Finally, the consultants outline a procedure for the Cultural Masterplan Task Force and City staff to develop the cultural element for the General Plan revision. They recom- mend that the Allied Arts Board and the proposed private- sector umbrella group oversee implementation of the plan and outline ways to provide information to the community to gain support for the plan's initiatives. Following is a listing of all the recommendations from the body of this preliminary report, along with the page number indicating where the discussion begins. -page iv- Recommendation II.A.1: Formal mechanisms should be created to provide better access to important information and to assist net- working in the cultural community (cf., page 10). Recommendation II.A.2: A program that targets basic business skills should be developed to provide technical assistance to arts, historic, and cultural groups as well as artists (cf., page 12). Recommendation II.A.3: A strategy should be established to as- sure that existing arts and cultural facilities are used effectively (cf., page 14). Recommendation II.A.4: Plans for new and/or renovated arts and cultural facilities should be developed in conjunction with the pro- gramming needs of arts groups and the interests of the community (cf., page 15). Recommendation II.A.5: A set of "guiding principles" should be developed to provide criteria in determining the priority of new cultural facilities projects. In addition, mechanisms should be established to assure coordination of facilities planning (cf., page 21). Recommendation II.B.1: Programs should be established to clar- ify and highlight the cultural heritage and identities of Huntington Beach (cf., page 22). Recommendation II.B.2: A plan for a phased-in "cultural corri- dor" —including the area surrounding Golden West College run- ning to Central Park and including Main Street to the Pier— should be developed (cf., page 24). Recommendation II.B.3: The Conference and Visitors Bureau's Urban Design and Public Art Committee should be reconstituted a City entity responsible for the public art program. In addition, the City should consider restructuring the Design Review Board (cf., page 26). -page v- Recommendation II.B.4: The existing ad hoc public art program should be formalized into programs for public and private sector development (cf., page 27). Recommendation II.B.S: An historic resources and preservation plan should be developed to augment the historic element in the City's General Plan (cf., page 29). Recommendation II.B.6: Opportunities to enhance the cultural components of existing community events and promotions should be explored. In addition, events with a single focus on arts and cul- ture should be considered (cf., page 30). Recommendation II.C.1: Strategies to enhance networking within the arts community, and between arts groups and the general pub- lic, should be developed (cf., page 31). Recommendation II.C.2: A campaign should be undertaken to raise the community's awareness of the full range of arts, history, and culture available in Huntington Beach (cf., page 33). Recommendation II.C.3: Programs of outreach to new constitu- encies for arts and culture should be developed (cf., page 35). Recommendation II.C.4: A private-sector umbrella group of lead- ership supporters of arts, history, and culture in Huntington Beach should be established (cf., page 36). Recommendation II.D.1: Huntington Beach's four school dis- tricts should increase their support of arts education (cf., page 39). Recommendation II.D.2: A City-wide, multi-district "Arts Edu- cation Planning Group" should be established (cf., page 39). Recommendation II.D.3: Opportunities to strengthen and coor- dinate arts, cultural, and historic groups' participation in school programming should be developed (cf., page 41). -page vi- Recommendation II.D.4: Opportunities to enhance the range and scope of arts educational programming offered by the City should be developed (cf., page 42). Recommendation II.D.S: The Arts Education Planning Group should consider options for equitably providing a full range of per- forming and visual arts educational programming to school chil- dren (cf., page 44). Recommendation III.1: The Cultural Services Division should be designated by ordinance as the City's local arts agency (cf., page 46). Recommendation III.2: The City's arts and cultural programming should be centrally coordinated by the Cultural Services Division (cf., page 49). Recommendation III.3: The City should allocate additional staff resources to the Division of Cultural Services (cf., page 51). Recommendation III.4: The role of the Allied Arts Board as advi- sors to City Council should be strengthened (cf., page 52). Recommendation IV.1: Opportunities to increase the earned in- come potential of arts and cultural groups should be developed (cf., page 55). Recommendation IV.2: Programs that target increasing charitable contributions from the private sector should be implemented (cf., page 57). Recommendation IV.3: Fund-raising efforts for art, history, and cultural initiatives should be more broadly based in the community (cf., page 58). Recommendation IV.4: Mechanisms to enhance the level of pub- lic support for arts and culture should be explored (cf., page 60). -page vii- Recommendation IV.5: Issues relating to the level of"self- sufficiency" required of the Cultural Services Division's program- ming should be resolved quickly (cf.,page 63). Recommendation IV.6: The City should consider ways that it can assist arts and cultural development through incentives (cf., page 64). Recommendation IV.7: The Cultural Services Division should ap- ply for federal and state funding for arts activities. In particular, it should apply for a Local Incentive Grant through the National En- dowment for the Arts (cf., page 65). Recommendation V.1: The Cultural Masterplan Task Force should review and "accept" this report with any necessary revisions (cf., page 68). Recommendation V.2: The cultural element of the General Plan should be developed, based on the revised cultural planning docu- ment (cf., page 69). Recommendation V.3: The Allied Arts Board and, when estab- lished, the proposed private sector arts and cultural support group should be responsible for tracking the implementation of the cul- tural plan (cf., page 71). Recommendation VA: A public information plan should be de- veloped to educate the general public regarding the contents of the community cultural plan (cf., page 72). Part I Introduction and Overview History of the Project In September of 1993, the City of Huntington Beach contracted with The Wolf Organization, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts to conduct a com- munity cultural master planning project. Over the course of the following months, a team of four consultants met with a cross-section of over eighty individuals representing Huntington Beach's arts and historic community, as well as City staff and elected officials, civic, business, and education leaders, and others (see Appendix A of this report for a complete list of participants). In addition, the consultants have worked with a community-based Task Force that has provided vital information, offered insight into key issues and concerns, and reviewed the consultants' preliminary findings. Meeting once a month since October, the Task Force has played a significant role in assuring that this planning document reflects the priorities of Hunting- ton Beach and that it will dovetail with other planning efforts, primarily the revision of the City's General Plan. The consultants would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Cultural Masterplan Task Force, the staff of the Cultural Services Division of the Community Serv- ices Department, as well as all the individuals who consented to be inter- viewed for this project, for their valuable assistance. Funding for this project has been provided by the City of Huntington Beach. Page 2 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Any reader of this report who is familiar with arts and culture in Hunting- ton Beach will realize that many of the consultants' recommendations are not new. Rather, in many cases they reflect years of concept development by the many people who are active in the City's cultural life, in particular the Allied Arts Board's ten-year plan presented in 1986 that identified many important program needs and resulted in the creation of the Cul- tural Services Division. It is the consultants' aim to articulate a comprehensive "blueprint" for de- veloping arts and cultural activities within the framework of the thinking and planning already undertaken. Thus, they emphasize that while they take responsibility for the contents of this report, it does reflect the think- ing of earlier planning initiatives. Whenever possible, the consultants pro- vide historical information as background and context for their recommendations. How to use this report This report is divided into several parts: • Part I provides an introduction, an overview of key issues in Hunt- ington Beach, and a draft "vision statement" for culture in the City. • Part II presents a series of recommendations on the priorities for culture. • Part III addresses the role of the Cultural Services Division of the Community Services Department. • Part IV identifies the necessary resources to realize the goals articu- lated through the recommendations in Part II. • Part V describes the next steps toward implementation. Since the next step in this planning process is to reach consensus on these recommendations, set priorities among them, and begin implementation, a careful reading of this report is essential. Overview of Arts and Culture in Huntington Beach The consultants have noted several important factors about Huntington Beach that, while relatively well understood and acknowledged in the community, will have profound implications for the development of arts Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 3 and cultural/historic activities in the City over the next five years. They highlight some of those observations below. • Growth in Huntington Beach over the past twenty years has been extraordinary and the City has made great strides in addressing pressing urban issues. Given this growth, the City has only recently begun to develop the cultural infrastructure that can provide the range of services residents require. While the cultural life of Hunt- ington Beach is quite active, only with the expansion of the Central Library and Cultural Center and the imminent opening of the Art Center has there been a high visibility focus for culture that will have an impact on residents and the entire region. • These structures—and, more important, the programming that they will support as they mature—will have a profound effect on the community as it evolves over the next several years. Thus, in some ways, a significant theme of this report is planning for enhanced cul- tural activities. While this is an extremely positive situation, the tim- ing does complicate the cultural masterplan initiative, because the Art Center's program initiatives are not yet in place and their impact cannot be assessed. This suggests that a review of the final planning document at an earlier than usual time (perhaps within eighteen months to two years) should be considered. • This strengthened activity relating to arts and culture is a result of City residents —especially community leaders—having expressed (and acted upon) their desire for a higher profile for arts and cultural activity. The establishment of the Cultural Services Division, build- ing the new Library wing, and the City's participation in developing the Art Center and Celebration Plaza all indicate a strong involve- ment in and commitment to creating major new cultural facilities and promoting history, arts, and culture as a primary component of community services. In particular, the extraordinary private fund raising for the Art Center is indicative of this commitment. • Such a commitment is perhaps not surprising, given the demograph- ics of the City that show per capita income and education levels that are among the highest in the nation, although residents generally do not appear to be aware of these statistics. Civic leaders, however, Page 4 The Wolf Organization, Inc. seem to understand that these demographics suggest a population likely to have high expectations for services, particularly in the area of arts and cultural activities. The City must continue to consider these factors when making decisions about the mix of services it provides. • Other demographic trends are at work in the community as well. For example, the percentage of younger families and the population of Latinos, Asians, and other diverse communities, are increasing. And, while there is interest among these groups in arts and culture, generally a very different range of needs and interests are identified as priorities. As a result, the mix of arts and cultural programming will have to be designed to meet the needs of these individuals as well. • The consultants often heard about the needs of youth. These needs ranged from assuring educational experiences in the arts for young people to providing creative outlets so that talented young people need not leave the community. Concern was expressed by many in- terviewees about the depth and quality of arts education opportuni- ties for children and youth, with the availability of programming being dependent in many cases on the particular district and school attended. On the positive side, the efforts of those individuals re- sponsible for the High School for the Performing Arts were seen as a major step forward for arts education and District support for the initiative was seen as critical. • The tradition of youth culture—including such things as surfing and the music associated with it— on the beach and in the down- town area-was another concern. While some people expressed dis- may at the number of young people on Main Street and their impact on retail, others felt this reflected an historic pattern in the City. Controversies surrounding youth, in particular around the beach wall aerosol art project, have required active efforts to resolve. This . experience emphasizes the need for better dialogue with and educa- tion of the public. • A commitment to address the cultural needs of all residents can overlap with other, more regional considerations. Residents of Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page S Huntington Beach, like many Orange County and southern Califor- nia residents, tend to have ties to other communities or their neigh- borhoods as well as to their own city. This can work both for and against cultural growth in Huntington Beach. On one hand, it makes it more difficult to design cultural programs that address the needs of residents, since they often participate in such activities in the com- munities where they conduct the "business" of their lives. On the other hand, it suggests that audiences for arts and cultural program- ming that occurs in Huntington Beach can be drawn from outside of the City, since people are willing to travel to entertainment and edu- cation venues. • The revitalization of Main Street has played a role, as well. It has brought a new image and vitality to downtown Huntington Beach, as well as a new center for civic activity. This mixed use commercial district is a pivotal element for the future of the City, serving as its visible gathering place. In addition, this area has an assortment of historic structures that can enhance a sense of the history of the City for both resident and visitor. With the Pier Plaza and the Art Center as anchors at either end, this area can provide the foundation for a strong community image, one that embraces the multiple identities of Huntington Beach, while providing a focus for its "artistic" iden- tity as well. • At the same time, however, questions of the visual impact of the City are not thoroughly resolved. The desire to improve the visual quality of the City is articulated as a priority commitment of the City but there does not appear to be agreement on. standards for urban design. For example, the City has made a major investment in redevelop- ment and urban design improvements to major corridors, including such things as new architectural standards, landscaping, sidewalks, and medians. However, individuals in the cultural community ques- tion whether the standards are sufficiently high and if they are aes- thetically appropriate to the City's image and identity. The situation may be exacerbated by the fact that the make-up of the existing De- sign Review Board does not allow for a great deal of community input. Page 6 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • The consultants heard much discussion of the "identity" of Hunt- ington Beach—whether the City is defined by "surf," "oil," its his- tory of revival meetings, its early connection with agriculture, its environmental features, its connection to rail and other transporta- tion links, or its indigenous inhabitants. In reality, as is often the case, there is no single, exclusive image. The City is a composite of all of these, as well as having the potential to establish an additional new identity as a regional focal point for the arts. All these serve as the building blocks of an exciting and vibrant community that has much to share with new residents and visitors. The challenge in Huntington Beach is to bring the best of the past into the future. • While there is interest on the part of some civic leaders in using pub- lic art as a way to improve the visual appeal of the built environment, there are questions about issues of cost and maintenance that are seen as limiting the ability of the City to establish a percent for art pro- gram. To the extent that public art is defined as object-oriented (i.e., sculpture), this is perhaps true. However, since public art may also include other programmatic thrusts, such as targeting increased artist-input into the design and planning of capital projects as well as non-object-oriented artistic expression, these concerns, while having some validity, may not be as problematic. Draft Vision Statement In order to having a meaningful cultural policy and plan, it is necessary at the outset to make sure that there is agreement about basic terms and a common vision of the future. In that spirit, the consultants offer the fol- lowing statement for consideration by the Task Force. It is based on dis- cussions held with that body early in the process, as well as other meetings and interviews conducted during the fact-finding phases of this project. It is designed to provide both a definition of "arts and culture" and a consensus vision for how arts and culture will develop in Huntington Beach over the next years. "Arts and culture,"in the context of this plan, represent more than the conventional visual and performing arts. While they of course include these important forms of expression, arts and culture also embody the sum total of a community's customs, beliefs, and Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 7 traditions. They include folk art and music; traditional crafts;his- toric buildings, landmarks, and other sites for public events and celebrations, such as parks and open spaces. We understand the vital connection arts and culture have to our quality of life as a community and the contribution they can make to the everyday lives of Huntington Beach residents. Arts and cul- ture can provide opportunities to enhance the education of our chil- dren, can bridge the differences between people through shared experiences, and can strengthen the economic development of our City. For these reasons, as well as for the rich pleasure arts and cultural pursuits can provide, we want to assure that our community's resi- dents can continue to enjoy the promise of a full and vital cultural life. To accomplish that, we believe that in the next years we must: • develop avenues for communication and participation in arts and cultural activities and programming to bring together the diverse segments of our community • establish activities and programs to enhance our City's visual appeal and to highlight its unique cultural heritage • assure that our children receive quality experiences of arts and cul- ture both within and outside the classroom • provide funding from public and private sources to establish a wider range of cultural programs and facilities to address the needs and in- terests of all residents. Page 8 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Part II Priorities for Art and Culture A. Needs Of Artists and Arts Groups Any plan to address the enhancement of the cultural life of Huntington Beach must begin by considering the vitality of the artists and arts groups. The consultants found an active and focused cultural scene in the City. Al- though there are few large or highly structured arts and cultural organiza- tions in Huntington Beach, there is a core of local artists, both professional and avocational, as well as many arts groups that are conduct- ing a wide array of high-quality programs. Among them are: • The Huntington Beach Playhouse is a thirty-year old community theatre, now performing in the new theatre in the Library Annex. The group presents 16 performances of six shows during the year, as well as an outdoor Shakespeare series in Central Park and a chil- dren's Christmas program. • The Newland House Museum is a showcase of local history oper- ated by the Historical Society and the City. In addition to exhibition space in its restored buildings, there is room for additional exhibits and special events in the area behind the house and barn. • The International Surfing Museum opened in its first location in 1988 and is presently in a 2,000 square foot renovated space in the downtown. Plans to build a new, state-of-the-art museum facility are currently developed and funding is being sought. A "Surfing Walk Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 9 of Fame" is being established and has received much attention in the international surfing community. • Golden West College has a wide range of cultural facilities and ac- tive instructional programs in the arts with an emphasis on both tra- ditional and electronic forms of most artistic media. Its program of theatre production currently includes about 40 percent non-student actors. • The Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee has an active program of fund raising for the Orange County Performing Arts Center. In addition, the Committee provides a range of programs for public school children, including in-school programs and bus trips to the Performing Arts Center. • The Huntington Beach Concert Band performs in venues around Orange County. With about seventy-five members, half of whom are from Huntington Beach, the Band has played at City Council meetings, ground-breakings, concerts in Central Park, and other lo- cations. It is the only band of its type in Orange County not sup- ported by a school district. • The School for the Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High School currently has about three hundred students enrolled from throughout the City, offering classes in dance, theatre, music, and television production. • The soon-to-be-opened Huntington Beach Art Center is a com- munity art center that will provide local citizens and a regional audi- ence with opportunities for exposure to and involvement in the visual arts. It will have three active gallery spaces, a darkroom, class- rooms, meeting rooms, and a gift shop. • A strong Parks and Recreation program includes arts and crafts classes held in parks and community centers throughout the City. • The Central Library and Cultural Center with its new wing de- voted to children, also includes a 300-seat theatre, several meeting and classrooms, and other important additions to its physical plant. • A wide range of other groups, including the Arts Associates, the Huntington Beach Art League, and many others, are also active in the community. The consultants found that most arts and historic groups in the City func- tion on a volunteer basis, without paid staff or permanent facilities. In ad- dition, artists have generally not been able to work in the City, primarily Page 10 The Wolf Organization, Inc. because of the cost of renting space and the lack of professional venues in which to exhibit and perform their work. In this section of the report, the consultants provide some recommenda- tions to address these and other important concerns of artists and arts groups. The concerns fall generally into two categories—programs and facilities— and they are discussed below.' Programs Recommendation II.AA: Formal mechanisms should be created to provide better access to important information and to assist networking in the cultural community. The consultants heard that one of the major problems facing cultural and historic groups is the difficulty in getting access to important information, in particular about such topics as access to facilities and financial re- sources. While the Cultural Services Division has an extensive library (in- cluding publications on arts issues, historic services, and fund raising), its visibility is low and access to that information is difficult. In addition, some information has not yet been gathered in a comprehensive form. It is critical to set up systems and networks that provide these groups with simplified access to this information as well as to information about im- portant resources that they may not be able to locate otherwise. There are several information systems that are most important for artists and arts groups in Huntington Beach. They include: • A community arts, culture, and history newsletter designed to in- clude information about important activities at cultural sites, as well as information about the Cultural Services Division, features on arts programs in schools, a calendar of upcoming events, and other important information'. It should be available widely in the ' Note that issues relating to artists and arts groups are also discussed in all of the following sections. 2 The consultants note that the Cultural Services Division has a newsletter, Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 11 community. • A space clearinghouse that would provide an inventory of existing spaces in Huntington Beach that are available for arts and cultural usage, including details of available equipment, fees, and contact in- formation. It should include temporary spaces (for example, vacant storefronts) as well as permanent facilities, including churches. • A centralized event clearinghouse that would list all planned activi- ties for the coming eighteen months. By listing this information in one place, those groups planning activities (programming or fund raising) could easily check to assure that there are not conflicting activities. • An artists' register that could be available for an art in public places program, gallery owners,presenters, and others,with resume infor- mation on the artists that might eventually be augmented with slides or tapes of recent work. This additional information, gathered over the course of several years, will become increasingly important for arts and cultural groups in the City as they evolve into more sophisticated operations. The consultants see such evolution as the likely result of improved community facilities and pro- grams and a growing recognition of the value of arts and culture in the community. These systems are designed to help groups get important in- formation without spending a great deal of time doing it. The consultants believe that the Division of Cultural Services should con- tinue to take responsibility for this task, since it is the only centralized source of such information. This will enhance the ability of Division staff to assist cultural groups in networking, since they will become the "clear- inghouse" for all information. Their ability to serve as "catalysts" for bringing artists and arts groups with similar interest together will be an important asset. although that vehicle is devoted to the Art Center.While that is impor- tant, there is need for a more comprehensive publication. Page 12 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Recommendation II.A.2: A program that targets basic business skills should be developed to provide technical assistance to arts, historic, and cultural groups as well as artists. Understandably, the ability of small,volunteer cultural/historic groups to handle the managerial aspects of their operations is often limited. This is partly a matter of not having sufficient time to devote to operations; but it is also true that most of the individuals running these groups do not have a grounding in the basic business skills needed to most efficiently run them. According to many interviewees, providing opportunities for such basic training would be valuable. Technical assistance designed to provide fo- cused training for staff and volunteers would be particularly useful in the areas of: • how to run a small organization, including such skills as financial management (basic accounting, budgeting), fund raising (grant and proposal writing, annual appeals, special events planning), market- ing, and long-range planning • how to develop partnerships and joint ventures, including strate- gies for working with private businesses of various sizes, as well as City agencies, the Chamber of Commerce, the Conference and Vis- tors Bureau, and others • how to plan for the future, including approaches to understanding the implications of growth and of remaining at current levels of ac- tivities, as well as more formal long-range planning exercises for some of the larger groups • how to plan programs, including ways to assess the level of interest in the community for various types of artistic or cultural program- ming, devising strategies to identify and sell to new audiences, and other matters. Many of the specific training opportunities for small cultural/historic groups may be relevant for artists as well and plans to include them in this programming should be developed. In addition, topics of interest specifi- cally to artists include developing cooperative ventures, planning for Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 13 shared studio and/or exhibition space, developing master leases, and code requirements for live/work spaces. A training program would be most effective as a monthly series of half- day or evening programs, which should be developed and coordinated by the Cultural Services Division, in consultation with arts groups, and per- haps working with Golden West College. Indeed, the Division already un- dertakes some of these activities on an ad hoc basis and broader dissemination of information about existing activities will be necessary. It will also be important to make sure that the specific subject matter of the programs targets the priority needs of these groups. A program of this na- ture will not only assist arts and cultural groups but it will clearly signal the City's on-going commitment to fostering the health of these groups. Such a program need not be costly. While it may be possible from time to time to bring in well-known workshop leaders, it will be more cost- effective to search out local professionals from either the profit sector or larger nonprofit organizations who might be willing to volunteer their services to provide workshops, facilitation, and other types of training. Alternatively, it might be possible to develop a relationship with nonprofit technical assistance providers, such as ARTS Inc. in Los Angeles. Such groups can either provide the necessary programming or offer guidance on ways that it might be developed using local trainers. Facilities There are a number of cultural facilities in Huntington Beach, ranging from the multi-faceted visual and performing arts spaces at Golden West College and the Huntington Beach High School to the Victorian charm of the Newland House Museum. In addition, there are outdoor facilities in Central Park and other locations. With the recently opened expansion of the Central Library and Cultural Center and the anticipated opening of the Art Center in June, cultural activities in Huntington Beach will have a new, strong, and visible presence. These new or expanded facilities add important spaces for cultural activities: • The expansion of the Central Library and Cultural Center in- cludes a 300-seat theatre, as well as gallery space and meeting rooms. Page 14 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • The Art Center will have three galleries, a small studio, a perform- ance space for lectures, meetings,video/film, and small-scale theatri- cal presentations, as well as a gift shop/bookstore. These new facilities will require some time to become fully operational (both physically and programmatically), and their impact on the cultural community is necessarily difficult to assess at the moment. Further, addi- tional cultural facilities will ultimately be required to address the full range of community needs. However, it is necessary to focus initially on com- pleting existing and scheduled projects and to assess their impact before undertaking major new capital efforts. In the following recommendations, the consultants provide a framework for this process. Recommendation II.A.3: A strategy should be established to assure that existing arts and cul- tural facilities are used effectively. The community's first priority should be to make sure that existing cul- tural facilities in Huntington Beach are used effectively, in particular that they are fully utilized and that their programming is designed to provide a mix of offerings that addresses the needs and interests of all residents. Among the facilities that are currently under-utilized are the following: • Golden West College has a large amphitheatre, with seating for about 1,000, that is only minimally used. Given its location and its availability for community use, and with proper promotion and a thoughtful mix of activities, it might serve as an alternative to the amphitheatre in Central Park. It would require stage and technical support improvements to make it more useful. • The Huntington Beach High School Auditorium, seating about 700, is heavily utilized during the school year; however, it is available during the summer months and might be more fully utilized then'. In general, better access to school facilities would be advantageous. 3 See the text on pages 17-18 for a discussion of the necessary renovations to this facility. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 15 • While the Central Library and Cultural Center's expansion adds impressive capabilities to the cultural infrastructure, its utility for arts and cultural groups is presently limited (according to interview- ees) by the lack of staff available for programming and the relatively high rental fees charged. • The grounds of Newland House Museum and Newland House Barn could be the site for additional cultural and/or historic pro- gramming. Given some modifications, the Barn might be a tempo- rary site for experimental theatre. Addressing the circumstances that contribute to this under-utilization should be an important priority. Some of this may involve establishing community-wide systems. For example, in recommendation II.A.1, the consultants propose a system to catalogue information about cultural spaces in Huntington Beach. Such a system will assist in eliminating the problem of under-utilization by simplifying the process through which arts groups identify appropriate space. Other strategies may include on- going conversations among programming institutions to assure communi- cation, coordination of activities, and sensitivity to the range of interests of residents. The activities of the soon-to-be-opened Art Center will have a substantial impact on the cultural life of the community. As its programming comes on-line, it will be important to develop strategies to coordinate it with that of other organizations in the City to maximize its impact and leveraging potential. The Art Center should be considered as part of a cooperative network, and staff should work with appropriate staff at the Library and Golden West College to assure good communication and coordination of activities, particularly during a time of scarce resources. Recommendation II.A.4: Plans for new and/or renovated arts and cultural facilities should be developed in conjunction with the programming needs of arts groups and the interests of the community. While more effective utilization of existing facilities will help, it will still be necessary, over the years, to add to the stock of facilities available for Page 16 The Wolf Organization, Inc. arts and cultural usages. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways, including new construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse. And, while it will be advantageous to develop these facilities over the course of time, planning ought to start soon, based on the needs and interests of the community. A wide range of facilities needs were identified by interviewees and the consultants discuss them below. However, before that discussion, there are some important caveats that should be kept in mind: • First, while many interviewees provided opinions about the need for cultural facilities, they generally spoke from the perspective of the arts community—in effect, as the "producers" of cultural "prod- uct." It will be very important to understand the other side of the equation—the "consumer" perspective. At the appropriate time, an analysis of the priority interests of the potential audience—both re- gional and local—for any new cultural facilities must be conducted. • Second, as has already been mentioned, the Art Center and the Cen- tral Library and Cultural Center expansion provide a substantial boost to the inventory of cultural facilities in the City. Since their impact is not yet clear, it is difficult to set priorities among various concepts for additional cultural facilities. This important process should be addressed within two years, by which time the impact of programming at the new facilities will be considerably easier to evaluate. The consultants believe that the top priority for cultural facilities must be given to the completion of the Art Center, including the surrounding out- door space for the long-planned Celebration Plaza.This facility repre- sents a major step forward for the arts community. In particular, the outdoor space will be an important addition, both to the range of activities that the Art Center can program and, more generally, to the types of amenities available downtown. City support for the staffing of this facility will allow for a relatively fast "ramp-up" to full operation,which will be important to provide the greatest benefit to the community. Interest was expressed by many interviewees in a small,flexible (or "black box") theatrical space in the downtown, geared toward multi-purpose Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 17 usage and small, experimental productions. While such a facility, if prop- erly designed, could be a valuable addition to the building stock, there is some question about the availability of programming for such a space. It would be wise, if possible, to use existing spaces to test whether there is sufficient programming— and audience—before any decisions are made to move forward on construction or renovation. There are several venues that might be suitable to test whether the artistic product and audience is sufficient to warrant such a facility, including the flexible meeting space at the Art Center, the Central Library and Cultural Center's new theatre, the Barn at Newland House Museum, or a temporarily vacant storefront in the downtown area. There is some reason to assume that a black box theatre would be a viable addition to the mix of cultural facilities in the City: • Existing theatrical spaces are heavily used, so it is clear that there is interest in theatre. • There is little in the immediate Orange County area that would com- pete with such a facility. • It could complement the programming at the Art Center. • It could cultivate new audiences, particularly if it showcased work that was not readily available in other venues, including bilingual, multi-cultural performances. Should it be determined that there is sufficient interest in a performing arts facility in the downtown area, consideration should be given to using an existing and available public or private facility within District Six and pref- erably in close proximity to the Art Center. With its proximity to the Art Center, such a facility with a highly visible cultural program would en- hance the attractiveness of the area as a cultural destination. The consultants believe that another priority is renovating the Hunting- ton Beach High School auditorium so that it can function better for both school and community usage. While the outside of the facility was reno- vated recently, there is much work that needs to be done on the inside, in- cluding painting, new window coverings, roof repairs, stage floor refinishing, and HVAC improvements. Technical-systems (electrical, sound, lighting, and the fly system) must be upgraded as well. More diffi- cult challenges include improving the room's acoustics and adding an Page 18 The Wolf Organization, Inc. orchestra pit; a feasibility study to address these issues should be consid- ered. There is a small gallery on the mezzanine level that has been used for student work and might be improved as part of the renovation. Accessibil- ity issues need to be addressed, particularly for this upper level. Outdoor amphitheatres are an important part of the cultural facilities in Huntington Beach and renovating them should be a priority. • The Amphitheatre in Central Park' needs to be upgraded and reno- vated. The seating area needs to be re-graded and expanded with stage, support, and technical facilities as well as upgraded electricity for drama and musical performances. These improvements, as well as program and audience development, seem a logical first step before developing other performance areas in the Park. • The large amphitheatre at Golden West College should be up- graded, both in stage and support facilities as well as the seating ar- eas. This alternative outdoor performance venue is currently usable and could be significantly improved without extensive renovation. It represents an excellent opportunity for partnership between the City and the College. • The Civic Center amphitheatre should be studied to determine whether potential design solutions are cost-effective. The consultants believe that the current limitations, due to such climatic factors as wind and temperature, make the venue suitable at best only for eve- ning presentations. Given the range of other options for outdoor programming, it does not appear a high priority to redesign this space. In general, other outdoor spaces play an important role in the City, given its climate and the inclination of residents to spend time out of doors. Therefore, attention should be paid to opportunities for upgrading the vis- ual impact of parks and open spaces through public art elements, as well as artist-designed amenities (such as park benches, fountains, murals, ' The consultants note that plans for this facility and others in Central Park are addressed in the Central Park masterplan.While that document clearly has priority, they offer their perspective to provide context for the complete discussion of cultural facilities. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 19 mosaics, and other components). In addition, landscaping and aesthetically designed gardens should be considered. There are several facilities concepts that might work well within the downtown area, using renovated historic structures or new construction. Among the most interesting are the following: • A local history resource center would be an important adjunct to the cultural scene in the City. It should be designed to house the ar- chives of the Historical Society, with additional space for admini- strative offices, a resource room, and a small exhibition area for local artifacts. This space should be run by the Historical Society and de- signed to complement the Newland House Museum. The consult- ants envision a small space—perhaps 2,000 to 2,500 square feet—in a convenient downtown location and see this as a relatively low-cost project. Thus, they are inclined to see it as a relatively high priority. • The International Surfing Museum, already located downtown, has plans for a state-of-the-art facility. While the consultants have some concerns about the ambitious scope of this project, they sup- port the concept of a museum focusing on this important aspect of Huntington Beach's cultural history. If properly directed, it has the potential to become an important regional attraction. Since the cur- rent plans include some interesting commercial possibilities, careful planning will be necessary to determine the most appropriate form, if any, public support might take. It is not possible for the consult- ants to assess the priority of this venture, since it will be dependent on the board of the Museum being able to identify appropriate fund- ing for the new facility. • Shared, and affordable, "incubator" space for arts groups could serve as a joint facility for offices, exhibitions, rehearsals, and other uses. Creating such a cooperative facility is a common way for com- munities to assist arts and cultural groups by providing a centralized space that allows groups to share office equipment and, eventually, some staff functions. If this space were located downtown, it might provide an additional retail opportunity for-a cooperative venture that no arts group alone would be able to maintain. The consultants feel that this space, while potentially very useful, should be a lower Page 20 The Wolf Organization, Inc. priority, awaiting the full development of the Art Center and the Central Library and Cultural Center expansion in order to assess their impact on the arts and cultural groups that might use them. Many local artists spoke of the need for artists' spaces for living and working in Huntington Beach. Since the cost of space in the City has been a prohibitive factor for artists, any consideration of artists' spaces must al- low for keeping costs low. There are several options for how these might , be developed: • Lower cost space in industrial and/or business parks outside of the downtown core. The advantage of this option is that it is the ap- proach most likely to result in low cost space. In addition, there may be ways for the City to provide incentives to developers or facility managers that provide artists' spaces. Note that, aside from artists, there is also a base of small, "garage" industries that produce prod- ucts for the youth culture market (for example, surfboards, skate- boards, commercial graphics, and music). These "cultural businesses" could be supported by this initiative as well. If the space were located in vacant or under-used space in commercial and indus- trial areas, it might be readily tied into the cultural corridors. • Studio, office, and classroom space as part of the renovation at the Huntington Center Mall. The advantage of this option is that it pro- vides a partnership between the arts and business that is positive for both parties. • Adaptive reuse of an historic structure in the downtown area. The ad- vantage of this approach is that it enhances the downtown retail mix while providing more attractive space for artists. Providing opportunities for artists to live and work in Huntington Beach is important to the long-term growth of the City's cultural life. However, in the context of other facilities needs, the consultants feel it is only a moderate priority in the next two to four years. Finally, in the discussion of Huntington Beach's "cultural identity,"' the consultants describe the need for outdoor interpretive centers to address several components of the City's history, notably the Bolsa Chica 5 The cultural corridor is discussed in recommendation II.B.2 on page 24. Cf., recommendation II.B.1 on page 22. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 21 wetlands and the Native American populations. These facility needs should be considered as part of the overall mix. Recommendation II.A.5: A set of "guiding principles" should be developed to provide crite- ria in determining the priority of new cultural facilities projects. In addition, mechanisms should be established to assure coordination of facilities planning. Many people have expressed their personal opinions about what the pri- orities for cultural facilities in the City should be. The consultants have provided some guidance on priorities as well. However, a more rigorous system is needed. In order to sort out the merits of particular projects, the City should develop a set of guiding principles to inform any discussion of facility construction or renovation. Among the criteria that should be considered are the following: • Extent of use: Adequate research must be done to assure that any fa- cility that is built will be heavily used. For example, while many in- terviewees indicated the desirability of a downtown black box theatre (as discussed above), there is as yet no research on audience interest to support building it. • Specificity of use: Facilities should be appropriate for their intended users. For example, the small audiences of developing arts groups can be overwhelmed by a facility that is too large. Similarly, a stage that is too small, an inappropriate acoustic environment, or inadequate lighting can make a facility difficult to use for particular functions. • Quality: Simply put, facilities that are designed and equipped with concern for quality are necessary to create and present excellent art. Poor quality facilities defeat their own reasons for being—their in- herent limitations do not allow for the presentation of high quality art and entertainment. • Economics: Facilities must be designed with an accurate understand- ing of the costs involved and realistic plans for meeting these costs. This must include not only capital costs, but maintenance, operating, -and programming costs as well. In addition, the ability of arts and cultural groups to pay for the use of these spaces must be considered. Page 22 The Wolf Organization, Inc. These considerations should form the basis of a City-wide dialogue on es- tablishing a policy for setting priorities among various cultural facilities projects. In addition, there are several other planning initiatives that have implica- tions for cultural facilities. These include the Central Park Masterplan (which describes additional outdoor performing arts spaces) and the Beach Masterplan (which mentions planning for arts and cultural programming in the Pier Plaza area). The consultants have attempted to consider these plans in developing their recommendations and it will be important to as- sure that such coordination of planning efforts continues as these plans are implemented. B. Cultural Identity Huntington Beach has a rich history and several distinct identities — "Surf City" and "Oil City," among others. In a community that has changed so profoundly over the past twenty years, it is important to develop, nourish, and retain a sense of the community's history and cultural identity. The consultants present the following recommendations to assist in that process. Recommendation II.B.1: Programs should be established to clarify and highlight the cultural heritage and identities of Huntington Beach. There are positive ways to bring a sense of the history of Huntington Beach to residents and visitors alike. One way is through a program of preservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures,particularly in the downtown, and the consultants support such an initiative. However there are other ways to accomplish this, including the following: • An historic district in the Central Business District should be desig- nated to provide public improvements to enhance the recognition and visual identity of the cluster of historic structures in the down- town area. The location of the historic district could be tied to the initial development of the cultural corridor, discussed in recommen- dation II.B.2 following. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 23 • Ways to promote such a district should be explored, including a bro- chure jointly developed by the Historical Society and the Confer- ence and Visitors Bureau, as well as self-guided walking tours and special interpretive signage. • The archives of the Historical Society should be housed in an acces- sible location, perhaps downtown, as discussed in the recommenda- tion above. The Historical Society and the City,working collaboratively, could develop traveling exhibitions from those ar- chives that would be exhibited at schools, malls, and other locations. • The City's Channel 3 might be interested in developing a series of programs each devoted to a different "theme" or "identity" for Huntington Beach as a way to highlight the history of the community. • The proposed Bolsa Chica development should include a function- ing interpretive center to educate residents regarding the impact of the environment on the City. In addition, there should be a closer working relationship between such groups as Amigos de Bolsa Chica and the Cultural Services Division. • An interpretive center that provides background information and anthropological and historical details on the impact of local Native American peoples on the development of the City and the region should be developed at an appropriate location. • Finally, the consultants note that in recommendation II.B.5 on page 29 below, there is a discussion of the need for an historic resources and preservation plan. Such a process would augment the existing historic element and provide a wealth of detail about existing historic resources and programs and would also establish priorities for future activities. Page 24 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Recommendation II.B.2: A plan for a phased-in "cultural corridor"—including the area surrounding Golden West College running to Central Park and in- cluding Main Street to the Pier—should be developed. In many communities across the country, the arts are being used to assist in the revitalization of core areas,particularly downtowns. The arts have been shown to be an effective "economic engine" to assist in fueling the redevelopment of these significant elements of the urban environment. Many individuals interviewed for this project agreed with this assessment and were eager to develop a "cultural district" in Huntington Beach. In- deed, this idea has been under active consideration within the Community Services Department for quite a while. The consultants agree that the concept of a cultural district is an important one for consideration in the City. They note, however, that the notion will work better in Orange County if it is considered a "corridor" (as sug- gested by the Cultural Masterplan Task Force), rather than a district. In- deed, there are cultural assets in several locations in the City (for example, downtown, in and near Central Park, and at Golden West College) and it will be easier to define these areas as "nodes" in a cultural corridor or "network." This is based on the southern California reality that most people will drive, rather than walk, between or among these distinct areas. A cultural corridor might be defined to include the cultural resources of the areas mentioned above. The consultants believe that the corridor might be phased in over several years, with priority being given to identifying the downtown component initially. The downtown has the strongest commercial base upon which to build, and since one key purpose of a cul- tural district is to create a distinct, marketable identity for an area to in- crease awareness of its cultural amenities and thus increase retail traffic, downtown is an obvious choice. It has also been suggested that the area around Golden West College and the Huntington Mall might be pro- moted simultaneously with the downtown. As part of a strategy to broaden the mix of retail in this area, the City might offer incentives to cultural and entertainment retail businesses as a Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 25 component of future requests for development proposals. In addition, the City's Business Development Division, devoted to retaining and expand- ing the City's base of retail and industry, might assist. It may also be pos- sible for the City to identify commercial rehabilitation loan funds for cultural uses (for example, for the adaptive reuse of the old police head- quarters building, perhaps as space for Arts Associates or the Art League for administrative offices and exhibition facilities). Once this initial phase of such a cultural corridor has been implemented, a second phase would serve to extend the marketing identity of the corridor beyond the downtown. Among the ways that this might be accomplished are the following: • A marketing campaign that promoted the full range of cultural assets in the corridor could be designed, with brochures and other promo- tional materials distributed widely. • A uniform visual identity for the corridor could be developed inex- pensively through the use of banners on light poles. • kiosks located in key locations in the downtown could provide in- formation about activities occurring at other nodes of the corridor. • A "cultural shuttle bus" might be developed for weekends and other likely high-usage times, to provide regular transportation among the nodes along the corridor. • Potential sites could be identified for a network of City-sponsored public artworks (temporary and/or permanent) along the corridor. • Joint programming might be designed between, for example, the Art Center and Golden West College to promote both venues as impor- tant cultural resources. The consultants note that developing the concept for a cultural corridor is a complex planning project that will require coordination among many different groups, both public and private. Because of that it is important that a detailed and thoughtful planning initiative be undertaken as soon as possible to determine priorities, phasing, and the feasibility of alternative implementation strategies. Page 26 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Recommendation II.B.3: The Conference and Visitors Bureau's Urban Design and Public Art Committee should be reconstituted a City entity responsible for the public art program. In addition, the City should consider restructuring the Design Review Board. Urban design and the visual appeal of Huntington Beach have been identi- fied as key concerns by many City residents. Indeed, as noted in Part I of this report, the City has made these matters a priority concern. However, the one entity in the community that has direct responsibility for matters relating to urban design—the Design Review Board—is not currently constituted to serve as the overall responsible advisory body for larger is- sues of civic aesthetics. Members of the Design Review Board are appointed by the City Council and it is important that this body be enlarged and criteria for qualifica- tions, composition, and representation be reviewed. The criteria should in- sure greater representation from the community: at the current time, there is only one community representative. Such criteria would insure that in- dividuals chosen to serve would have a background in matters of urban design and aesthetics and guarantee that these issues are weighed along with the other important considerations of this body. Meetings should be scheduled at times when residents are better able to attend and one mem- ber of the Urban Design and Public Art Committee should serve as a vot- ing member of the Design Review Board. In addition, the Urban Design and Public Art Committee, established by the Conference and Visitors Bureau, should be reconstituted as a City en- tity. This group has been working on models for a public art program in Huntington Beach and has done a diligent and effective job. Its mission statement is appropriate to its task— "to encourage improved urban de- sign and promote public art projects for the purpose of enhancing the im- age of the City, fostering a sense of well-being and aesthetic sense of place, and improving the quality of life for the residents of Huntington Beach." However, if the City's public art program is to expand beyond its current ad hoc arrangement', it is critical that this body have the standing that 7 The following recommendation, II.B.^, goes into detail about this. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 27 accrues to a body within City government. The structure of this new pub- lic art advisory body must allow for easy interaction and collaboration with the Cultural Services Division. Recommendation II.BA: The existing ad hoc public art program should be formalized into programs for public and private sector development. Many communities use art in public places to enhance the urban environ- ment and quality of life and to provide more humane landscapes through sensitive urban design. Such programs are common in Southern Califor- nia. The Allied Arts Board identified the need for such a program as early as 1985. While a percent for art ordinance was proposed in 1989, it was not passed by City Council; instead an ad hoc program of site-specific art pro- jects has been implemented. The consultants agree that a City-wide public art program would be a significant benefit to Huntington Beach. And, while some public art projects have been done in the City, it is now time to formalize the arrangements. A public art program in Huntington Beach should have several compo- nents. Most important, there should be a public component that is based on the standard one percent of all CIP development costs. Such a program of on-site public artwork can include such elements as integrated art- works, e.g., tile works, street furniture, etc. If a capital improvement pro- ject is inappropriate for on-site work, the percent for art funds should be pooled and held by the City to be reprogrammed for another public space. The emphasis should be on developing a collection of diverse and high quality works that reflect residents' appreciation of art and the City's aspi- rations to use art to improve the quality of life in all areas of the City. The program should reflect a broad range of community input as well as in- volvement by professional artists. In addition, incorporating artists into the design team for all public construction projects would be beneficial. Another component for a public art program addresses the private sector. This program should involve voluntary participation by private develop- ers, negotiated in the development agreement with the City. The Urban Design and Public Art Committee has researched program models in this area. Developers could address this commitment through a wide range of Page 28 The Wolf Organization, Inc. cultural amenities, including such things as artwork, facilities, cultural services, and programs (which might include performing as well as visual arts opportunities) designed in partnership with local arts and cultural organizations. Although this private sector program is envisioned as voluntary, there must still be standardized guidelines to address project selection, approval procedures, and other important matters. The consultants believe that such a voluntary program is in the interests of the City and the private sector. It is a way for developers to show a commitment to the community at the same time as they are adding an appreciable asset to their property. They are also able to improve the standard of design—an important com- munity benefit—by including artists on the design team early in the de- velopment process. In the long term, after assessing the effectiveness of the voluntary program, the potential for a mandatory program should be explored. The final component of a public art program involves non-traditional sponsors other than private developers or the City. For example, non- profit community organizations or neighborhood resident associations might work in partnership with arts and cultural organizations or directly with artists. As a team they might identify potential sites for projects in the neighborhood such as local parks. Or, alternatively, temporary instal- lations might be developed through commercial and merchants associa- tions, coordinated by the City as a way to complement City festivals. It will be important to lay the groundwork for this program slowly and carefully. Developing the public art ordinance—one that mandates a pub- lic sector program and outlines the voluntary private sector program— will require the active involvement of both the Cultural Services Division and the Urban Design and Public Art Committee. The process of educat- ing the general public, elected officials, City staff, and developers to the benefits of this program must continue. In order to continue to move this project forward and to resolve the many outstanding issues, a consultant who specializes in public art should be en- gaged. The consultant should assist in defining the structure of the Public Art committee, writing an ordinance for the public component, and other matters. Even before an ordinance is written and approved, it will be Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 29 necessary to develop a comprehensive public art plan to address a wide range of issues for this complex program, including matters such as oper- ating guidelines, procedures, funding mechanisms, etc. In addition, it should be noted that there are several capital projects cur- rently in the advanced planning stages, in some cases with working draw- ings near completion, and it will be important to make sure that public art project planning—with active artist involvement—be implemented as soon as possible. Among the projects that should be considered are: • the beach projects, in particular Pier Plaza and the project north and south of the pier • the completion of Celebration Plaza in the area surrounding the new Art Center • public improvements along major traffic corridors. Recommendation II.B.5: An historic resources and preservation plan should be developed to augment the historic element in the City's General Plan. There is an historic element proposed as part of the revision to the City's General Plan and it is a start at addressing the many issues and problems in that area. However, while the element is a good starting point, there are many considerations with which it does not deal. And while this cultural planning document can address issues of historic resources and preserva- tion issues in a general way, it is beyond its scope to consider the full range of those issues. There is a need for a comprehensive historic plan that provides an inven- tory of historic resources and guidelines for consistent policies on local landmark designation and proposes incentives to support adaptive reuse of historic structures. In particular, there need to be regulatory requirements to address the broader issues of historic preservation and landmarks, specifically: • an historic preservation ordinance • guidelines for infill development, rehabilitation, demolition, and al- teration to the historic fabric Page 30 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • incentives for rehabilitation and adaptive reuse • adoption of the Secretary of the Interior's standards for rehabilitation • creation of a survey, nomination, and landmark designation process • adoption of the State historical building code • designation of the Historic Resources Board, Planning Commission or the City Council as the body to approve all of the above. While there are many ways to develop such a document, the priority should be on conducting the evaluation and planning components as quickly as possible. This would allow the planning effort for historic pres- ervation to coordinate with the General Plan revision, as well as this cul- tural masterplan process, as much as possible. Recommendation II.B.6: Opportunities to enhance the cultural components of existing com- munity events and promotions should be explored. In addition, events with a single focus on arts and culture should be considered. There are many events that occur in Huntington Beach, ranging from community events, of interest primarily to residents, to major sporting ac- tivities that draw audiences from well beyond the borders of the City. These events offer opportunities for increased exposure for arts and cul- tural activities to these various audiences. Among the events that might benefit from enhanced cultural components are the following: • Existing community events and attractions—including the Equestrian Event and the Cruise of Lights, which are primarily fund-raising activities for arts and culture—might have mini- performances or other opportunities to enhance the experience for attenders. • Major sporting events —such as the OP Pro and the US Open of Surfing, which reach huge national and international audiences of all ages via electronic media—might add juried outdoor art exhibitions on particular sports-related or youth-oriented themes. • Community celebrations—such as the July 4th Celebration or Pierfest, which already have arts elements—might develop ways to Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 31 encourage additional arts involvement, for example, through artists' floats, with sponsors or prizes. These activities represent potential "markets" for arts and culture and it will benefit the arts to draw the attention of these audiences to their activi- ties. While the range of artistic expression at these events can and should be quite broad, it is will be important to assure that the quality of activities be high and that they are positioned to fit into the existing mix of offerings in place in the City. In addition, participation in "cross-promotions" should be considered. For example, a display to promote the cultural com- ponent of a community celebration might be mounted at the Huntington Center Mall, as a way to provide a value-added element for the mall and to promote arts groups. It is also important to consider developing new events that have a sole fo- cus on arts and culture. One concept that has been discussed among arts supporters is an "Evening of the Arts," that highlights a wide range of arts and cultural activities in a variety of locations throughout the City. This might include cultural facilities and outdoor locations. Another notion is to develop a weekend event with activities scheduled from Golden West College to the Pier. The advantage of such events is that they can highlight a complete range of high quality cultural activities at appropriate venues to show the work to greatest advantage. While it may be more time- consuming to develop the audience for these events (since they must be developed "from scratch"), the consultants think it is worth the effort. C. Communication Recommendation II.C.1: Strategies to enhance networking within the arts community, and between arts groups and the general public, should be developed. One of the most common remarks among artists and representatives of arts groups was the lack of a ready means of communication within the arts community. In addition, many residents who were not strongly con- nected to the arts were often almost completely unaware of activities, events, and issues in the arts. It will be important to develop mechanisms Page 32 The Wolf Organization, Inc. to address this need for better communication to allow for more effective sharing of information among artists and groups and to create opportuni- ties to share and learn from each other. These mechanisms are also neces- sary to inform the wider public of cultural activities and important concerns in the arts community. Note that the consultants have recommended some information systems for arts groups' and those are considerably more formal and sophisticated undertakings. What is being proposed here are informal mechanisms to bring people together. Many artists express feelings of isolation and of the importance of having places for artists to get together. These gatherings can foster a stronger arts community, even if they are only scheduled once or twice a month. Other communities have found that such gatherings have a positive impact on the cultural community and much information sharing occurs through these informal "networking" opportunities. In Pittsburgh, for example, the local arts agency sponsors a monthly "Arts Happy Hour," where art- ists and volunteers from arts groups are notified of the location of an in- formal get-together from 5 to 7 p.m. In Portland, Oregon, artists and administrators gather at a different gallery on the third Thursday of each month for informal meetings, panel discussions, and other programs. However, while this networking is informal, it does require a formal "con- venor" to make sure that all interested parties know the schedule, espe- cially during the first six months or so. As the Art Center becomes operational, it is planned that it will provide a central location for artists to gather and the Cultural Services Division might facilitate these informal meetings of artists and representatives of arts groups. (Indeed, the opening of a highly visible arts-oriented facility may go a long way to addressing this need.) Such sessions would likely be self-sustaining without much work by staff once the initial set-up was completed. Additional opportunities for communication between arts groups and the. general public are also important. The best strategy is to start with those in the general public who have the closest connection to arts and culture— audiences. Cultural groups should establish programs of informal pre- performance lectures or after-performance open houses as a way to 8 Cf., recommendation II.A.1 on page 10 Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 33 educate and inform their audiences. Such programs can be designed to build a sense of community with audiences. Once these programs are well-accepted, cultural groups can begin to es- tablish communication with those who are less connected with the arts, perhaps through open lectures and mini-performances as well as presenta- tions at civic clubs and neighborhood associations. The focus of these ac- tivities should be to provide a brief"taste" of the art form, with informal interactions between the artists and the public accounting for the bulk of the presentation. Another option that should be explored is working with the local print media to have columns written by artists that appear on a regular basis. While it will be important to conduct more formal outreach and awareness campaigns about the value of arts and culture in the everyday lives of all residents (as discussed in the following recommendation), the activities de- scribed here are easy, inexpensive first steps that can set the stage for the other campaigns. Recommendation II.C.2: A campaign should be undertaken to raise the community's aware- ness of the full range of arts, history, and culture available in Hunt- ington Beach. The consultants found that, depending on the definition of "arts and cul- ture," support for such activities in Huntington Beach varies widely. Among non-arts attenders or supporters in particular, the more inclusive the definition, the consultants found, the greater the likelihood for sup- port. Thus, in order to build the most potent coalition for arts and culture, it will be necessary to portray the arts as playing a role in everyone's life. For example, a campaign to raise the awareness of the arts would empha- size that the arts can provide enjoyment and enrichment, and at the same time they also can offer positive experiences to enhance the well-being of the community and address such key social issues as education and public safety. Among the types of activities that might be considered as part of an aware- ness campaign are the following: Page 34 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • convening quarterly meetings of civic and business leaders with re- gional, state, and national arts administrators and artists to discuss such topics as the impact of cultural activities on the local economy, innovative partnerships between the arts and developers, or how cul- tural groups can assist in business relocation efforts • developing more joint promotional materials including brochures that feature a wide range of cultural organizations, activities, and events, and distributing these to both residents and visitors • using the media production resources of the City's Channel 3 and Golden West College to produce innovative pieces that promote arts, history, and culture within the context of Huntington Beach's other assets • strengthening the relationship between cultural groups and various civic and neighborhood organizations by encouraging cultural pro- grams at their meetings and developing opportunities for joint spon- sorship of events that highlight local arts and cultural groups. In general, the goal of all these activities is to create a positive image of arts and culture in the City—that arts and cultural groups are an integral part of the community; that they are open and accessible; that they provide di- verse and stimulating programming. Perhaps most important, the arts must be positioned as part of a broad coalition that supports the "quality of life" in Huntington Beach. Such a coalition is a recognition that com- munity services like the arts, culture, parks, recreation, library, education, and others have an overlapping agenda in the community. Mechanisms that provide for better communication and coordination among these vari- ous interests would be beneficial. In the context of this report, better coor- dination between the Department of Library Services and Cultural Services Division would be a high priority. Increasing the visibility of the arts may also increase the amount of media coverage, which is generally a positive outcome. However, in such situa- tions there is always the potential for controversy and training in how to approach the media and how to manage controversy might be considered as part of developing this campaign. Finally, note that the purpose of this campaign is not to raise the visibility of Cultural Services Division. The Division would be actively involved in this campaign, but it would be Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 35 promoting the entire cultural community and that must be made clear throughout. Recommendation II.C.3: Programs of outreach to new constituencies for arts and culture should be developed. According to many interviewees, most of the support for arts and culture has come from a relatively narrow spectrum of Huntington Beach resi- dents. Much of the thrust of this plan involves recognizing the necessity to reach new constituencies, both to broaden the programming offered and to identify new sources of financial and political support for the full range of cultural activities. The timing of the opening of the Art Center, along with its initial planning efforts, suggests that many outreach activities are likely to occur within the context of its programming.The consultants are confident that the Art Center staff has addressed outreach. According to some interviewees, some of the constituencies in Huntington Beach that have not taken an active role in arts and culture include the following: • families with young children • residents of tract housing developments • youth • people of color. All of these groups tend not to relate to the downtown area, and that may account in part for their lack of involvement. In order to reach these groups there must be a shift in attitude by arts groups. Arts groups must make an active effort to target these new audiences and to design programs with them. This might mean working with community groups to hear residents' ideas for programming; it might mean developing special bilin- gual programming, or designing ways to celebrate ethnic diversity. While arts groups in Huntington Beach have been successful in serving their ex- isting audiences, they are increasingly likely to need to target these new groups. Among the important considerations are the following: Page 36 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • One way to reach families with young children is through extracur- ricular programs in schools and arts groups should consider ways in which they might participate in such programming. For example, artist-in-residence programs might be designed to place artists in schools, parks, the Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, at the beach, or in malls. • Partnership opportunities should be explored for arts groups to work with neighborhood groups, particularly in ethnically diverse areas, to provide exposure to visual and performing arts and to offer training in traditional arts and crafts. • Programs for youth that are designed and managed by young people might be developed in various neighborhoods, using neighborhood community centers in local parks as sites (as well as the new Art Center and public schools). In addition, a project to create a network of arts activities and events by middle and high school students might be developed. It might include City-wide availability of pro- grams with a variety of possible components, including drama, mu- rals, and art designed for specific community festivals. • In addition, the "Vital Link," a business mentoring and skills devel- opment and training program for at-risk youth, might serve as a model for arts-based businesses in concert with the Chamber of Commerce • A community-wide, high quality Children and Youth Art Festival might be established to highlight the artwork of young people and the role the arts can play in their education. Such an event might be jointly produced by the Parks and Recreation Division, the Depart- ment of Library Services, and the Cultural Services Division, work- ing with private business supporters. It might include exhibits of children's art in downtown storefronts, as well as weekend programs that provide opportunities for young people to participate in master- classes, as well as performing and exhibiting their own work. Recommendation II.C.4: A private-sector umbrella group of leadership supporters of arts, history, and culture in Huntington Beach should be established. As mentioned earlier in this report, the consultants were struck by how often issues relating to communicating the value and importance of arts 1 I Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 37 and culture arose in Huntington Beach. It will be critically important to build a coalition in support of arts and culture that is considerably broader than those assembled in the past. For this reason, a new, formal group should be established to take a lead- ership role in communicating about arts and culture in the City. This "Cultural Partnership" group would include community-wide representa- tion of arts, history, and cultural groups, as well as civic and business lead- ers. The consultants strongly recommend including a significant representation from the membership of the Cultural Masterplan Task Force, since these knowledgeable individuals have spent a great deal of time in the past months considering questions relating to arts and culture. The consultants have tried to limit the number of new groups and com- mittees whenever possible, understanding that creating such structures can often complicate matters. In this case, however, they believe that it is nec- essary to create a private sector body to educate about and advocate for art and culture in Huntington Beach. Among the activities in which the Cul- tural Partnership group might become involved are the following: • providing a forum to address key issues and concerns relating to arts and culture, as part of the on-going implementation of the cultural plan • developing mechanisms to bring together a wide range of supporters of"quality of life" concerns to develop an effective coalition to en- hance the role of arts and culture • serving as an informal facilitator to bring together potential partners to explore options for joint projects • overseeing arts marketing programs to educate business and civic leaders on the economic value of the arts' • coordinating and leading the advocacy efforts on behalf of a wide range of arts-related issues, including arts programming and funding, both public and private. In a later section of this report, the consultants discuss an expanded role for the Allied Arts Board, the body that serves as an advisory group to the City Council. There are necessary limitations on that public group's abil- ity to function and that is part of the reason for establishing this new 9 Cf., recommendation II.C.2 on page 33. Page 38 The Wolf Organization, Inc. group10. What is most important is that this new body, representing a cross-section of Huntington Beach's civic and neighborhood leadership, become a strong voice in support of arts, historic, and cultural concerns throughout the community. D. Arts in Education According to interviews conducted by the consultants, the quality of arts education in Huntington Beach depends in large measure on the particular district and school that a child attends. In part because there are four school districts in the City—Huntington Beach City, Fountain Valley, and Ocean View, all of which feed into the Huntington Beach Union High School District— many interviewees commented that the range and quality of offerings varies quite a lot. It is difficult to summarize the offer- ings of the various school districts in the City. However, the following is offered as a general summary: • Elementary and middle schools rely on classroom teachers to use the arts as a teaching tool, integrated into the curriculum. • Middle schools have arts specialists in visual arts and music (band and choir) and instructors are shared within districts. • All four high schools have basic instruction in some of the perform- ing arts (generally, some combination of choir, band, drama, and dance) with faculty shared among them. The visual arts have pro- grams at each school and there are two visual arts specialists in each of the four high schools. • The School for Performing Arts at the Huntington Beach High School was established to provide advanced performing arts classes and ensembles at the high school level. It offers a wide array of arts experiences to students city-wide. 10 There is a discussion of expanded roles for other community-wide arts and culture fund-raising or programming groups in recommendation IV.3 on page 58. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 39 Recommendation II.D.1: Huntington Beach's four school districts should increase their sup- port of arts education. The public schools in Huntington Beach have cut back programming in arts education in order to address their severe budget problems. This is of grave concern to the consultants. The issue of access to arts training and appreciation courses is an important one. Study after study has shown that the arts are a valuable tool to enhance learning in the classroom, both by providing pathways to success for students who do not excel in more tra- ditional academic pursuits and by adding an interesting and exciting di- mension to learning in a variety of other subject areas. They also have been shown to improve school attendance in certain situations and to enhance the self-esteem of students,particularly "youth at risk." In this section, the consultants propose several mechanisms to enhance arts education, in part by using the resources of arts groups. It is impor- tant to note, however, that, while additional assistance from arts and cul- tural groups is important, the primary commitment for providing valuable educational experiences in the arts lies with the school districts themselves. The consultants acknowledge that the school districts are in a difficult budgetary situation and realize that increases in financial commitment to arts education are not likely in the short run. However, they are convinced that there are ways that the districts can make arts education a higher pri- ority than it presently is, even without a substantial infusion of additional funds. Such efforts will be rewarded many times over in the valuable expe- riences offered to the community's children. Recommendation II.D.2: A City-wide, multi-district "Arts Education Planning Group" should be established. Many communities have discovered that the best way to begin community-wide planning and advocacy for arts education is to organize educators, school and district administrators, parents, and community leaders into a formal working group. Such a group,without a great deal of Page 40 The Wolf Organization, Inc. support and infrastructure, can provide a mechanism for communication and coordination of advocacy and planning in support of arts education. Initially, the support network for this group might be built on PTA/PTO membership, as well as using the booster clubs of various school perform- ing arts activities. Such a group could not only encourage an increased focus on arts and cul- tural education and arts programming for young people, but it could begin to develop a long-term plan for arts education, both in school and out. Such a group could also develop an advocacy strategy to promote the arts as an important part of the education of every child, citing national studies on how the arts promote basic learning skills and self-esteem. The Allied Arts Board already has an ad hoc committee on arts education, and that body should be incorporated into this new group. In general, the member- ship should include parents, arts educators, students, school administra- tors, community representatives, and civic leaders. Among the issues that this group might address, aside from fostering a higher priority for arts in education in all four districts, are the following: • approaches to the coordination of planning and advocacy for a se- quential curriculum that is consistent among all four school districts • mechanisms to foster communication between and among the dis- tricts to raise awareness of what is available for students and to de- velop policies to address inequities that result from an arts education program that is reliant on the talents of specific teachers in a given school and on the volunteers available. In addition, representatives of all the school districts described the need for better information on available arts education resources. The Planning Group might work with the Cultural Services Division to identify funding sources to cover the costs of compiling an arts education resource direc- tory that would be distributed to all schools. In the process, existing re- sources, and those that are missing,would be identified, thus providing a basis for future advocacy and planning efforts. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 41 Recommendation II.D.3: Opportunities to strengthen and coordinate arts, cultural, and his- toric groups' participation in school programming should be developed. Arts and cultural groups in Huntington Beach have played an important role in providing educational opportunities for school children. Among the activities that have been provided, for example, are the following: • The Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee, in addition to raising money for the Orange County Performing Arts Center, co- ordinates field trips to the Center for a variety of tours and perform- ances. They also bring ensembles into the schools for assemblies that can include performances and demonstrations of instruments. They sponsor the "Music Mobile," which travels to elementary schools to introduce third graders to musical instruments. • The Newland House Museum offers tours of its facility to schools, primarily third and fourth graders who are studying local and Cali- fornia history. In addition, the Historical Society has a visiting histo- rian program in the schools. The Society attempted to develop a training program for history teachers but the school districts were unable to provide substitute teachers so the classroom teachers were not able to attend. • The Japan America Society has developed a cultural program for schools building on the sister city program. Working with profes- sional designers, a puppet presentation has been developed based on Japanese folk tales. While these efforts and others have been an important adjunct to the pub- lic schools' arts education offerings, it will be increasingly important to develop mechanisms to coordinate these activities and to work with other arts, history, and cultural groups to increase participation. In addition, there are several other areas where work needs to be done. For example: Page 42 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • The annual county-wide showcase of arts education programs is at- tended by representatives of some PTA/PTOs who select programs they will sponsor at their schools. There is no coordination with schools to relate arts programs to curriculum. Perhaps more impor- tant, there is no quality control for the programs at the showcase. While the showcase is county-wide, a mechanism is needed to assure more equitable access to this resource, as well as to assure that the arts experiences are of high quality. • Currently there is no one coordinating or fostering long-term rela- tionships between professional artists and the public schools. In the elementary schools, for example, programs are either "enrichment" assemblies or field trips, or are provided by classroom teachers. Pro- fessional artists should be brought into the curriculum planning process for arts education. Addressing these issues will require coordination. Discussions on strate- gies for addressing these concerns must be a high priority of that body. It might be helpful to establish a sub-committee with membership including PTA/PTO volunteers, school administrators, arts educators, and others to provide the necessary community-wide focus. It should be noted that the new Art Center will have an "Arts Education Coordinator" as part of its staff who will be responsible for developing and implementing education programs for the Art Center. While it is pos- sible that some of this person's time might be available to coordinate strategies to address these issues, it is unlikely that the time commitment could be extensive. Thus, it will be necessary to continue to rely on volun- teers in the short term. Recommendation II.D.4: Opportunities to enhance the range and scope of arts educational programming offered by the City should be developed. While the primary responsibility for providing arts education experiences for children lies with the public schools, there are other ways to provide additional such experiences for children and older residents. Aside from the activities of the Cultural Services Division (including the soon-to-open Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 43 Art Center), the City has several programs that have an impact—and might have a greater impact—on arts and cultural education. They in- clude the following: • The City's Channel 3 already offers one talk show about the arts and there is much more that might be done. For example: - The station might assist arts and cultural groups in developing programming (the Historical Society has expressed interest in de- veloping programs on local architecture and history). - The Art Center might create a series of short promotional pieces that could be used on a variety of outlets to highlight its exhibi- tion and special event schedule. - A bi-weekly or monthly calendar of arts and cultural events (from information gathered by the Cultural Services Division) might be provided on a scheduled basis . - The performances of local groups (for example, the Huntington Beach Playhouse or the Concert Band) might be taped for broad- cast on Channel 3 and other cable outlets. - Special features might be developed that highlight particular cul- tural attractions, such as the International Surfing Museum, local artists, or particular aspects of special events, such as the 4th of July floatmakers or Cruise of Lights decorators. In addition, Golden West College has close ties to Channel 50, which is housed on its campus. With its extensive student television and video programs, this might offer a potential for enhanced part- nership with the City. • The Parks and Recreation Division offers an extensive class pro- gram in parks throughout the City, although there are relatively few classes in visual and performing arts. Few if any classes are offered for teens and adults, and classes for children include some crafts and dance. Facilities and qualified instructors appear to be the major lim- iting factor. In addition to needing more fine arts classes and inter- mediate and advanced level courses in arts disciplines, it would also be valuable to have artist residencies in community centers and other facilities throughout the City. The Art Center's education program will address some of these gaps in programming. Page 44 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • The Central Library and Cultural Center offers a range of cultural programs, including an "Authors Day" that sends authors into the schools to make presentations to students, as well as a carnival to kick off the "summer reading season." There is a new children's wing, but, according to some interviewees, because of budgetary constraints, the amount of cultural programming is limited. Concern has been expressed by some representatives of arts and cultural groups that the rental fees for using this space will prove prohibitive. In order to assure that this space provides arts educational opportu- nities, a priority of the Arts Education Planning Group should be to work with the Department of Library Services to develop a strategy to provide such programming in a cost-effective manner in the facility. Recommendation II.D.S: The Arts Education Planning Group should consider options for equitably providing a full range of performing and visual arts edu- cational programming to school children. Because of the music education programming of the Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee, and the fund raising it does to support those programs, the City's students have access to a range of musical experi- ences. But, while activities in this discipline are provided on a consistent basis, others (in particular, drama and the visual arts) are not, unless they are offered by particular teachers or parents. It is important to design an approach that eliminates the inequities of this arrangement. The consultants recognize that this problem will be addressed, at least in part, through the programming that will be coming on-line at the Art Center in the coming months. With the mix of programs provided by the Philharmonic Guild and the new Art Center, this situation is likely to im- prove in the next year or two. However, it will not be fully addressed. The Arts Education Planning Group should begin to develop strategies that will provide a more comprehensive and equitable solution. There are several options for the future that can be considered. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 45 • The activities might be split between two groups. The Philharmonic Committee might alter its structure to undertake school program- ming more broadly in the performing arts (including non-musical activities); the Art Center might establish an Education Guild, in ad- dition to the two guilds it has begun for hospitality and docents, to undertake more active school programming in the visual arts. • A completely new organization might be established to take respon- sibility for developing partnerships with arts and cultural groups to coordinate and oversee school programming in all arts disciplines. Either of these options will create the opportunity for access to arts educa- tion programming for all children. However, the consultants concede that each of these options will be difficult—either requiring substantial shifts in the mission and activities of established groups or creating new entities —and neither of them is ideal. However, there is time available to develop a solution and, depending on the direction the programs at the Art Center take, other options may emerge. Page 46 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Part III Role of the Cultural Services Division Throughout this report, the consultants have made recommendations to enhance the cultural life of Huntington Beach over the next five years. Many of these recommendations require oversight, coordination, or other assistance to be accomplished and the Cultural Services Division is the logical candidate to provide this. The Division has been in existence for about eight years and has, according to many interviewees, contributed to a substantial improvement in the cultural climate of the City. In this sec- tion of the report, the consultants provide recommendations on the struc- ture of the Cultural Services Division and other related bodies to allow for the best possible implementation of this plan. Recommendation III.1: The Cultural Services Division should be designated by ordinance as the City's local arts agency. A "local arts agency" is officially designated by local government to ad- dress arts and cultural activities for the community. "Typically local arts agencies get involved in a wide range of activities, among the most impor- tant of which are the following: " Such a designation,standard in the field, is not intended to suggest a lack of emphasis on historic preservation and cultural heritage issues. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 47 • provide marketing programs in support of the complete range of arts and cultural activities of the community • develop directories and information services for artists and arts groups • facilitate programming partnerships between and among arts groups, the business community, and others • make recommendations to City departments on matters relating to arts, historic preservation, and culture • provide assistance to public schools in developing arts education programs • regrant public funds to local arts groups and artists to help support arts programs of high quality for residents • manage community-wide programs for such things as public art, community arts education, event presentation, etc. The Cultural Services Division is not currently designated as the City's lo- cal arts agency and as a result, it is not eligible for significant funding avail- able through state and Federal sources to such agencies. The Division is responsible for an impressive array of activities, including oversight of construction and program development for the new Art Center, oversee- ing historic and cultural programs in the community, and much more. At the present time, its primary roles are that of manager of many of the City's existing arts programs and presenter of visual arts activities. There are, however, other components to what Cultural Services Division does, including: • serving as a "catalyst" to assist local arts groups in promotion, locat- ing space, raising funds, etc. • actively fund raising for cultural projects (this currently takes a sub- stantial amount of staff time because of the commitment to the Art Center) • capital project oversight, including the design and construction of the Art Center. The consultants have been impressed with the range, depth, and quality of the activity of the Division, and they believe that it is critical that the Divi- sion be designated as the official arts agency for Huntington Beach. In- deed, the implementation of this plan depends in part on such designation. Page 48 The Wolf Organization, Inc. With the likely increase in cultural activities resulting from this planning process, the Cultural Services Division will need to shift its emphasis somewhat in order to more effectively handle the range of responsibilities that it will ultimately have". Over the course of the next five years, the Di- vision should shift its emphasis away from additional program manage- ment responsibilities and toward more of a community facilitator, oversight, and policy and planning role. This is not to say that it will shed all its programmatic activities. For exam- ple, it is likely that the Division will always manage the Art Center or the public component of any art in public places program. Nevertheless, the Division must take a strategic role in facilitating the growth of the arts and cultural community, and the consultants believe that priority considera- tion should be given to: • being a high visibility advocate for the arts and culture of the entire community • being "at the table" when important civic decisions are being made • assisting in educating the general public about the value of the arts • coordinating the gathering and disseminating of information about arts and culture, both for arts groups and the general public • providing coordination of technical assistance programs to enhance the development of local arts, history, and cultural groups as well as individual artists • facilitating the creation of partnerships among arts and cultural groups and the public and private sectors. This is a common evolution for local arts agencies. In Huntington Beach, it is based on the assumption that the next few years will witness a growth and maturation of the cultural community, as a result of the new cultural facilities and programs in the City. There is one additional role that the Cultural Services Division should ul- timately undertake—that of regranting public and private funding to arts and cultural organizations. Such a program to provide small grants to cultural groups is not likely to be established within the time frame of this iZ The consultants note that additional staff is another important strategy to address the responsibilities of the Cultural Services Division and in rec- ommendation III.3 on page 51 they discuss this issue. I Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 49 plan and, indeed, priority should be given to stabilizing the funding of the Division itself". However, the value of such a program is that it would al- low private, nonprofit arts groups to further their development with a minimal amount of City assistance. It would also provide a way for start- up activities to receive initial support. By having this program established within the Cultural Services Division, quality control would be assured and issues of community-wide access to potential funding would also be addressed. It should be noted that, in the consultants' experience, a pro- gram of this sort is among the most common for local arts agencies, due in large part to the ability of small public sector grants to leverage private sector dollars many times in excess of the public expenditure. Recommendation III.2: The City's arts and cultural programming should be centrally coor- dinated by the Cultural Services Division. As the Cultural Services Division becomes the visible agency with involvement and responsibility for the full range of arts and culture in the community, it will be important to make sure that all of the City's pro- gramming in this area is coordinated in some way by the Division. Such an arrangement would be designed to enhance efficiency and to avoid dupli- cation of services. It is not the intent of this recommendation to suggest that all arts and culture-related services be centralized in the Cultural Services Division, al- though such a model is quite effective in many communities across the country. What is more important than actual consolidation is establishing a mechanism for effective communication and planning. The consultants recommend that a high-level inter-agency working group be established made up of senior staff from all City departments with ex- isting or potential cultural programming, including the Manager of the Cultural Services Division. The purpose of this body is to develop strate- gies to enhance communication among these agencies and to coordinate cultural initiatives and shared cultural objectives for City government. Such-a body could share information, develop consistent policies, and cre- ate more cost-effective programming. 13 Cf., Part IV of this report,in particular recommendation IVA on page 60. Page 50 The Wolf Organization, Inc. While such a mechanism will go far to address some of the issues of coor- dination and communication, there is some additional action that should be taken. Consideration should be given to moving some cultural activities to the Cultural Services Division. From a logistical point of view, those that are already in the Community Services Department—the Parks and Recreation Division's crafts and arts classes—would be the easiest to move. There is a strong case to be made for this shift: • There is a need for enhancing the current range of offerings in the area of arts and culture and the Division is well-equipped to design such offerings. • Once the Art Center is on-line, its education programs will need to be coordinated with existing classes and providing continuity of pro- gram management and oversight will simplify this. • Consolidating all crafts and arts classes within the Division is a logi- cal, easy to understand arrangement that will allow for better pro- motion and marketing; it will allow existing classes to gain from additional publicity surrounding the opening of the new Art Center. • It may be possible to create additional space for recreational activi- ties in park facilities by moving some arts classes to an old school site, thus benefiting both programs. • Being able to provide a fully sequential range of offerings from be- ginner through advanced will be an important way to market arts and cultural instructional programming. The consultants acknowledge that this shift will require some flexibility on the part of the Community Services Department. Staffing and other is- sues will need to be addressed before the process can move forward. In ad- dition, they raise some caveats about possible problem areas: • It will be important to ensure that beginner and amateur classes re- ceive high priority since they represent the entry point for most of the community. • Consideration should be given to providing bilingual classes so that they can be accessible to a broader range of residents. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 51 Recommendation III.3: The City should allocate additional staff resources to the Division of Cultural Services. The consultants note that the Cultural Services Division's staff has been stretched to its limit. Existing staff cannot perform all the new tasks out- lined in this planning document and additional staff is a necessity. It is true that four additional positions are being considered for the Art Center14. However, the staffing levels for the Art Center are modest considering the level of programming to be conducted. And while it may be true that ini- tially they will have time to address community-wide projects, it will not be long before there is no time to address the range of priorities proposed in this plan. For that reason, the consultants recommend that, in addition to staff to run the Art Center and existing positions in the Division, there should be several new positions, including: • A Special Events Coordinator, perhaps initially three-quarter time with benefits, to facilitate and coordinate a range of performing and visual arts activities, including concerts, street fairs, and community- wide celebrations. In addition, this individual could act as liaison be- tween the Division, artists, and historic, cultural, and arts groups. • An Education/Outreach Coordinator,who might also be part time initially, to develop a broad range of educational programs (that might be implemented by other groups), and to provide some ad- ministrative support for the Arts Education Planning Group. • An Art in Public Places Coordinator,who ought to be part time or a consultant initially, to plan and implement the Art in Public Places program when it becomes operational, and to provide assistance in promoting and marketing Huntington Beach's arts and cultural community. 1 4 At the time this report was written,these new positions include an Arts Education Coordinator, an Exhibitions Coordinator, a Preparator, and a Cultural Arts Aide II. Page 52 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • An Historic Services Coordinator, initially half-time, to provide some support services for the Newland House Museum, the Histori- cal Society, the International Surfing Museum, and other groups, as well as to develop the concept for the local history resource center (as described in recommendation II.A.4). • It should be noted that the Division will need additional clerical as- sistance as well. Recommendation II1.4: The role of the Allied Arts Board as advisors to City Council should be strengthened. The Allied Arts Board is designated to advise City Council on all matters pertaining to the arts in Huntington Beach. It was responsible for devel- oping the initial ten-year plan for cultural activities that led to the estab- lishment of the Cultural Services Division, as well as other important milestones in the development of the cultural life of the City. Along with the Historic Resources Board (which oversees historic programs and ac- tivities), the Allied Arts Board, in its role as advisor to the City Council, can, among other things: • study and interpret the needs of the community for cultural pro- grams and facilities • recommend cultural policy on such matters as programming, facili- ties, and funding • assist local arts groups to better fulfill their missions • encourage individuals, civic groups, and businesses to support arts and culture with time, money, and in-kind services.15 There are some limitations to what the Board can do and how it can func- tion. Of particular relevance to this planning process, the Board cannot advocate for particular positions except to the City Council. In addition, while it is able to appoint ad hoc committees, it cannot appoint standing committees (which can only be done by City Council). Despite these 15 This list has been developed based on interviews with Allied Arts Board members and a review of the Board's Manual for Members, revised 1989. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 53 limitations, the consultants believe that there is a great deal of room for the Allied Arts Board to become an even more active player in the cultural life of the City. One important need that appears to be within the purview of the Allied Arts Board is to conduct "fact-finding" and gather input from the com- munity on issues relating to arts and culture. The consultants suggest that, on a regular basis (perhaps semi-annually), the Board appoint ad hoc com- mittees to provide it with input on specific issues, such as: • community-wide involvement in arts education programming • developing new audiences for arts and cultural activities • the need for additional cultural facilities • a public art program for the entire City. Such a committee should be made up of artists, representatives of arts groups, developers, business and civic leaders, government officials, and other interested residents. It would be convened by the Board and would meet no more than two or three times as a "focus group." It would hear a presentation on the issue under discussion and express its opinions on the subject. This information would be analyzed and refined by the Allied Arts Board to inform its process of information gathering so that it can better advise the Council. In addition, the Board might use the informa- tion gathered to provide details about arts and culture as part of the cam- paign to raise the awareness of arts and culture.' The consultants believe that through this activity, the Allied Arts Board will obtain an expanded base of information that will allow it to speak with greater authority in its recommendations to the City Council. It will gain credibility as a valued authority that can articulate the needs of the entire cultural community. In order to enhance this role, it will be neces- sary to diversify the membership of the group to include a broader per- spective from all segments of the City. This enhanced role for the Allied Arts Board will be a major boost for the cultural community. In the long-term, it would be a logical progression for this Board to become an Arts and Culture Commission. Such a body would have responsibility for serving in an advisory role to the Cultural 16 Cf., recommendation II.C.2 on page 33. Page 54 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Services Division, providing advice on such matters as regranting of public funding, Division staffing needs, or budget considerations. The Historic Resources Board could continue to deal with matters relating to historic preservation, including issues that might develop from an his- toric preservation ordinance (such as demolition, rehabilitation, environ- mental review, etc.). In addition, it must address concerns beyond preservation, including programs such as the Newland House Museum, development of the local repository for collections", as well as activities such as the Civil War reenactment and tours of historic buildings and districts. 17 Cf, recommendation II.A.4 on page 15. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page SS Part IV Resources Huntington Beach has been generous in its support of arts and cultural ac- tivities. The recent history of private sector financial support for the Art Center, as well as the City's funding of the Cultural Services Division over the past ten years, indicate an encouraging trend of increased support. It is interesting to note that this support has been available during some of the bleakest economic times in California's history, which suggests a real and strong commitment on the part of the community. As additional cultural activities are initiated, and as existing activities mature, there is every rea- son to assume that this trend of increased support will continue. In this section of the report, the consultants provide recommendations for in- creasing financial support from a variety of public and private sector sources. Recommendation IV.1: Opportunities to increase the earned income potential of arts and cultural groups should be developed. Increasingly, arts groups of every size are realizing that it is critical for them to maximize their earned income. These groups have learned that this can provide a double benefit: first, they have access to larger amounts of earned income; second, they are often able to leverage increased earned income into greater contributed income, since many funders are more likely to give to organizations that have high earned revenue figures. Even though most of the arts and cultural groups in Huntington Beach are Page 56 The Wolf Organization, Inc. relatively small, there are still opportunities for them to increase the amount of their income that they earn themselves. This is, in part, a matter of being more realistic about the costs of their services, but it is also a matter of thinking entrepreneurially about what types of services they might provide and who would pay for them. And while there may be a limit on ticket prices, there may be other types of revenue producing activities these groups can engage in. Particularly for the smaller groups, it will require that they see themselves as providing an important community service that they should charge for whenever feasible. More sophisticated arts and cultural groups should consider ways that they can form partnerships with business and City government to provide services that these sectors need. One obvious possibility is to create a stronger connection to tourism. The visitor industry is always looking for ways to promote Huntington Beach as a destination. While it is unlikely at the current time that the City's arts groups will be a primary reason for a visit, they certainly can contribute to a lengthened stay. Among the ways that arts and cultural groups might be involved are the following: • promotional tie-ins linking arts events with restaurants, hotels, and other regional amenities • the use of vacant storefronts in the downtown area as temporary art- ists' galleries to provide an exciting and changing array of retail op- portunities for visitors • specially prepared docent tours or pre-performance lectures targeted to specific tourist groups (for example, visitors from other countries). Another possibility that should be explored is designing programs to ad- dress social issues, ranging from latch-key children to drug use prevention. Programs that employ the arts to address these issues on a contract-for- services basis can be funded through various governmental and private agencies. Some possible project might include the following: • performing or visual arts classes for elderly residents of nursing homes and senior centers, as is done in St. Paul, Minnesota Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 57 • after-school arts and crafts programs for children whose parents work, cosponsored by the school district, City government, and parents • theatre projects designed for children who have been involved with drugs or alcohol, such as those developed in San Fernando County. Such activities may seem beyond the scope of many of the arts and cultural groups in Huntington Beach at the present time. The consultants are not convinced. They believe that there is a strong likelihood that arts groups will grow and mature rapidly and in dramatic ways in the next three to five years. These alternatives, which appear unlikely at the moment, may well be seen as appropriate at that time. Recommendation IV.2: Programs that target increasing charitable contributions from the private sector should be implemented. In addition to increasing earned income, arts and cultural groups must consider strategies to increase contributed income from individuals, busi- nesses, and foundations. The consultants believe that, even with the weak regional economy, this represents the likeliest area for short-term growth in funding, given existing levels of support from the private and public sectors. Arts and cultural groups should consider increased use of corporate spon- sorships, which have been used effectively in the community (perhaps most notably in GTE Directories' sponsorship of the Equestrian Event). In particular arts and cultural groups should design sponsorship opportu- nities that target smaller businesses, since there are more of these busi- nesses and because they have been among the least approached to date. When developing sponsorships, it is important for arts groups to be care- ful to calculate their costs accurately. Often, in the desire to attract corpo- rate donors, cultural groups provide a wide array of services and benefits that almost outweigh the cost of the sponsorships. Opportunities might include more extensive underwriting of performances or exhibitions, as well as advertising in catalogues or programs. More ambitious Page 58 The Wolf Organization, Inc. opportunities might include sponsorship of performance series and exhibi- tion or performance spaces. Groups should keep in mind that sponsorships are generally considered advertising and promotion rather than charitable giving. This means that a business must be convinced that group's "vehicle" for the promotion will reach its selected audience. Another vehicle for private sector fund raising is special events. This has been used quite effectively in Huntington Beach and there is little the con- sultants can add to the formula that has been developed. They do offer several suggestions that might enhance an already effective activity: • It may be possible to develop special events that are more broadly focused in the community. For instance, the youth and children's arts festival's might provide an opportunity for a "costume party" exhibition opening event with prizes for costumes in several catego- ries. This might be a relatively low ticket price event to assure greater participation. The goal of such an event would be to counter the per- ception that the cultural community is a "clique" by involving more people, as well as to raise money. • It may be possible to develop a special event that builds on the sister city involvement in Huntington Beach, in particular the arrange- ment with Anjo,Japan. For instance, an event that highlights some exchange opportunity with a cultural celebration might provide an opening to seek more substantial underwriting from many of the corporations that are subsidiaries of Japanese-owned businesses. Recommendation IV.3: Fund-raising efforts for art, history, and cultural initiatives should be more broadly based in the community. Huntington Beach has some very effective private-sector fund-raising ini- tiatives. For example: 18 Cf., recommendation II.C.3 on page 35. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 59 • The Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee raises money, some of which goes to support local educational experiences for chil- dren around certain types of music. • In addition, the Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation has raised significant sums of money in support of the construction and pro- gramming at the Art Center, some of which will involve educational programs for children. However, without a comprehensive fund-raising initiative for all arts and culture in all parts of the City, it is very difficult to equitably address the needs of the community. The consultants acknowledge the need of the Art Center to get its programming in place and develop a secure base of sup- port. Clearly that must be the priority. However, once this current period of integrating new facilities and programs into the community is over, they believe that a new priority must be established to develop fund- raising initiatives that target the entire community, both in terms of the area from which funds are raised and the population to which services are provided. In addition, the consultants note that fund raising in Huntington Beach has historically been focused on "bricks and mortar" capital funding. In the future, the emphasis must shift to annual giving in support of pro- grams. There are some models of annual campaigns that take this ap- proach. For example, the Youth Shelter, while it has had problems, is a good example of targeting smaller contributions, in the range of$100 and under. Such appeals can be broader based. In addition, the Art Center raised over $36,000 through small contributions solicited through resi- dents' water bills. Such programs need not ignore larger contributors, but they build upon that base and attempt to reach donors of more modest means. Such campaigns have several watchwords —specifically, smaller contributions; many of them; on an annual basis. The consultants believe that fund-raising efforts for arts, history, and cul- ture in Huntington Beach should: • be City-wide in their focus, which may mean raising money with smaller gifts • be based on membership structures with low dues to encourage broad participation Page 60 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • recruit volunteers and support from various public school PTA/PTO groups and arts booster clubs, since these people are likely to have children who are interested and involved in arts activities • attempt to build support in the neighborhoods throughout Hunting- ton Beach, rather than just to target selected up-scale areas • make sure that funds are raised to support programs in various neighborhoods, not just at the new facilities. Recommendation IVA: Mechanisms to enhance the level of public support for arts and cul- ture should be explored. The City has begun to support arts and cultural activities in the past six or seven years and it has a reasonably good track record during that period. Excluding capital funds, the City has spent approximately$1.1 million in the past seven years, or about$165,000 a year (one dollar per capita) on average. While this amount is substantially less than many other commu- nities in the region (many of which average between$5 and $6 per capita), it is a good start, especially considering that until very recently there has not been much City cultural programming. Based on their interviews, the consultants believe that, given the City's track record, it is safe to assume that with the advent of new programming, its support will increase. There are a number of new options for public funding of cultural activities that have been discussed in Huntington Beach. Basic to this discussion is the understanding that self-generated fees and charges for services will be built into all City cultural programming, so that some percentage of the costs for these activities will be generated from users. The consultants pro- pose a mix of approaches to this complex issue. Core functions: While some new revenue sources are likely to be neces- sary to fund City arts and cultural activities—a high priority among resi- dents —such funding will require time to be developed. At least initially, such funding may be more likely to be from existing sources, primarily the General Fund. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 61 While additional General Fund support is quite defensible, particularly in light of the cultural agenda outlined in this report (that addresses the needs of all residents of the City), financial realities suggest that the General Fund will be hard pressed to continue current levels of support for exist- ing City services during the next several years. Nevertheless, the consult- ants believe that the core operational expenses of the Division (including staff and administrative support) should come from General Fund, supple- mented by new revenue sources. They believe that the current base-line level of commitment from the City should be clear and unequivocal. Educational activities and program expenses must also be covered during an initial, start-up phase, perhaps with General Fund money loaned to such programming,with the expectation that fees and charges, as well as some private sector fund raising,would be used to repay the General Fund over a negotiated period of time. Program and facilities: There are a large number of viable options for funding the City's share of cultural programming and facilities costs in the future. Among the mechanisms that have proven effective in other com- munities in California and across the nation are the following: • percent for art programs • shared parking revenue • users fees or grants from public and private sources, as well as public/private partnerships • loan guarantees or other revolving funds • municipal revenue bonds • voluntary arts subscriptions through water billing • endowment and/or trust funds • arts lotteries • special cultural assessment districts, sales tax increment districts, or city-wide tax district • transient occupancy taxes • seat/ticket or other entertainment taxes • impact fees or developer agreements • liquor fee The City should explore these options. Use of these funding sources re- quire complex planning efforts and no one source is likely to be a panacea. Page 62 The Wolf Organization, Inc. It is more likely that some combination of these options will be the most appropriate way to support cultural programming in the future. A number of the funding mechanisms mentioned above not only require approval from the City Council, but must be presented to and approved by the voters as well. Funding capital improvements with municipal reve- nue bond issues or certificates of participation will require local support developed with well defined political strategies. These mechanisms dem- onstrate, however, that there are additional sources of revenue that might be available for the support of cultural activities. And, while some of these sources may be considered for other General Fund supported projects and programs, revenue growth resulting from them should be considered for cultural programming needs. The downtown and Pacific Coast areas have been designated as "visitor serving" in the General Plan. The City is committed to developing desti- nation attractions and activities in these areas. This area has been specifi- cally planned for a mix of visitor serving retail and cultural and recreational facilities. The planned attractions and activities include such things as the Huntington Beach Municipal Art Center, the planned but currently unfunded new International Surfing Museum building, Celebra- tion Plaza, and Pier Plaza. In addition, the City is planning a Central Park Amphitheatre to conduct craft fairs and cultural festivals. While the options discussed above represent the most fruitful areas for discussion, there are some others that should be mentioned. They include: • Increasing the hotel/motel tax by one or two percent and negotiat- ing a formula by which some percentage of that is used to cover the expenses of cultural programming. There is a strong justification for using such revenue sources in support of cultural activities —indeed, it is one of the most common devices nationally. However, it seems unlikely that an increase in the hotel/motel tax would be considered in the present environment. • The Community Enrichment Library Fee on development is cur- rently set at 150 per square foot and is at the maximum rate allow- able by the City Charter. It is totally dedicated through the year 2019 to the repayment of the debt costs of building the Library Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 63 expansion which serves numerous visual and performing arts func- tions. Once the debt service costs have been addressed, including any additional expansion that should occur through the year 2019, it would be appropriate to consider including any increase in this fee in the mix of funding for other arts and cultural activities at the Library or other facilities. • Finally, when a public art program19 is implemented, it will require that one percent of the budget for capital improvement projects be set aside for public art within the project area. Depending on capital expenditures over the next ten years, this could represent a substan- tial sum for public art programs. Some capital projects might commit this percentage for construction or renovation costs for cultural fa- cilities rather than providing for public art within the project area, if it makes sense to do so. Recommendation IV.S: Issues relating to the level of"self-sufficiency" required of the Cul- tural Services Division's programming should be resolved quickly. In the present economy, all California cities are pressed for money, par- ticularly because the state is taking City money to balance the State budget. In Huntington Beach, one strategy to deal with this has been to mandate that all new programs must pay for themselves. Such a directive, while understandable, has been particularly hard on the Cultural Services Division. Even though the Division is relatively new, its programs have been in the advanced planning stage for a very long time—especially its Art Center programs which are only now coming on-line. The irony is that the City has been very supportive of cultural activities, responding to impressive community support and fund raising; yet these very programs are threatened with being frozen out of additional reliable avenues of City support. It is problematic for the Division,just beginning its most active program- ming, to be expected to establish that programming on a "no net cost" ba- sis. It would be more realistic in this situation to establish City-wide goals for self-sufficiency, rather than singling out specific, new programs. Such a 19 Cf., recommendation II.B.4 on page 27. Page 64 The Wolf Organization, Inc. plan would require that all City programs increase their "earned revenue" which would provide additional resources for, among others, the Cultural Services Division. In addition, since the Art Center has been built, in part, by private sector funds and will be sustained by those sources as well as self-generated fees and charges, it seems particularly important to establish the relationship between public and private dollars in this venture, as a model for future such partnerships. This is at root a political problem and it must be resolved through a dia- logue among all the relevant parties. The consultants therefore suggest a workshop session of the City Council to address this issue. Such a Coun- cil session would include senior City staff(as well as the Manager of the Cultural Services Division) and representatives of the arts community (in- cluding the Art Center Foundation). The purpose of this meeting would be to discuss the mix of revenue sources that is appropriate for the Divi- sion, including the role of fees and charges, General Fund support, and contributed income in the future of the Division. Finally, the consultants note that they conducted many interviews with in- dividuals knowledgeable about Art Center funding. It appears that there is no written letter of understanding and thus no agreed-upon understanding about what operating costs of the Art Center the City will cover and what will be covered by the Art Center Foundation. Particularly because a reso- lution of this issue is necessary in order to resolve staffing issues at the Art Center, it would be prudent to schedule this study session as soon as it is practicable. Recommendation IV.6: The City should consider ways that it can assist arts and cultural development through incentives. While City funding for arts and cultural activities is a priority, there are other ways in which the City can support such activities. In particular, the consultants suggest that the City consider the potential for abatements or other developer incentives for providing discounted space to artists and arts groups. This might take the form of either retail spaces in the down- town for cooperative artists' galleries or studio and/or rehearsal space in industrial and commercial parks. By providing incentives that offer an Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 65 important benefit to artists and arts groups, the City would be signaling its support for arts and cultural activities. The City might also consider options to provide temporarily unused City-owned space to arts groups at low or no rental fees for use as exhibi- tion, performance, and/or administrative space. In addition, many arts and cultural groups are in need of volunteer support. The City might make an arrangement whereby City staff could use some pre-determined amount of compensatory time for volunteer work with these groups, thus allowing the individuals to work on arts groups' projects during business hours without loss of compensation. Recommendation IV.7: The Cultural Services Division should apply for federal and state funding for arts activities. In particular, it should apply for a Local Incentive Grant through the National Endowment for the Arts. Once the Cultural Services Division has been designated by the City as its official local arts agency, it should apply to the National Endowment for the Arts for a Local Government Incentive Grant. These grants require a one-to-one match with new local funds, over a two to three year period, one half of which must be public dollars. While this would represent an increase in public funding, it is an attractive time for such a proposal, since City funding for arts and culture is likely to increase in any case and being able to leverage such increases with federal dollars will be very attractive. These grants are awarded in the range of$100,000 to $300,000. According to the current program guidelines, applicants may request support for such things as, "regranting, technical assistance programs, audience devel- opment projects....and arts education programs." The guidelines indicate the importance of having gone through a cultural planning process, which, the consultants feel, positions the Division quite effectively. There are many options for projects that might be appropriate to put for- ward for funding through this application and careful thought should be given to the approach that is most likely to be successful, as well as which approaches are most likely to garner support in the City. Based on their Page 66 The Wolf Organization, Inc. research in Huntington Beach, the consultants believe that technical assis- tance and arts education initiatives should be priorities. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 67 Part V Next Steps Several steps in Huntington Beach's cultural master planning process have already been undertaken and completed, including: • fact-finding conducted by Wolf Organization consultants receipt of the consultants' preliminary planning document • review and comment on this document by the Task Force and City staff • a presentation to the community of the key points of the consul- tant's report (as revised by the Task Force) with an opportunity for review and comment. Subsequent steps will include: • revision of this document based on feedback • presentation of the revised report to the community • review and approval of the revised community cultural plan by the appropriate bodies • on-going implementation of the plan. Much work will be required to review, set priorities, and begin implemen- tation of the resulting cultural plan. Communication has consistently been identified as a key issue in Huntington Beach and it will be important to assure that all the relevant groups in the City, both arts and cultural groups and other civic bodies, are brought up to date on the planning process. The consultants believe that they interviewed a wide range of Page 68 The Wolf Organization, Inc. individuals during their fact-finding,which should simplify the task of communicating about the resultant planning document. In this section of the report, the consultants outline the necessary steps to move this com- munity cultural master plan forward. Recommendation V.1: The Cultural Masterplan Task Force should review and "accept" this report with any necessary revisions. The ad hoc Task Force, having been involved in this process from its in- ception, met in mid-April to review this document. The purpose of the meeting was fourfold: • to answer questions that arose about the content of the report • to identify areas where consensus on recommendations existed, as well as areas where more discussion was required before consensus emerged • to revise, if necessary, and "accept" the consultants' report • to discuss the initial steps toward implementation. A "consent calendar" approach was used for this meeting. A consent cal- endar is a device used by a group to identify areas of consensus in order to focus on areas where additional discussion is most likely to be required. With this report, each member of the Task Force received a list of recom- mendations and each member indicated whether he or she agreed, wished to discuss (usually just for clarification or technical information), or disa- greed with each recommendation. If at least two-thirds of the participants agreed with a recommendation, it was placed on the consent calendar and approved with a single vote at the end of the meeting. Otherwise, the rec- ommendation was listed on the meeting's agenda for discussion. At the end of the session, a vote was taken to "accept" the report with any necessary revisions. It is important to understand that "acceptance" in this context did not imply complete agreement with each detail and every rec- ommendation. Rather, it meant that the report can serve as the conceptual framework for subsequent discussions about cultural issues in Huntington Beach. Thus while one might have disagreed with a particular recommen- dation or the degree of emphasis on a particular program, there was a Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 69 general agreement that the philosophical underpinnings and basic thrust of the report reflected the group's vision for the City's cultural future. In addition, an informational session was conducted, open to the public, to review the findings of The Wolf Organization consultants and the work of the Cultural Masterplan Task Force. This session was widely promoted in the community2°. A public forum followed the consultant's presenta- tion that allowed for questions, concerns, and suggestions from the many Huntington Beach residents who attended. The comments (which gener- ally reflected those heard by the consultants during their extensive inter- viewing) have been, when appropriate, incorporated into this revised report. Similar opportunities for review and comment have been provided for the senior staff of the Cultural Services Division and the Community Services Department. Their comments, generally providing feedback on City poli- cies and procedures, have been incorporated into this revised report. Recommendation V.2: The cultural element of the General Plan should be developed, based on the revised cultural planning document. Now that the consultants' report has been revised, it more closely reflects the thinking of the ad hoc community Task Force, the staff of the Cultural Services Division, and others in the City. At this time, the Task Force should meet to set priorities for the various recommendations. During the same period, the consultants will cast this masterplan document into the format of a "cultural element," which articulates City priorities for the cultural future of the community. When these tasks are complete, the re- vised cultural masterplan report can be considered the basic cultural plan- ning document for the City. 20 The informational meeting and public forum was advertised in the Los Angeles Times, the Register, and the Independent;flyers were distributed through the library;public service announcements were aired on Chan- nel 3; and invitations were sent to all interviewees and members of all City Boards, Commissions, City Council, as well as management staff of the City and members of the General Plan Advisory Committee. Page 70 The Wolf Organization, Inc. It is important to clarify that, in addition to the community-wide cultural masterplan, the cultural element will be developed. While the masterplan proposes actions for all sectors of the community (including, for example, the school districts, arts groups, businesses, etc.), the cultural element ad- dresses only City priorities. Based on the community cultural masterplan, including the vision statement in Part I, it will be necessary to abstract the details of the cultural element. A careful reading of this revised document will indicate that the consult- ants have presented recommendations with options for how they might be implemented. In developing the cultural element, an important task will be developing action plans, goals, and objectives by, in effect, choosing among these options. It should be emphasized that this task does not in- volve so much re-thinking the plan as re-casting it into the standardized format for General Plan elements21. To accomplish this, the consultants recommend that, as is common in the City, goals and objectives for the cultural element be developed by the ap- propriate City staff. An ad hoc committee should be assembled with rep- resentation from the Cultural Masterplan Task Force, the Allied Arts Board, and the General Plan Advisory Committee. This body should in- clude individuals who have been active in this planning process from the beginning as well as others who have a clear understanding of the cultural life of the City. Meeting once or twice, the ad hoc group should review the staff's work on the cultural element to make sure that, within the context of the revised cultural planning document, it accurately reflects the thinking of the Task Force and the needs of the community. This body should approve both the cultural element and the goals and objectives. Staff should present the cultural element to the General Plan Advisory Committee and the goals and objectives to the City Council for appropriate action and approval. Z' The consultants note that,as part of their present scope of work, they will provide an initial draft of the cultural element. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 71 Recommendation V.3: The Allied Arts Board and,when established, the proposed private sector arts and cultural support group should be responsible for tracking the implementation of the cultural plan. Since the existing ad hoc Task Force was charged with overseeing the de- velopment of the consultants' report (which it has ably done), its responsi- bilities have been fulfilled. However, there is more work to be done to assure that the detailed cultural plan is actually implemented. While the primary responsibility for implementing the plan lies with the Cultural Services Division, it is important to have a committed group of concerned residents to work with the Division to provide input on particular issues or priority setting, should such concerns arise. It will also be important to identify a group that can continue the necessary education and communi- cation process throughout the City, so that information about the cultural plan and its implementation is properly disseminated. While the original structure of an ad hoc, unaffiliated, community-based Task Force was appropriate for its task, the next steps require an existing entity that has an acknowledged advisory role on arts and cultural matters. The Allied Arts Board is ideal for this function. In addition, the proposed Cultural Partnership22 group —the private side partner that can educate and advocate broadly in support of arts and cultural initiatives —should, once it is formed, work with the Board in this task. The consultants do not envision a complex process. Rather, once the cul- tural element has been approved, they suggest that a schedule of bi-annual advisory and review sessions be developed. At those sessions, members of the Allied Arts Board would hear progress reports from appropriate indi- viduals (including, for example, Cultural Services Division staff, represen- tatives of arts groups, other relevant City staff people, and school officials). They would issue a statement annually on the progress of imple- mentation with their suggestions for future priorities. zz Cf., recommendation II.CA on page 36 for details of this group. Page 72 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Recommendation V.4: A public information plan should be developed to educate the gen- eral public regarding the contents of the community cultural plan. Even before the plan is completed, it will be critical to take steps to assure that it will be understood by the community and ultimately implemented. Work should begin as soon as possible to disseminate the consultants' findings and the recommendations as revised by the Task Force and oth- ers. Since the recommendations will require action from a variety of sec- tors in the community (the City, the school districts, arts and cultural groups, etc.), coordinated informational activities should be developed. Among the most important considerations are the following: • The revised report should be distributed to interested people in the community. Since the report is quite long, a nominal fee for duplica- tion might be charged. Copies for free examination might be placed in public libraries and short "executive summary" material might also be developed. Copies of the consultants' report should be sent to the individuals who requested copies at the recent public meeting. • Informational meetings about the cultural plan should be held with representatives of government, business, education, civic and neigh- borhood groups, artists, and others. The purpose of these sessions is to increase enthusiasm and support for the plan, as well as to gain more active involvement in the on-going implementation of the plan. • Specific written material should be developed, including a special brochure or newsletter that gives a concise summary of the high- lights of the revised consultants' report. In addition, as necessary, specific position and background papers should be developed to de- scribe the impact of particularly complex or potentially controversial recommendations (for example, "Enhance arts and cultural educa- tion—how will we do it?" or "What will a public art program do for our City?" or "What is culture in Huntington Beach?"). • It is important to remember that the public news-worthy moments of this planning process are comparatively few and must be carefully Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 73 exploited in local and regional media outlets. Among the most im- portant are: - the acceptance of the consultants' report and the receipt of the re- vised document - the adoption of the cultural element by the Allied Arts Board - the acceptance of the element by the General Plan Advisory Committee. Much of the work of the next several months will depend on individual supporters of the plan who accept a public relations role and reach out into the community to "sell" the plan. Among the key people to under- take this activity are Task Force members, Allied Arts Board members, representatives of the Art Center Foundation, Arts Associates, and others. This type of work is greatly dependent on personal connections, enthusi- asm, and a willingness to tell the story of Huntington Beach's diverse and vibrant cultural community. Appendix Appendix A List of Interviewees The following individuals were involved in the fact finding for the project. All titles are for identification purposes only and were current at the time of contact. Karen Akamine Artist; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Bill Anderson Art Teacher; Member, Allied Arts Board; Member, The Arts Associates; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Fran Androti Principal, Oak View Elementary School David Anthony Dean of Fine Arts, Golden West College; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Diane Baker Executive Director, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau Rich Barnard Deputy City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Lloyd Baron Member, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; Member, Allied Arts Board; Member, Art in Public Places Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Robert Baron Founding Member, Huntington Beach Art Center Ralph Bauer Member, Huntington Beach City Council; Founding Patron, Huntington Beach Art Center; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Appendix Page A.2 List of Participants Suzanne Beukema Owner, Main Street Cafe;Member, Downtown Business Association Steve Bone The Robert Mayer Corporation; Chairman of the Board,Waterfront Hilton Beach Resort Margaret Bromberg Arts Supporter; Founding Member, Huntington Beach Art Center Lana Campbell President, Huntington Beach Playhouse; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Diana Casey Member, Board of Directors, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; Co-Chair, GTE Directories Summer Classic Equestrian Benefit; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Bonnie Castry School Board Member, Huntington Beach Union High School District Jerry Chapman Member, Executive Board, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; Member, Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau;Vice President, General Plan Advisory Committee; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Norma Clapp Member, Huntington Harbour Philarmonic Committee; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Louisa Cobrs Artist Paul Cook Former President, Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce; Former City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Linda Couey Vice President, Huntington Beach Concert Band; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Michael Couey Arts Supporter Elaine Craft Former Member, Allied Arts Board All Daniel Aerosol Artist Mary Dessert Artist Lucy Dunn Senior Vice President of Development, Koll Company The Wolf Organization, Inc. Appendix Page A.3 Jim Engle Deputy Director, Community Services Department, City of Huntington Beach Doug Erber Member, Sister City Association; Member,Japan America Society Bob Franz Deputy City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Anna Friesen Artist; Member, Allied Arts Board; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Karen Fuson Artist Dick Geosano Realtor; Member, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation Clyde Glasser Principal, Perry Elementary School Lloyd Glick Former Manager, Huntington Beach Concert Band Liz Goldner Free-lance Writer; Member, Allied Arts Board Bob Goodrich Chairman, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; Member, Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau Ron Hagan Director, Community Services Department, City of Huntington Beach David Hagen Superintendent, Huntington Beach Union High School District Rayna Hamre Teacher, Golden West College Elaine Hankin Member, Allied Arts Board; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Ron Hayden Director, Department of Library Services, City of Huntington Beach Howard Hitchcock Artist Mary Linn Hughes Artist Don Jankowiak Member, Board of Directors, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; District Sales Manager, GTE Directories; Co-Chair, GTE Directories Summer Classic Equestrian Benefit Appendix Page A.4 List of Participants Barbara Kaiser Deputy City Administrator, Economic Development Department, City of Huntington Beach Elaine Keeley Teacher; Performing Artist; Former Chair, Allied Arts Board Jim Kerins Artist Marc Klein Member, Downtown Residents' Association Main Street Committee Natalie Kotsch Executive Director, Huntington Beach International Surfing Beach; Founder, International Surfing Museum; Member, General Plan Advisory Committee;Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Sid Kuperberg Member, Board of Directors, Huntington Beach Public Library; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Brandee Lara Arts Facilitator, Huntington Beach Union High School District Victor Leipzig Councilman, City of Huntington Beach Carol Lung Artist; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Bob Mandic Owner, Mandic Motors; President, Downtown Business Association Marcello Mercado Aerosol Artist Barbara Milkovich Former Chair, Historic Resources Board, Orange County Historical Commission Paul Morrow Principal, Sowers Middle School Phil Mosbo Managing Director, Orange County Performing Arts Center;Vice Chair, Allied Arts Board; Member, General Plan Advisory Committee; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Linda Moulton-Patterson Mayor, City of Huntington Beach; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force The Wolf Organization, Inc. Appendix Page A.5 Michael Mudd Manger, Cultural Services Division, City of Huntington Beach; Staff Liaison to Allied Arts Board and Historic Resources Board; Member, Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Eunice Nicholson Founder and Co-Chair, Founders Committee, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation Chris Ortt Aerosol Artist Naida Osline Director, Huntington Beach Art Center, Cultural Services Division Rosemary Parravechio Director of Program Operations, Girls Inc., Newport Mesa Jerry Person Past Chair, Historic Resources Board; Member, Huntington Beach Historical Society; Member, General Plan Advisory Committee Randy Pesqueira Aide, Cultural Services Division, City of Huntington Beach Thaddeus J. Phillips Manager, Library Services, City of Huntington Beach Joyce Riddell President, Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce; Member, Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau Maureen Rivers Chair, Board of Trustees, Newland House Museum; Member, Huntington Beach Historic Resources Board; Member, Huntington Beach Historical Society; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Pat Rogers Marketing Director, Huntington Beach Mall Steve Schwartz Performing Arts Teacher, Huntington Beach Union High School District; Past Chair, Allied Arts Board; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Mary Shebell Chairman, Allied Arts Board; Founder, Huntington Beach Art Center; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Appendix Page A.6 List of Participants Ray Silver Assistant City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Daryl Smith Superintendent, Park, Tree and Landscape Department, City of Huntington Beach Steve Smith Auditorium Manager, Huntington Beach High School Jim Staunton Principal, Huntington Beach High School Scott Steidinger Recording Technician, Golden West College Barbara Steward Arts Supporter Ann Sullivan Principal, Smith Elementary School Ann Thorne Public Arts Consultant; Member, Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Joan Towgood Artist; President, National Women's Caucus for the Arts Michael Uberuaga City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Joanna Viserta-Galinas President, Huntington Beach Historical Society Pat Williams President, Huntington Beach Art League Loretta Wolfe Board Member, Historic Resources Board Kay Work Member and Past President, The Arts Associates Doreen Yonts Principal, Eader Elementary School �av, ao CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH 2000 MAIN STREET CALIFORNIA 92648 November 3, 1994 Mayor Linda Moulton-Patterson and Members of City Council City of Huntington Beach 2000 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Dear Mayor Moulton-Patterson and City Council Members: RE: CULTURAL MASTER PLAN The Wolf Organization has prepared the Cultural Masterplan after careful deliberation and discussion with the community and the city. Meetings and interviews were held with diverse groups. After much revision, we now believe this to be the best plan for the future of the arts in the City. We encourage you to receive this masterplan as our recommended cultural planning document which is intended to guide us over the next decades. Thank you for your leadership in supporting the creation of this plan. We are proud of it and look forward to its acceptance. Sincerely, PHILIP MOSBO Chair, Cultural Masterplan Task Force PM:bs _f CULTURAL MASTER PLAN TASK FORCE City of Huntington Beach Formed October 27, 1993 KAREN AKAMINE DIANA CASEY Artist/Community Projects Art Center Foundation P.O. Box 691 16325 Niantic Circle Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Hm: 960-1303 Hm: (714) 846-7612 DAVID ANTHONY JERRY CHAPMAN,Vice Chairman Dean of Fine Arts GPAC Golden West College Art Center Foundation 15744 Golden West Street 6742 Shire Circle Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Business: (714) 892-7711 Business: (714) 848-2278 Hm: (714) 842-3345 WILLIAM ANDERSON Allied Arts Board NORMA CLAPP Founder/Past President Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee of Arts Associates 3921 Sirius Drive 17831 San Leandro Lane Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Hm: (714) 840-2902 Business: (310) 493-5428 Hm. (714) 847-3873 LINDA COUEY Huntington Beach Concert Band LLOYD BARON 5191 Sparrow Drive Art Center Foundation Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Urban Design & Public Art Hm: (714) 891-6856 Allied Arts Board 16611 Carousel Lane Huntington Beach, CA 92649 ANNA FRIESEN Hm: (714 846-3211 Allied Arts Board 9181 Willhelm Circle Huntington Beach, CA 92646 RALPH BAUER Business: (714) 549-1959 Councilman Hm: (714) 962-8195 Liaison/Allied Arts Board 16511 Cotuit Circle Huntington Beach, CA 92649 ELAINE NANKIN Business: (714) 536-5553 Allied Arts Board Hm: (714) 846-3927 17142 Newquist Lane Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Business: (714) 840-6681 LANA CAMPBELL Hm: (714) 846-5082 President Huntington Beach Playhouse 19821 Deep Harbor Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Hm: (714) 960-9488 NATALIE KOTSCH MICHAEL MUDD H.B. International Surfing Museum Cultural Services Division Manager 411 Olive Street 2000 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Huntington Beach, Ca 92648 Business: (714) 536-9326 Voice: (714) 536-5258 Hm: 536-3266 Fax: (714) 374-1551 SID KUPERBERG MAUREEN RIVERS Library Board Historic Resources Board 10121 Stonybrook Drive Historical Society Huntington Beach, CA 92646 20891 Sailmaker Circle Hm: (714) 963-6161 Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Business: (714) 846-6602 Hm: (714) 960-6134 CAROLE LUNG Arts Program Volunteer 15792 Tullow Lane STEVE SCHWARTZ Huntington Beach, CA 92647 School For The Performing Arts Business: (714) 662-5711 Past Allied Arts Board Hm: (714) 894-4858 7206 Havenrock Drive Huntington Beach, Ca 92648 Business: (714) 969-2712 PHILIP MOSBO, Chairman GPAC Allied Arts Board MARY SHEBELL 21132 Poolside Lane Allied Arts Board Huntington Beach, CA 92648 16271 Spartan Circle Business: (714) 556-2121 Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Hm: (714) 969-6654 Hm: (714) 840-3643 LINDA MOULTON-PATTERSON ANN THORNE Mayor Public Art Consultant Liaison/Allied Arts Board 19842 Shorecliff 501 20th Street Huntington Beach, CA 92647 Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Business: (714) 969-6992 Business: (714) 536-5553 Hm: (714) 960-4047 Hm: (714) 969-2222 CONSULTANTS LISA BROWNFIELD MARC GOLDR/NG Envicom Corporation The Wolf Organization General Plan Update Consultant 8 Francis Avenue 28328 Agoura Road Cambridge, MA 02138 Agoura Hills, CA 91301 Voice: (617) 492-2167 Voice: (818)-879-4700 Fax: (617)492-7525 Fax. (818) 879-4711 STAFF COORDINATOR CAROL GOLDSTEIN BARBARA SCHULTZ The Wolf Organization City of Huntington Beach 8 Francis Avenue Cultural Services Administrative Secretary Cambridge, MA 02138 2000 Main Street Voice: (617)492-2167 Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Fax: (617)492-7525 Voice: (714)536-5258 Fax: (714)374-1551 REQUEjT FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION Date October 17, 1994 Submitted to: Honorable Mayor and City Council Submitted by: Michael T. Uberuaga, City Administrator � Prepared by: Ron Hagan, Director, Community Services Subject: CULTURAL MASTER PLAN Consistent with Council Policy? [ ] Yes [ ] New Policy or Exception Statement of Issue, Recommendation, Analysis, Funding Source, Alternative Actions,Attachments: STATEMENT OF ISS UE The city's Cultural Master Plan has been completed and is ready for Council's consideration. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends Council receive the plan as presented (including staff modifications) and direct staff to prioritize the recommendations and to use the plan as a guide when planning future projects and programs. Implementation should be phased-in, as resources (public and/or private funding) become available and presented through the annual budget process where necessary. Partnerships and cooperative efforts will be encouraged. ANALYSIS In 1992, Council approved $62,000 to complete the Cultural Master Plan (a 10-20 year community planning document) along with the preparation of an Historic Element for the General Plan revision. The document which includes a needs assessment and recommendations for consideration (involving both public and private cultural efforts), was developed by the Wolf Organization and the twenty-five member Cultural Master Plan Task Force. Originally, the Wolf Organization was scheduled to complete the work as a subcontractor for Envicon. However, as the work of GPAC labored on, a decision was made to expedite the process and the city contracted directly with Wolf in 1993. The work took nine months and was completed this past June. _l i PI O 5/85 Cultural Master Plan October 17, 1994 Page 2 Specifically, the task was a structured community-wide, public/private process, that identified community arts and cultural resources, needs and opportunities, action plans and resources to address priority needs and financing. Our plan, like most others, involved an outside consulting firm which was responsible for writing the plan. With the Wolf Organization, our planning process relied heavily upon the face-to-face methods of interviews, small group meetings and regular sessions with the task force to review the findings. The main focal points of the needs assessment section included issues of cultural program and facility development, audience development, arts in education, marketing and fund development strategies. Also key were issues of cultural diversity and access; improved cooperation between arts groups; contribution to downtown development; urban design; improved arts and cultural programming, as well as the encouragement of artists. Following the assessment, the Task Force, along with the Wolf Organization, developed thirty-five recommendations addressing a broad range of needs including such areas as public art; financial infrastructure; guiding principals for future facility development; to historic resources and preservation issues. The plan succeeds the earlier work of the Allied Arts Board with its ten year plan, the Cultural Services Division's five-year plan; the 1987 Library Needs Assessment and the historic sites report and goals and objectives of the Historic Resources Board. And of course, other community organizations such as the Huntington Beach Playhouse, Golden West College and the Huntington Beach High School District have also completed work in this regard, and those efforts were reflected through the Task Force members and are addressed within the plan. In April, a preliminary document was presented to the city and copies were made available for staff and public comment. All comments were taken into consideration by the Task Force and consultant and developed into the final document. The final document was delivered by the Wolf Organization in June. The plan was approved by the Allied Arts Board and Historic Resources Board as presented. During the summer, the document was reviewed by Departments and concerns expressed have been studied and are presented here for Council approval. (See attachment 1) Staff is prepared to begin the process of prioritizing the recommendations that fall within the city's jurisdiction and will return to council for further consideration at a later date. For those recommendations that fall outside the city's jurisdiction, staff and relevant boards and committees will encourage the various cultural organizations to Cultural Master Plan October 17, 1994 Page 3 cooperate in partnership with each other and with the business community to accomplish their goals. An aside, an Historic and Cultural Element to the General Plan (also a part of the task of the consultant) was completed in August, following work of the Cultural Master Plan. Recommendation V.2 of the plan also identifies this need. The element takes into consideration the finding of the needs assessment, the guiding principles and the recommendation of plan. The element was subsequently approved by GPAC in September following a joint study session with the Cultural Master Plan Task Force and after taking into consideration the modifications from relevant city departments. FUNDING SOURCE N/A ALTERNATIVE ACTION None ATTACHMENT Recommended Modifications/Attachment 1 Attachment 2/Professional Services Attachment 3/Cultural Masterplan RH:bs RCA/cmplan Attachment 1 Recommended Modifications to the Cultural Master Plan: 1. All references to the Central Library be changed to Central Library and Cultural Resource Center. All references to the annex of the Central Library be changed to expansion 2. Page 15, bullet one: delete words "to arts and cultural groups for their use" 3. Page 17, paragraph three: delete first two sentences and add: " Should it be determined that there is sufficient interest in a performing arts facility in the downtown area, consideration should be given to using an existing public or private facility within District Six and preferably in close proximity to the Art Center. 4. Page 49 Recommendation 111.2, paragraph 2: eliminate last sentence. The above recommendations were requested by the Library Board and Director and approved by the Chair and Vice Chair of the Cultural Master Plan Task Force. Other concerns that have been studied by staff include: 1. Potential income sources for cultural arts programs. The plan suggested that the city explore all funding possibilities including a sales tax district as well as a portion of parking lot revenues. Modifications of the document are not recommended here due to the fact that the plan only recommends the exploration of funding sources. Approval of the plan does not mandate new funding sources. 2. Pages 19/20: Artist/work/live space was identified as a need and the plan recommends exploring various ways in which to provide this incubator art space. It was felt the city should review the possibility of using vacant industrial and business space for this purpose. Approval of the plan does not change existing city ordinances in this regard. The issue may be addressed with the General Plan Revision. 3. Concern was expressed regarding the allocation of new staff for the Cultural Services Division. The discussion here was intended to identify the human resources that will be required to implement recommendations. Personnel needs will be addressed in the routine budget process and approval of the plan does not authorize new staff. MNY 24 '93 13:06 WOLF ORGANZATION 617-452-7525 PAGE 2 - Page 1 - ExhlbitA Professional Services Tusk 1: Project planning 1.1. The Wolf Organization will review background material which may include such documentation as: Available Current demographic information and planning studies which have relevance to the cultural climate of Huntington Beach and the region • Information about arts organizations(including program descriptions and brochures), facilities, events, and artists In Huntington Beach • Information about industry and economio development In Huntington Beach, including tourism • Available information on private philanthropy and public funding in Huntington Beach • Reports from task forces, consultants, planning projects(including the five-year cultural masterplan developed in 1987 and the Allied Arts Board ten-year plan adapted in 1985), and others which pertain to the cultural master plan. 1.2. The Wolf Organization will assist the City of Huntington Beach In developing a "Steering Committee"for the community planning process. This group will oversee the planning process and provide opinions and feedback on important:issues facing Huntington Beach in general and the arts community in particular. 1.3. In conjunction with that effort, The Wolf Organization will also assist the City of Huntington Beach with the development of a Key Persons List, which will serve as the master list of individuals who will be important sources of information during the project. Many of these individuals will be involved in the planning process, either through interviews, small group sessions, focus groups, or during public meetings. 1.4. If possible, The Wolf Organization will work with the Cultural Services Division to assure that the cultural planning process dovetails with the General Plan re-writo process. [Please note that, unless otherwise indicated, The Wo#Organization will provide three (3) copies of all products.] Client: The City of Huntington Beach will provide access to Information when available and will assist The Wolf Organization in identifying individuals for the Key Persons List. Products: 1. Planning inventory checklist 2. Key Person qualification guidelines 3. Steering Committee roster 4. Initial Key Person List S. Project work plan f TO CITY: TO CONTRACTOR: Mr. Michael Adams Joseph Jo s President/Treasurer Director of Public Works Envicom Cor ration City of Huntington`_ Beach 4764 Park ran a 2000 Main Street Suite 2 Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Calabasas, California 91302 18. IMMIGRATION y CONTRACTOR shall be responsible for full compliance with the immigration and natuAlization laws of the United States and - shall, in particular, comply with the provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1324a• regarding employment VAerification. 19 . ENTIRETY The foregoing, and Ex its "A", "B", "C" and "D" attached hereto, set forth the en ire Agreement between the R4 parties. ; IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the patties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by and throu h their authorized officers the day, month and year first above wri$ten. CONTRACTOR: C 'V' HUNTINGTON BEACH, muni al corp ration e;Ztate of ' lifornia J h urer 'ma X Elw od Tescher, V'ce Pre ent ATTES • ROVED AS TO FORM: . City Clerk g. City 'Attorney 14 R EWED AND APPRO INITI APPROVED: City inist-ratnr Director of Commun' ' Development 10 - Page 2 - Task 2: Initial On-site Sessions 2.1. The Wolf Organization will facilitate a two to three-hour session with representatives of the Steering Committee. The committee will review the project's workplan, outline the group's tasks, request comments and feedback on the process to date, and gather opinions about key cultural issues facing the City and the region. 2.2 The Wolf Organization will also conduct up to eight(8) one-hour informational sessions with representatives of the Arts Council, City government,business leaders,the media, or others as determined by The Wolf Organization and the City of Huntington Beach. The format for these sessions will also be discussed and mutually agreed upon, 2.3 The Wolf Organization will meet with the City of Huntington Beach to work out final procedures, and other details of the consultancy, including setting the calendar for on-site activities for the project. 2.4. The Wolf Organization will also meet with the Manager of the Cultural Services Division to review timetables, procedures,and other matters relating to the cultural plan and,if possible,the rewrite of the General Plan, Client: City of Huntington Beach will provide access to information when avail- able and will also schedule all necessary meetings and provide for meet- ing rooms. Products: 1. Steering Committee session (2 to 3 hours 2. List of interviewees 3. WolflCity meeting (2 to 3 hours) Task 3: Initial Community Needs Assessment 3.1 The Wolf Organization will prepare for the initial assessment work through a detailed review of materials and the refinement of an initial interview protocol. 3.2 The Wolf Organization will work with the City to determine the appropriate mix, location, and format for individual interviews, small group meetings, and public sessions for this task. 3.3 The Wolf Organization will conduct up to nine consultant-days of on-site interviews and small group sessions.Meetings will be held with community leaders, key elected officials,artists, educators, local fenders, representatives of arts organizations(both staff and Board members), the media,the tourist industry, the business community, and others in Huntington Beach with an interest in and knowledge of arts and cultural activities. The purpose of these interviews and meetings will be to gather infbrmation about existing community cultural resources and to assess the need for additional activities and support. Among the areas of interest to be considered by The Wolf Organization are: MAY 2,4 '`' 1' 08 WOLF ORGR 'ATION 617-492-7�25 PAGE 4 - Page 3 - • The development of potential additional arts programming for Huntington Beach, based on identified areas of interest in the community • An assessment of the needs of artists working in Huntington Beach for technical assistance, financial support, studio/rehearsal space, or other assistance • A review of programs of arts education, bath within and outside the public schools • A review of public art program components, including a review of ordinance language and program structure and administration • An assessment of cultural fhollities to determine whether there appears to be need for additional resources in this area. • An assessment of the effectiveness and stability of existing arts organizations, including any City-funded arts programs. The emphasis of these topics, as well as the specific mix of individual and group sessions, will-be determined jointly by The Wolf Organization and the City In Task 3.2 above. 3.4. The Wolf Organization will, during the on-site period for this Task, conduct up to three(3)open public meetings on specific topics mutually agreed upon by the Steering Committee and The Wolf Organization. 3.5 The Wolf Organization will,during the on-site period for this Task, gather reactions and generate interest in the planning process from the general public through appearances on radio and/or television talk shows,interviews with representatives of the print media, or through other means. 3.6 The Wolf Organization will conduct appropriate interim analysis of the information gathered during its work on-site. Client: City of Huntington Beach will schedule all necessary Interviews and meetings and provide for meeting rooms, if needed. In addition, City of Huntington Beach will assist(through sub-committees ofthe Steering Committee)in gathering and compiling inventory information when necessary. Products: 1. Initial interview protocol 2, Public meeting schedule 3. List of participants/interviewees cask 4: Marketing and FundingAssessments 4.1 The Wolf Organization will prepare for the marketing and funding assessment work through a detailed review of materials and the refinement of the general question list. 4.2 The Wolf Organization will work with the City to determine the appropriate mix, location, and format for individual interviews, small group meetings, and public sessions for this task. - Page 4 - 4.3 The Wolf Organization will examine issues relating to cultural marketing, facilities needs, and audience development by conducting four (4) days of on-site individual interviews and/or focus groups. The Wolf Organization will: • Assess those historic and cultural characteristics that make Huntington Beach unique and determine whether special cultural events, festivals, or other programming might be designed around them. • Assess those cultural events and activities presently being conducted by the City and others to determine their level of quality, marketability, and potential for developing larger audiences. • Assess the general level of awareness and image of the arts in Huntington Beach among various sectors of the population. 4.4' The Wolf Organization will examine finding options by conducting five(5)days of on-site individual interviews and/or focus groups. The purpose of this examination is to identify and evaluate the public and private resources that may be available to provide for responsible stewardship of and investment in cultural resources in Huntington Beach. Specifically, The WoifOrganization will: • Assess the current level of support from individual, corporate, and foundation sources in Huntington Beach • Assess the current level of support for arts and cultural activities fl'om public sources, Including the City and the County • Examine and evaluate programs of economic development and tourism which could enhance cultural programming in the City. 4.5 The Wolf Organization will conduct appropriate interim analysis of the information gathered during its work on-sits. Client; City of Huntington Beach will schedule all necessary interviews and meetings and provide any additional reports or information that may be relevant. Products: 1, Assessment question lists 2. List of participantsrnterviewees Task S: Submission of PreliMinaty Report 5.1 The Wolf Organization will prepare a preliminary draft of the master plan which will provide an overview and assessment of the current state of cultural activities in Huntington Beach. In addition, it will provide details of a five-year cultural master plan for Huntington Beach, identifying key issues and priorities for cultural development, which ,41 include: MAY 24 'q3 13:09 WOLF ORGANZAT1ON 617-492-7525 rHut t• - page 5 - • Recommendations for additional cultural events or other programming in Huntington Beach • Recommendations for programs or activities to address the needs of artists • Recommendations, if necessary, designed to improve the quality of arts education in the City • Recommendations, if necessary, on improvements to the administration and program of the public art program • Recommendations on short and long term facilities needs in Huntington Beach, based on interviews with representatives of the arts community • Recommendations for additional strategies to enhance arts organizations' and City arts programs' effectiveness, stability, and responsiveness • Recommendations to enhance the appeal and marketability of existing arts programming and the arts in general, as well as options for additional cultural events or programs that focus on the unique qualities of Huntington Beach • Recommendations to increase the level of support from public and private sources in Huntington Beach • Recommendations for public/private partnerships to enhance the role of the arts in economic development, in particular tourism 5.2 The Wolf Organization will provide a summary of the report which summarizes the .findings and includes a Nsion statement"which may be used, in conjunction with the full report(which will be provided in machine readable form),to write the cultural element of the General Plan. Products: 1. Preliminary report(3 bound, I camera-ready) 2. "Vision Statement" and report summary Task 6. Retreat with Steering Committee 6.1 The Wolf Organization will develop a meeting format and agenda for the retreat to review the preliminary report(working jointly with tho City of Huntington Beach). 6.2 Within two weeks of the receipt of the preliminary report,The Wolf Organization will conduct a half-day facilitated retreat with designated groups to review the key recommendations of the Preliminary Report. The retreat will be designed to review important areas of the plan, identify areas of consensus and areas where more work may be necessary to reach consensus: The Wolf Organization will also address Issues relating to the initial steps of implementation of the cultural plan-how to build upon the interest and involvement of the wider community to move forward with the acceptance and implementation of the plan, If time and scheduling allow, additional review and feedback sessions may be scheduled with other important groups in the community. Client: The City of Huntington Beach will be responsible for all logistical de- tails of the meetings. I'IPgt G�1 7 J 1J.1U VJULf- UFIL4M 1�" •� �� - - Page 6 - Products 1. Retreat format and agenda 2. Steering Committee retreat(4 hours) Task 7: Submission of Final Report and Public Presentation 7.1 -Within two weeks of the completion of the retreat, The Wolf Organization will submit a revised, camera-ready,typeset Final Report, which has been edited to reflect the areas of consensus which may have been identified. In this way, the flnal document becomes both a narrative of the findings and recommendations of The Wolf Organization and a record of the planning group's initial direction, 7.2 The Wolf Organization will be available for up to three 2 to 3 hour sessions to meet with the Steering Committee, representatives of the arts community,the media, elected officials,business leaders, or others for brief presentations highlighting key points in the plan and outlining the next steps in its implementation, These sessions will be Jointly developed with the City of Huntington Beach to address key concerns of these groups. Client: The City of Huntington Beach will be responsible for all logistical de- tails of the meetings. Products: 1. Review sessions(up to three) 2. Final report(3 bound, I camera-ready) h1AY 24 '`'= 1-:10 UILILF nRciArcPT I ON 617-492-7525 PAGE 8 . - Page 7 - Exhibit B Compensation The scope of work, as shown in Exhibit A, has been designed to provide the City of Huntington Beach with a project methodology which addresses key cultural planning issues In the community. The total cost of this project will be $62,000, including all expenses. The costs are broken down by task below. Task I Project planning Labor 5,800 Direct costs 1,580 Overhead/administration 2,269 Sub-total 9,649 Task 2 Initial on-site Labor Z800 Direct costs 2,245 Overhead/administration 644 ' Sub-total 5,689 Task 3 Community needs ass'm Labor 5,400 Direct costs 3,986 Overhead/administration %242 Sub-total 10,628 Task 4 Mkt/Fnding ass'm Labor 5,200 Direct costs 3,800 Overhead/administration 1,196 Sub-total 10,196 Task 5 Preliminary report Labor 11,600 Direct costs 1,160 Overhead/administration 2,668 Sub-total 15,428 Task 6 Retreat Labor 2,000 Direct costs 1,016 Overhead/administration 460 Sub-total 3,476 Task 7 Final report/facil'tn Labor 4,600 Direct costs 1,276 Overhead/administration 1,058 Sub-total 6,934 TOTAL 62,000 n► CULTUKAL MA5TEKPLAN A Community Planning Document City of Huntington Peach Completed May 1994 4 For additional information contact:. Cultural Services Division Community Services Department City of Huntington Beach 2000 Main Street Huntington Beach Ca.92648 Telephone 714.536.525& Fax 714.574. 1551 The Cultural Services Division was designated a Local Arts Agency May 16, 1994 A Cultural Masterplan for Huntington Beach Final Report May, 1994 by Marc Goldring Carol Goldstein Bill Moskin Jane Preston The Wolf Organization, Inc. 8 Francis Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 492-2167 (617) 492-7525 Cultural Masterplan Task Force Philip Mosbo, Chairman Jerry Chapman, Vice Chairman Karen Akamine David Anthony William Anderson Lloyd Baron Ralph Bauer Lana Campbell Diana Casey Norma Clapp Linda Couey Anna Friesen Elaine Hankin Natalie Kotsch Sid Kuperberg Carole Lung Linda Moulton-Patterson Michael Mudd Maureen Rivers Steve Schwartz Mary Shebell Ann Thorne Table of Contents Executive Summary Part I: Introduction and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 History of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 How to use this report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Overview of Arts and Culture in Huntington Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Draft Vision Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Part II: Priorities for Art and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 A. Needs of Artists and Arts Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 B. Cultural Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 C. Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 D. Arts in Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Part III: Role of the Cultural Services Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 PartIV: Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 PartV: Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Appendix A: List of Interviewees Executive Summary In September of 1993, the City of Huntington Beach contracted with The Wolf Organization, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts to assist in the development of a community cultural masterplan. After a se- ries of interviews with over eighty individuals from all sectors of the community, the consultants submit their report with findings and recommendations for the community's consideration. The future of arts, history, and culture in Huntington Beach is bright. The City has the opportunity to build on the strengths of its existing cultural "assets" to create a community-wide vision of "arts and culture" that is inclusive— of all residents and visitors and of all arts disciplines and types of work. The consultants propose a defini- tion of culture that includes both the conventional fine arts as well as the traditions, history, and customs of its new and old residents. With the opening of the Central Library addition and the imminent opening of the Art Center in June, a new and highly visible focus for arts and culture will emerge. These facilities and their programming, along with the proposals in this report , have the potential to create an identity for the City as a regional cultural hub. The consultants note that there are many additional programs, facili- ties, and activities that are needed to round out the arts, historic, and cultural components of community life. In particular, they have made recommendations in the following key areas: -page • Artists and Arts Groups: The consultants propose a system to desseminate information about arts and culture, including avail- able spaces, sources of funding;and other key facts. A program of basic technical assistance for artists and arts groups is also proposed. The facility needs of the community are detailed, along with a proposal to better utilize existing facilities, systems to set priorities among various facility needs, and strategies to coordinate cultural facilities planning with other City planning efforts. • Cultural Identity: The consultants propose a series of pro- grams to highlight the heritage of the community. They also suggest that the existing ad hoc public art program be phased in to a comprehensive program, and that a "cultural corridor" be established to promote the City's complete range of cultural as- sets, beginning with the downtown area. The need for an his- toric resources and preservation plan is emphasized as well as the importance of enhanced cultural components of existing community events. • Communication: Programs to improve networking and com- munication between arts groups and among arts groups and the general public are proposed, as well as an "awareness cam- paign" to educate the community to how arts, history, and cul- ture can improve the lives of everyone. The consultants also recommend programs of outreach to new audiences, including people of color and other underserved constituencies. A private-sector umbrella leadership group is proposed to advo- cate in support of arts, historic, and cultural concerns. • Arts in Education: To conduct planning and advocate for arts education, the consultants recommend the formation of a City- wide Arts Education Planning Group. They emphasize the school districts' primary responsibility for arts education, while also supporting additional participation by arts groups in -page school arts programming. Suggestions are made to enhance the City's programming in support of arts education. • Cultural Services Division: The consultants propose that the Division be designated as the City's offical local arts agency, emphasizing its role as facilitator and catalyst, to assure its abil- ity to apply for state and federal funding. They also propose that all City cultural endeavors be coordinated by the Division and some activities (primarily arts and crafts classes) be moved into the Division. Additional staff is recommended and propos- als are made to strengthen the role of the Allied Arts Board. • Resources: Options to increase the earned income of arts, his- toric, and cultural groups are discussed, as are ways to increase contributions from the private sector, focusing primarily on in- creasing sponsorships. Mechanisms to increase public funding are detailed, including General Fund support for core functions of the Cultural Services Division, a sales tax assessment district, and a percentage of City parking fees to support cultural pro- gramming and facilities. The consultants also recommend that issues relating to the required level of "self-sufficiency" for the Division be resolved quickly. • Next Steps: Finally, the consultants outline a procedure for the Cultural Masterplan Task Force and City staff to develop the cultural element for the General Plan revision. They recom- mend that the Allied Arts Board and the proposed private- sector umbrella group oversee implementation of the plan and outline ways to provide information to the community to gain support for the plan's initiatives. Following is a listing of all the recommendations from the body of this preliminary report, along with the page number indicating where the discussion begins. -page iv- Recommendation II.A.1: Formal mechanisms should be created to provide better access to important information and to assist net- working in the cultural community (cf.,page 10). Recommendation II.A.2: A program that targets basic business skills should be developed to provide technical assistance to arts, historic, and cultural groups as well as artists (cf.,page 12). Recommendation II.A.3: A strategy should be established to as- sure that existing arts and cultural facilities are used effectively(cf., page 14). Recommendation II.A.4: Plans for new and/or renovated arts and cultural facilities should be developed in conjunction with the pro- gramming needs of arts groups and the interests of the community (cf., page 15). Recommendation II.A.S: A set of"guiding principles" should be developed to provide criteria in determining the priority of new cultural facilities projects. In addition, mechanisms should be established to assure coordination of facilities planning(cf., page 21). Recommendation II.B.1: Programs should be established to clar- ify and highlight the cultural heritage and identities of Huntington Beach (cf.,page 22). Recommendation II.B.2: A plan for a phased-in "cultural corri- dor"—including the area surrounding Golden West College run- ning to Central Park and including Main Street to the Pier— should be developed (cf., page 24). Recommendation II.B.3: The Conference and Visitors Bureau's Urban Design and Public Art Committee should be reconstituted a City entity responsible for the public art program. In addition, the City should consider restructuring the Design Review Board (cf., page 26). -page v- Recommendation II.BA: The existing ad hoc public art program should be formalized into programs for public and private sector development (cf.,page 27). Recommendation II.B.S: An historic resources and preservation plan should be developed to augment the historic element in the City's General Plan(cf., page 29). Recommendation II.B.6: Opportunities to enhance the cultural components of existing community events and promotions should be explored. In addition, events with a single focus on arts and cul- ture should be considered (cf.,page 30). Recommendation II.C.1: Strategies to enhance networking within the arts community, and between arts groups and the general pub- lic, should be developed (cf.,page 31). Recommendation II.C.2: A campaign should be undertaken to raise the community's awareness of the full range of arts, history, and culture available in Huntington Beach (cf., page 33). Recommendation II.C.3: Programs of outreach to new constitu- encies for arts and culture should be developed (cf.,page 35). Recommendation II.C.4: A private-sector umbrella group of lead- ership supporters of arts, history, and culture in Huntington Beach should be established (cf., page 36). Recommendation II.D.1: Huntington Beach's four school dis- tricts should increase their support of arts education (cf., page 39). Recommendation II.D.2: A City-wide, multi-district "Arts Edu- cation Planning Group" should be established (cf., page 39). Recommendation II.D.3: Opportunities to strengthen and coor- dinate arts, cultural, and historic groups' participation in school programming should be developed (cf., page 41). -page vi- Recommendation II.D.4: Opportunities to enhance the range and scope of arts educational programming offered by the City should be developed (cf.,page 42). Recommendation II.D.S: The Arts Education Planning Group should consider options for equitably providing a full range of per- forming and visual arts educational programming to school chil- dren (cf., page 44). Recommendation III.1: The Cultural Services Division should be designated by ordinance as the City's local arts agency (cf.,page 46). Recommendation III.2: The City's arts and cultural programming should be centrally coordinated by the Cultural Services Division (cf., page 49). Recommendation III.3: The City should allocate additional staff resources to the Division of Cultural Services (cf.,page 51). Recommendation III.4: The role of the Allied Arts Board as advi- sors to City Council should be strengthened (cf., page 52). Recommendation IV.1: Opportunities to increase the earned in- come potential of arts and cultural groups should be developed (cf., page 55). Recommendation IV.2: Programs that target increasing charitable contributions from the private sector should be implemented (cf., page 57). Recommendation IV.3: Fund-raising efforts for art, history, and cultural initiatives should be more broadly based in the community (cf., page 58). Recommendation IV.4: Mechanisms to enhance the level of pub- lic support for arts and culture should be explored (cf., page 60). -page vii- Recommendation IV.5: Issues relating to the level of"self- sufficiency" required of the Cultural Services Division's program- ming should be resolved quickly (cf.,page 63). Recommendation IV.6: The City should consider ways that it can assist arts and cultural development through incentives (cf., page 64). Recommendation IV.7: The Cultural Services Division should ap- ply for federal and state funding for arts activities. In particular, it should apply for a Local Incentive Grant through the National En- dowment for the Arts (cf., page 65). Recommendation V.1: The Cultural Masterplan Task Force should review and "accept" this report with any necessary revisions (cf., page 67). Recommendation V.2: The cultural element of the General Plan should be developed, based on the revised cultural planning docu- ment (cf., page 68). Recommendation V.3: The Allied Arts Board and,when estab- lished, the proposed private sector arts and cultural support group should be responsible for tracking the implementation of the cul- tural plan (cf., page 70). Recommendation V.4: A public information plan should be de- veloped to educate the general public regarding the contents of the community cultural plan (cf., page 71). Part I Introduction and Overview History of the Project In September of 1993, the City of Huntington Beach contracted with The Wolf Organization, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts to conduct a com- munity cultural master planning project. Over the course of the following months, a team of four consultants met with a cross-section of over eighty individuals representing Huntington Beach's arts and historic community, as well as City staff and elected officials, civic, business, and education leaders, and others (see Appendix A of this report for a complete list of participants). In addition, the consultants have worked with a community-based Task Force that has provided vital information, offered insight into key issues and concerns, and reviewed the consultants' preliminary findings. Meeting once a month since October, the Task Force has played a significant role in assuring that this planning document reflects the priorities of Hunting- ton Beach and that it will dovetail with other planning efforts, primarily the revision of the City's General Plan. The consultants would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Cultural Masterplan Task Force, the staff of the Cultural Services Division of the Community Serv- ices Department, as well as all the individuals who consented to be inter- viewed for this project, for their valuable assistance. Funding for this project has been provided by the City of Huntington Beach. Page 2 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Any reader of this report who is familiar with arts and culture in Hunting- ton Beach will realize that many of the consultants' recommendations are not new. Rather,in many cases they reflect years of concept development by the many people who are active in the City's cultural life, in particular the Allied Arts Board's ten-year plan presented in 1986 that identified many important program needs and resulted in the creation of the Cul- tural Services Division. It is the consultants' aim to articulate a comprehensive "blueprint" for de- veloping arts and cultural activities within the framework of the thinking and planning already undertaken. Thus, they emphasize that while they take responsibility for the contents of this report, it does reflect the think- ing of earlier planning initiatives.Whenever possible, the consultants pro- vide historical information as background and context for their recommendations. How to use this report This report is divided into several parts: • Part I provides an introduction, an overview of key issues in Hunt- ington Beach, and a draft "vision statement" for culture in the City. • Part II presents a series of recommendations on the priorities for culture. • Part III addresses the role of the Cultural Services Division of the Community Services Department. • Part IV identifies the necessary resources to realize the goals articu- lated through the recommendations in Part II. • Part V describes the next steps toward implementation. Since the next step in this planning process is to reach consensus on these recommendations, set priorities among them, and begin implementation, a careful reading of this report is essential. Overview of Arts and Culture in Huntington Beach The consultants have noted several important factors about Huntington Beach that, while relatively well understood and acknowledged in the community,will have profound implications for the development of arts Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 3 and cultural/historic activities in the City over the next five years.They highlight some of those observations below. • Growth in Huntington Beach over the past twenty years has been extraordinary and the City has made great strides in addressing pressing urban issues. Given this growth, the City has only recently begun to develop the cultural infrastructure that can provide the range of services residents require.While the cultural life of Hunt- ington Beach is quite active, only with the addition of the new wing of the Central Library and the imminent opening of the Art Center 'has there been a high visibility focus for culture that will have an im- pact on residents and the entire region. • These structures—and, more important, the programming that they will support as they mature—will have a profound effect on the community as it evolves over the next several years. Thus, in some ways, a significant theme of this report is planning for enhanced cul- tural activities. While this is an extremely positive situation, the tim- ing does complicate the cultural masterplan initiative, because the Art Center's program initiatives are not yet in place and their impact cannot be assessed. This suggests that a review of the final planning document at an earlier than usual time (perhaps within eighteen months to two years) should be considered. • This strengthened activity relating to arts and culture is a result of City residents—especially community leaders—having expressed (and acted upon) their desire for a higher profile for arts and cultural activity. The establishment of the Cultural Services Division, build- ing the new Library wing, and the City's participation in developing the Art Center and Celebration Plaza all indicate a strong involve- ment in and commitment to creating major new cultural facilities and promoting history, arts, and culture as a primary component of community services. In particular, the extraordinary private fund raising for the Art Center is indicative of this commitment. • Such a commitment is perhaps not surprising, given the demograph- ics of the City that show per capita income and education levels that are among the highest in the nation, although residents generally do not appear to be aware of these statistics. Civic leaders, however, Page 4 The Wolf Organization, Inc. seem to understand that these demographics suggest a population likely to have high expectations for services,particularly in the area of arts and cultural activities. The City must continue to consider these factors when making decisions about the mix of services it provides. • Other demographic trends are at work in the community as well. For example, the percentage of younger families and the population of Latinos, Asians, and other diverse communities, are increasing. And,while there is interest among these groups in arts and culture, generally a very different range of needs and interests are identified as priorities. As a result, the mix of arts and cultural programming will have to be designed to meet the needs of these individuals as well. • The consultants often heard about the needs of youth. These needs ranged from assuring educational experiences in the arts for young people to providing creative outlets so that talented young people need not leave the community. Concern was expressed by many in- terviewees about the depth and quality of arts education opportuni- ties for children and youth, with the availability of programming being dependent in many cases on the particular district and school attended. On the positive side, the efforts of those individuals re- sponsible for the High School for the Performing Arts were seen as a major step forward for arts education and District support for the initiative was seen as critical. • The tradition of youth culture—including such things as surfing and the music associated with it—on the beach and in the down- town area was another concern. While some people expressed dis- may at the number of young people on Main Street and their impact on retail, others felt this reflected an historic pattern in the City. Controversies surrounding youth, in particular around the beach wall aerosol art project, have required active efforts to resolve. This experience emphasizes the need for better dialogue with and educa- tion of the public. • A commitment to address the cultural needs of all residents can overlap with other, more regional considerations. Residents of Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page S Huntington Beach,like many Orange County and southern Califor- nia residents, tend to have ties to other communities or their neigh- borhoods as well as to their own city:This can work both for and against cultural growth in Huntington Beach. On one hand, it makes it more difficult to design cultural programs that address the needs of residents, since they often participate in such activities in the com- munities where they conduct the "business" of their lives. On the other hand, it suggests that audiences for arts and cultural program- ming that occurs in Huntington Beach can be drawn from outside of the City, since people are willing to travel to entertainment and edu- cation venues. • The revitalization of Main Street has played a role, as well. It has brought a new image and vitality to downtown Huntington Beach, as well as a new center for civic activity. This mixed use commercial district is a pivotal element for the future of the City, serving as its visible gathering place. In addition, this area has an assortment of historic structures that can enhance a sense of the history of the City for both resident and visitor.With the Pier Plaza and the Art Center as anchors at either end, this area can provide the foundation for a strong community image, one that embraces the multiple identities of Huntington Beach,while providing a focus for its "artistic" iden- tity as well. • At the same time, however, questions of the visual impact of the City are not thoroughly resolved. The desire to improve the visual quality of the City is articulated as a priority commitment of the City but there does not appear to be agreement on standards for urban design. For example, the City has made a major investment in redevelop- ment and urban design improvements to major corridors, including such things as new architectural standards, landscaping, sidewalks, and medians. However, individuals in the cultural community ques- tion whether the standards are sufficiently high and if they are aes- thetically appropriate to the City's image and identity. The situation may be exacerbated by the fact that the make-up of the existing De- sign Review Board does not allow for a great deal of community input. Page 6 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • The consultants heard much discussion of the "identity" of Hunt- ington Beach—whether the City is defined by "surf," "oil," its his- tory of revival meetings, its early connection with agriculture, its environmental features,its connection to rail and other transporta- tion links, or its indigenous inhabitants. In reality, as is often the case,there is no single, exclusive image. The City is a composite of all of these, as well as having the potential to establish an additional new identity as a regional focal point for the arts. All these serve as the building blocks of an exciting and vibrant community that has much to share with new residents and visitors. The challenge in Huntington Beach is to bring the best of the past into the future. • While there is interest on the part of some civic leaders in using pub- lic art as a way to improve the visual appeal of the built environment, there are questions about issues of cost and maintenance that are seen as limiting the ability of the City to establish a percent for art pro- gram. To the extent that public art is defined as object-oriented (i.e., sculpture), this is perhaps true. However, since public art may also include other programmatic thrusts, such as targeting increased artist-input into the design and planning of capital projects as well as non-object-oriented artistic expression, these concerns,while having some validity, may not be as problematic. Draft Vision Statement In order to having a meaningful cultural policy and plan, it is necessary at the outset to make sure that there is agreement about basic terms and a common vision of the future. In that spirit, the consultants offer the fol- lowing statement for consideration by the Task Force. It is based on dis- cussions held with that body early in the process, as well as other meetings and interviews conducted during the fact-finding phases of this project. It is designed to provide both a definition of"arts and culture" and a consensus vision for how arts and culture will develop in Huntington Beach over the next years. "Arts and culture,"in the context of this plan, represent more than the conventional visual and performing arts. While they of course include these important forms of expression, arts and culture also embody the sum total of a community's customs, beliefs, and Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 7 traditions. They include folk art and music;traditional crafts;his- toric buildings, landmarks, and other sites for public events and celebrations, such as parks and open spaces. We understand the vital connection arts and culture have to our quality of life as a community and the contribution they can make to the everyday lives of Huntington Beach residents. Arts and cul- ture can provide opportunities to enhance the education of our chil- dren, can bridge the differences between people through shared experiences, and can strengthen the economic development of our City. For these reasons, as well as for the rich pleasure arts and cultural pursuits can provide, we want to assure that our community's resi- dents can continue to enjoy the promise of a full and vital cultural life. To accomplish that, we believe that in the next years we must. • develop avenues for communication and participation in arts and cultural activities and programming to bring together the diverse segments of our community • establish activities and programs to enhance our City's visual appeal and to highlight its unique cultural heritage • assure that our children receive quality experiences of arts and cul- ture both within and outside the classroom • provide funding from public and private sources to establish a wider range of cultural programs and facilities to address the needs and in- terests of all residents. Page 8 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Part II Priorities for Art and Culture A. Needs of Artists and Arts Groups Any plan to address the enhancement of the cultural life of Huntington Beach must begin by considering the vitality of the artists and arts groups. The consultants found an active and focused cultural scene in the City. Al- though there are few large or highly structured arts and cultural organiza- tions in Huntington Beach, there is a core of local artists, both professional and avocational, as well as many arts groups that are conduct- ing a wide array of high-quality programs. Among them are: • The Huntington Beach Playhouse is a thirty-year old community theatre, now performing in the new theatre in the Library Annex. The group presents 16 performances of six shows during the year, as well as an outdoor Shakespeare series in Central Park and a chil- dren's Christmas program. • The Newland House Museum is a showcase of local history oper- ated by the Historical Society and the City. In addition to exhibition space in its restored buildings, there is room for additional exhibits and special events in the area behind the house and barn. • The International Surfing Museum opened in its first location in 1988 and is presently in a 2,000 square foot renovated space in the downtown. Plans to build a new, state-of-the-art museum facility are currently developed and funding is being sought. A "Surfing Walk Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 9 of Fame" is being established and has received much attention in the international surfing community. • Golden West College has a wide range of cultural facilities and ac- tive instructional programs in the arts with an emphasis on both tra- ditional and electronic forms of most artistic media. Its program of theatre production currently includes about 40 percent non-student actors. • The Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee has an active program of fund raising for the Orange County Performing Arts Center. In addition, the Committee provides a range of programs for public school children, including in-school programs and bus trips to the Performing Arts Center. • The Huntington Beach Concert Band performs in venues around Orange County. With about seventy-five members, half of whom are from Huntington Beach, the Band has played at City Council meetings, ground-breakings, concerts in Central Park, and other lo- cations. It is the only band of its type in Orange County not sup- ported by a school district. • The School for the Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High School currently has about three hundred students enrolled from throughout the City, offering classes in dance, theatre, music, and television production. • The soon-to-be-opened Huntington Beach Art Center is a com- munity art center that will provide local citizens and a regional audi- ence with opportunities for exposure to and involvement in the visual arts. It will have three active gallery spaces, a darkroom, class- rooms, meeting rooms, and a gift shop. • A strong Parks and Recreation program includes arts and crafts classes held in parks and community centers throughout the City. • The Central Library with its new wing devoted to children, also in- cludes a 300-seat theatre, several meeting and classrooms, and other important additions to its physical plant. • A wide range of other groups, including the Arts Associates, the Huntington Beach Art League, and many others, are also active in the community. The consultants found that most arts and historic groups in the City func- tion on a volunteer basis,without paid staff or permanent facilities. In ad- dition, artists have generally not been able to work in the City,primarily Page 10 The Wolf Organization, Inc. because of the cost of renting space and the lack of professional venues in which to exhibit and perform their work. In this section of the report, the consultants provide some recommenda- tions to address these and other important concerns of artists and arts groups. The concerns fall generally into two categories—programs and facilities—and they are discussed below.' Programs Recommendation II.AA: Formal mechanisms should be created to provide better access to important information and to assist networking in the cultural community. The consultants heard that one of the major problems facing cultural and historic groups is the difficulty in getting access to important information, in particular about such topics as access to facilities and financial re- sources. While the Cultural Services Division has an extensive library (in- cluding publications on arts issues,historic services, and fund raising), its visibility is low and access to that information is difficult. In addition, some information has not yet been gathered in a comprehensive form. It is critical to set up systems and networks that provide these groups with simplified access to this information as well as to information about im- portant resources that they may not be able to locate otherwise. There are several information systems that are most important for artists and arts groups in Huntington Beach. They include: • A community arts,culture, and history newsletter designed to in- clude information about important activities at cultural sites, as well as information about the Cultural Services Division, features on arts programs in schools, a calendar of upcoming events, and other important information'. It should be available widely in the ' Note that issues relating to artists and arts groups are also discussed in all of the following sections. 2 The consultants note that the Cultural Services Division has a newsletter, Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 11 community. • A space clearinghouse that would provide an inventory of existing spaces in Huntington Beach that are available for arts and cultural usage,including details of available equipment, fees, and contact in- formation. It should include temporary spaces (for example,vacant storefronts) as well as permanent facilities,including churches. • A centralized event clearinghouse that would list all planned activi- ties for the coming eighteen months. By listing this information in one place, those groups planning activities (programming or fund raising) could easily check to assure that there are not conflicting activities. • An artists' register that could be available for an art in public places program, gallery owners,presenters, and others,with resume infor- mation on the artists that might eventually be augmented with slides or tapes of recent work. This additional information, gathered over the course of several years,will become increasingly important for arts and'cultural groups in the City as they evolve into more sophisticated operations. The consultants see such evolution as the likely result of improved community facilities and pro- grams and a growing recognition of the value of arts and culture in the community. These systems are designed to help groups get important in- formation without spending a great deal of time doing it. The consultants believe that the Division of Cultural Services should con- tinue to take responsibility for this task, since it is the only centralized source of such information. This will enhance the ability of Division staff to assist cultural groups in networking, since they will become the "clear- inghouse" for all information. Their ability to serve as "catalysts" for bringing artists and arts groups with similar interest together will be an important asset. although that vehicle is devoted to the Art Center.While that is impor- tant,there is need for a more comprehensive publication. Page 12 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Recommendation II.A.2: A program that targets basic business skills should be developed to provide technical assistance to arts, historic, and cultural groups as well as artists. Understandably, the ability of small,volunteer cultural/historic groups to handle the managerial aspects of their operations is often limited. This is partly a matter of not having sufficient time to devote to operations; but it is also true that most of the individuals running these groups do not have a grounding in the basic business skills needed to most efficiently run them. According to many interviewees,providing opportunities for such basic training would be valuable. Technical assistance designed to provide fo- cused training for staff and volunteers would be particularly useful in the areas of: • how to run a small organization, including such skills as financial management(basic accounting, budgeting), fund raising (grant and proposal writing, annual appeals, special events planning), market- ing, and long-range planning • how to develop partnerships and joint ventures, including strate- gies for working with private businesses of various sizes, as well as City agencies, the Chamber of Commerce, the Conference and Vis- tors Bureau, and others • how to plan for the future, including approaches to understanding the implications of growth and of remaining at current levels of ac- tivities, as well as more formal long-range planning exercises for some of the larger groups • how to plan programs,including ways to assess the level of interest in the community for various types of artistic or cultural program- ming, devising strategies to identify and sell to new audiences, and other matters. Many of the specific training opportunities for small cultural/historic groups may be relevant for artists as well and plans to include them in this programming should be developed. In addition, topics of interest specifi- cally to artists include developing cooperative ventures,planning for Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 13 shared studio and/or exhibition space,developing master leases, and code requirements for live/work spaces. A training program would be most effective as a monthly series of half- day or evening programs,which should be developed and coordinated by the Cultural Services Division,in consultation with arts groups, and per- haps working with Golden West College. Indeed,the Division already un- dertakes some of these activities on an ad hoc basis and broader dissemination of information about existing activities will be necessary. It will also be important to make sure that the specific subject matter of the programs targets the priority needs of these groups. A program of this na- ture will not only assist arts and cultural groups but it will clearly signal the City's on-going commitment to fostering the health of these groups. Such a program need not be costly.While it may be possible from time to time to bring in well-known workshop leaders, it will be more cost- effective to search out local professionals from either the profit sector or larger nonprofit organizations who might be willing to volunteer their services to provide workshops, facilitation, and other types of training. Alternatively, it might be possible to develop a relationship with nonprofit technical assistance providers, such as ARTS Inc. in Los Angeles. Such groups can either provide the necessary programming or offer guidance on ways that it might be developed using local trainers. Facilities There are a number of cultural facilities in Huntington Beach, ranging from the multi-faceted visual and performing arts spaces at Golden West College and the Huntington Beach High School to the Victorian charm of the Newland House Museum. In addition, there are outdoor facilities in Central Park and other locations. With the recently opened annex to the Central Library and the anticipated opening of the Art Center in June, cultural activities in Huntington Beach will have a new, strong, and visible presence. These new or expanded facilities add important spaces for cul- tural activities: • The addition to the Central Library includes a 300-seat theatre, as well as gallery space and meeting rooms. Page 14 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • The Art Center will have three galleries, a small studio, a perform- ance space for lectures,meetings,video/film, and small-scale theatri- cal presentations, as well as a gift shop/bookstore. These new facilities will require some time to become fully operational (both physically and programmatically), and their impact on the cultural community is necessarily difficult to assess at the moment. Further, addi- tional cultural facilities will ultimately be required to address the full range of community needs. However,it is necessary to focus initially on com- pleting existing and scheduled projects and to assess their impact before undertaking major new capital efforts. In the following recommendations, the consultants provide a framework for this process. Recommendation II.A.3: A strategy should be established to assure that existing arts and cul- tural facilities are used effectively. The community's first priority should be to make sure that existing cul- tural facilities in Huntington Beach are used effectively,in particular that they are fully utilized and that their programming is designed to provide a mix of offerings that addresses the needs and interests of all residents. Among the facilities that are currently under-utilized are the following: • Golden West College has a large amphitheatre,with seating for about 1,000, that is only minimally used. Given its location and its availability for community use, and with proper promotion and a thoughtful mix of activities, it might serve as an alternative to the amphitheatre in Central Park. It would require stage and technical support improvements to make it more useful. • The Huntington Beach High School Auditorium, seating about 700, is heavily utilized during the school year; however, it is available during the summer months and might be more fully utilized then'. In general, better access to school facilities would be advantageous. ' See the text on pages 17-18 for a discussion of the necessary renovations to this facility. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 15 • While the Central Library's new addition adds impressive capabili- ties to the cultural infrastructure,its utility for arts and cultural groups is presently limited (according to interviewees) by the lack of staff available for programming and the relatively high rental fees charged to arts and cultural groups for their use. • The grounds of Newland House Museum and Newland House Barn could be the site for additional cultural and/or historic pro- gramming. Given some modifications, the Barn might be a tempo- rary site for experimental theatre. Addressing the circumstances that contribute to this under-utilization should be an important priority. Some of this may involve establishing community-wide systems. For example, in recommendation II.A.1, the consultants propose a system to catalogue information about cultural spaces in Huntington Beach. Such a system will assist in eliminating the problem of under-utilization by simplifying the process through which arts groups identify appropriate space. Other strategies may include on- going conversations among programming institutions to assure communi- cation, coordination of activities, and sensitivity to the range of interests of residents. The activities of the soon-to-be-opened Art Center will have a substantial impact on the cultural life of the community. As its programming comes on-line, it will be important to develop strategies to coordinate it with that of other organizations in the City to maximize its impact and leveraging potential. The Art Center should be considered as part of a cooperative network, and staff should work with appropriate staff at the Library and Golden West College to assure good communication and coordination of activities, particularly during a time of scarce resources. Recommendation II.A.4: Plans for new and/or renovated arts and cultural facilities should be developed in conjunction with the programming needs of arts groups and the interests of the community. While more effective utilization of existing facilities will help, it will still be necessary, over the years, to add to the stock of facilities available for Page 16 The Wolf Organization, Inc. arts and cultural usages.This may be accomplished in a variety of ways, including new construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse. And,while it will be advantageous to develop these facilities over the course of time, planning ought to start soon, based on the needs and interests of the community. A wide range of facilities needs were identified by interviewees and the consultants discuss them below. However, before that discussion, there are some important caveats that should be kept in mind: • First,while many interviewees provided opinions about the need for cultural facilities,they generally spoke from the perspective of the arts community—in effect, as the "producers" of cultural "prod- uct." It will be very important to understand the other side of the equation—the "consumer" perspective. At the appropriate time, an analysis of the priority interests of the potential audience—both re- gional and local—for any new cultural facilities must be conducted. • Second, as has already been mentioned, the Art Center and the Cen- tral Library addition provide a substantial boost to the inventory of cultural facilities in the City. Since their impact is not yet clear, it is difficult to set priorities among various concepts for additional cul- tural facilities. This important process should be addressed within two years, by which time the impact of programming at the new fa- cilities will be considerably easier to evaluate. The consultants believe that the top priority for cultural facilities must be given to the completion of the Art Center,including the surrounding out- door space for the long-planned Celebration Plaza. This facility repre- sents a major step forward for the arts community. In particular, the outdoor space will be an important addition, both to the range of activities that the Art Center can program and, more generally, to the types of amenities available downtown. City support for the staffing of this facility will allow for a relatively fast "ramp-up" to full operation, which will be important to provide the greatest benefit to the community. Interest was expressed by many interviewees in a small,flexible (or "black box") theatrical space in the downtown, geared toward multi-purpose us- age and small, experimental productions. While such a facility, if properly Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 17 designed, could be a valuable addition to the building stock,there is some question about the availability of programming for such a space. It would be wise, if possible,to use existing spaces to test whether there is sufficient programming—and audience—before any decisions are made to move forward on construction or renovation. There are several venues that might be suitable to test whether the artistic product and audience is suffi- cient to warrant such a facility,including the flexible meeting space at the Art Center, the Central Library's new theatre, the Barn at Newland House Museum, or a temporarily vacant storefront in the downtown area. There is some reason to assume that a black box theatre would be a viable addition to the mix of cultural facilities in the City: • Existing theatrical spaces are heavily used, so it is clear that there is interest in theatre. • There is little in the immediate Orange County area that would com- pete with such a facility. . • It could complement the programming at the Art Center. • It could cultivate new audiences, particularly if it showcased work that was not readily available in other venues, including bilingual, multi-cultural performances. Should it be determined that there is sufficient interest in a black box facil- ity, among the potential sites that might be considered is the Main Street branch library.While presently in use and offering some cultural pro- grams, it would be suitable for renovation into a multi-purpose cultural facility with space for a small, flexible theatre.With its proximity to the Art Center, a facility with a highly visible cultural program would en- hance the attractiveness of the area as a cultural destination. The consultants believe that another priority is renovating the Hunting- ton Beach High School auditorium so that it can function better for both school and community usage. While the outside of the facility was reno- vated recently, there is much work that needs to be done on the inside, in- cluding painting, new window coverings, roof repairs,stage floor refinishing, and HVAC improvements. Technical systems (electrical, sound, lighting, and the fly system) must be upgraded as well. More diffi- cult challenges include improving the room's acoustics and adding an or- chestra pit; a feasibility study to address these issues should be considered. Page 18 The Wolf Organization, Inc. There is a small gallery on the mezzanine level that has been used for stu- dent work and might be improved as part of the renovation. Accessibility issues need to be addressed,particularly for this upper level. Outdoor amphitheatres are an important part of the cultural facilities in Huntington Beach and renovating them should be a priority. • The Amphitheatre in Central Park'needs to be upgraded and reno- vated. The seating area needs to be re-graded and expanded with stage, support, and technical facilities as well as upgraded electricity for drama and musical performances.These improvements, as well as program and audience development, seem a logical first step before developing other performance areas in the Park. • The large amphitheatre at Golden West College should be up- graded, both in stage and support facilities as well as the seating ar- eas. This alternative outdoor performance venue is currently usable and could be significantly improved without extensive renovation. It represents an excellent opportunity for partnership between the City and the College. • The Civic Center amphitheatre should be studied to determine whether potential design solutions are cost-effective. The consultants believe that the current limitations, due to such climatic factors as wind and temperature, make the venue suitable at best only for eve- ning presentations. Given the range of other options for outdoor programming, it does not appear a high priority to redesign this space. In general, other outdoor spaces play an important role in the City, given its climate and the inclination of residents to spend time out of doors. Therefore, attention should be paid to opportunities for upgrading the vis- ual impact of parks and open spaces through public art elements, as well as artist-designed amenities (such as park benches, fountains, murals, ` The consultants note that plans for this facility and others in Central Park are addressed in the Central Park masterplan.While that document clearly has priority,they offer their perspective to provide context for the complete discussion of cultural facilities. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 19 mosaics, and other components). In addition,landscaping and aesthetically designed gardens should be considered. There are several facilities concepts that might work well within the downtown area,using renovated historic structures or new construction. Among the most interesting are the following: • A local history resource center would be an important adjunct to the cultural scene in the City. It should be designed to house the ar- chives of the Historical Society, with additional space for admini- strative offices, a resource room, and a small exhibition area for local artifacts.This space should be run by the Historical Society and de- signed to complement the Newland House Museum. The consult- ants envision a small space—perhaps 2,000 to 2,500 square feet—in a convenient downtown location and see this as a relatively low-cost project. Thus, they are inclined to see it as a relatively high priority. • The International Surfing Museum, already located downtown, has plans for a state-of-the-art facility.While the consultants have some concerns about the ambitious scope of this project, they sup- port the concept of a museum focusing on this important aspect of Huntington Beach's cultural history. If properly directed, it has the potential to become an important regional attraction. Since the cur- rent plans include some interesting commercial possibilities, careful planning will be necessary to determine the most appropriate form, if any, public support might take. It is not possible for the consult- ants to assess the priority of this venture, since it will be dependent on the board of the Museum being able to identify appropriate fund- ing for the new facility. • Shared, and affordable, "incubator" space for arts groups could serve as a joint facility for offices, exhibitions, rehearsals, and other uses. Creating such a cooperative facility is a common way for com- munities to assist arts and cultural groups by providing a centralized space that allows groups to share office equipment and, eventually, some staff functions. If this space were located downtown, it might provide an additional retail opportunity for a cooperative venture that no arts group alone would be able to maintain. The consultants feel that this space,while potentially very useful, should be a lower Page 20 The Wolf Organization, Inc. priority, awaiting the full development of the Art Center and the Central Library addition.in order to assess their impact on the arts and cultural groups that might use them. Many local artists spoke of the need for artists' spaces for living and working in Huntington Beach. Since the cost of space in the City has been a prohibitive factor for artists, any consideration of artists' spaces must al- low for keeping costs low. There are several options for how these might be developed: • Lower cost space in industrial and/or business parks outside of the downtown core. The advantage of this option is that it is the ap- proach most likely to result in low cost space. In addition, there may be ways for the City to provide incentives to developers or facility managers that provide artists' spaces. Note that, aside from artists, there is also a base of small, "garage" industries that produce prod- ucts for the youth culture market (for example, surfboards, skate- boards, commercial graphics, and music). These "cultural businesses" could be supported by this initiative as well. If the space were located in vacant or under-used space in commercial and indus- trial areas,it might be readily tied into the cultural corridor'. • Studio, office, and classroom space as part of the renovation at the Huntington Center Mall. The advantage of this option is that it pro- vides a partnership between the arts and business that is positive for both parties. • Adaptive reuse of an historic structure in the downtown area. The ad- vantage of this approach is that it enhances the downtown retail mix while providing more attractive space for artists. Providing opportunities for artists to live and work in Huntington Beach is important to the long-term growth of the City's cultural life. However, in the context of other facilities needs, the consultants feel it is only a moderate priority in the next two to four years. Finally, in the discussion of Huntington Beach's "cultural identity,"" the consultants describe the need for outdoor interpretive centers to address several components of the City's history, notably the Bolsa Chica 5 The cultural corridor is discussed in recommendation II.B.2 on page 24. 6 Cf., recommendation II.B.1 on page 22. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 21 wetlands and the Native American populations. These facility needs should be considered as part of the overall mix. Recommendation II.A.5: A set of"guiding principles" should be developed to provide crite- ria in determining the priority of new cultural facilities projects. In addition, mechanisms should be established to assure coordination of facilities planning. Many people have expressed their personal opinions about what the pri- orities for cultural facilities in the City should be. The consultants have provided some guidance on priorities as well. However, a more rigorous system is needed. In order to sort out the merits of particular projects, the City should develop a set of guiding principles to inform any discussion of facility construction or renovation. Among the criteria that should be considered are the following: • Extent of use: Adequate research must be done to assure that any fa- cility that is built will be heavily used. For example,while many in- terviewees indicated the desirability of a downtown black box theatre (as discussed above), there is as yet no research on audience interest to support building it. • Specificity of use: Facilities should be appropriate for their intended users. For example, the small audiences of developing arts groups can be overwhelmed by a facility that is too large. Similarly, a stage that is too small, an inappropriate acoustic environment, or inadequate lighting can make a facility difficult to use for particular functions. • Quality: Simply put, facilities that are designed and equipped with concern for quality are necessary to create and present excellent art. Poor quality facilities defeat their own reasons for being—their in- herent limitations do not allow for the presentation of high quality art and entertainment. • Economics: Facilities must be designed with an accurate understand- ing of the costs involved and realistic plans for meeting these costs. This must include not only capital costs, but maintenance, operating, and programming costs as well. In addition, the ability of arts and cultural groups to pay for the use of these spaces must be considered. Page 22 The Wolf Organization, Inc. These considerations should form the basis of a City-wide dialogue on es- tablishing a policy for setting priorities among various cultural facilities projects. In addition, there are several other planning initiatives that have implica- tions for cultural facilities. These include the Central Park Masterplan (which describes additional outdoor performing arts spaces) and the Beach Masterplan (which mentions planning for arts and cultural programming in the Pier Plaza area).The consultants have attempted to consider these plans in developing their recommendations and it will be important to as- sure that such coordination of planning efforts continues as these plans are implemented. B. Cultural Identity Huntington Beach has a rich history and several distinct identities—"Surf City" and "Oil City," among others. In a community that has changed so profoundly over the past twenty years, it is important to develop, nourish, and retain a sense of the community's history and cultural identity. The consultants present the following recommendations to assist in that process. Recommendation II.B.1: Programs should be established to clarify and highlight the cultural heritage and identities of Huntington Beach. There are positive ways to bring a sense of the history of Huntington Beach to residents and visitors alike. One way is through a program of preservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures, particularly in the downtown, and the consultants support such an initiative. However there are other ways to accomplish this, including the following: • An historic district in the Central Business District should be desig- nated to provide public improvements to enhance the recognition and visual identity of the cluster of historic structures in the down- town area. The location of the historic district could be tied to the initial development of the cultural corridor, discussed in recommen- dation II.B.2 following. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 23 • Ways to promote such a district should be explored, including a bro- chure jointly developed by the Historical Society and the Confer- ence and Visitors Bureau, as well as self-guided walking tours and special interpretive signage. • The archives of the Historical Society should be housed in an acces- sible location,perhaps downtown, as discussed in the recommenda- tion above.The Historical Society and the City,working collaboratively, could develop traveling exhibitions from those ar- chives that would be exhibited at schools, malls, and other locations. • The City's Channel 3 might be interested in developing a series of programs each devoted to a different "theme" or "identity" for Huntington Beach as a way to highlight the history of the community. • The proposed Bolsa Chica development should include a function- ing interpretive center to educate residents regarding the impact of the environment on the City. In addition, there should be a closer working relationship between such groups as Amigos de Bolsa Chica and the Cultural Services Division. • An interpretive center that provides background information and anthropological and historical details on the impact of local Native American peoples on the development of the City and the region should be developed at an appropriate location. • Finally, the consultants note that in recommendation II.B.5 on page 29 below, there is a discussion of the need for an historic resources and preservation plan. Such a process would augment the existing historic element and provide a wealth of detail about existing historic resources and programs and would also establish priorities for future activities. Page 24 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Recommendation II.B.2: A plan for a phased-in "cultural corridor"—including the area surrounding Golden West College running to Central Park and in- cluding Main Street to the Pier—should be developed. In many communities across the country, the arts are being used to assist in the revitalization of core areas,particularly downtowns. The arts have been shown to be an effective "economic engine" to assist in fueling the redevelopment of these significant elements of the urban environment. Many individuals interviewed for this project agreed with this assessment and were eager to develop a "cultural district" in Huntington Beach. In- deed, this idea has been under active consideration within the Community Services Department for quite a while. The consultants agree that the concept of a cultural district is an important one for consideration in the City. They note, however,that the notion will work better in Orange County if it is considered a "corridor" (as sug- gested by the Cultural Masterplan Task Force), rather than a district. In- deed, there are cultural assets in several locations in the City (for example, downtown, in and near Central Park, and at Golden West College) and it will be easier to define these areas as "nodes" in a cultural corridor or "network." This is based on the southern California reality that most people will drive, rather than walk, between or among these distinct areas. A cultural corridor might be defined to include the cultural resources of the areas mentioned above.The consultants believe that the corridor might be phased in over several years,with priority being given to identifying the downtown component initially. The downtown has the strongest commercial base upon which to build, and since one key purpose of a cul- tural district is to create a distinct, marketable identity for an area to in- crease awareness of its cultural amenities and thus increase retail traffic, downtown is an obvious choice. It has also been suggested that the area around Golden West College and the Huntington Mall might be pro- moted simultaneously with the downtown. As part of a strategy to broaden the mix of retail in this area, the City might offer incentives to cultural and entertainment retail businesses as a Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 25 component of future requests for development proposals. In addition, the City's Business Development Division, devoted to retaining and expand- ing the City's base of retail and industry, might assist. It may also be pos- sible for the City to identify commercial rehabilitation loan funds for cultural uses (for example, for the adaptive reuse of the old police head- quarters building,perhaps as space for Arts Associates or the Art League for administrative offices and exhibition facilities). Once this initial phase of such a cultural corridor has been implemented, a second phase would serve to extend the marketing identity of the corridor beyond the downtown. Among the ways that this might be accomplished are the following: • A marketing campaign that promoted the full range of cultural assets in the corridor could be designed,with brochures and other promo- tional materials distributed widely. • A uniform visual identity for the corridor could be developed inex- pensively through the use of banners on light poles. • kiosks located in key locations in the downtown could provide in- formation about activities occurring at other nodes of the corridor. • A "cultural shuttle bus" might be developed for weekends and other likely high-usage times, to provide regular transportation among the nodes along the corridor. • Potential sites could be identified for a network of City-sponsored public artworks (temporary and/or permanent) along the corridor. • Joint programming might be designed between, for example, the Art Center and Golden West College to promote both venues as impor- tant cultural resources. The consultants note that developing the concept for a cultural corridor is a complex planning project that will require coordination among many different groups, both public and private. Because of that it is important that a detailed and thoughtful planning initiative be undertaken as soon as possible to determine priorities, phasing, and the feasibility of alternative implementation strategies. Page 26 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Recommendation II.B.3: The Conference and Visitors Bureau's Urban Design and Public Art Committee should be reconstituted a City entity responsible for the public art program. In addition, the City should consider restructuring the Design Review Board. Urban design and the visual appeal of Huntington Beach have been identi- fied as key concerns by many City residents. Indeed, as noted in Part I of this report, the City has made these matters a priority concern. However, the one entity in the community that has direct responsibility for matters relating to urban design—the Design Review Board—is not currently constituted to serve as the overall responsible advisory body for larger is- sues of civic aesthetics. Members of the Design Review Board are appointed by the City Council and it is important that this body be enlarged and criteria for qualifica- tions, composition, and representation be reviewed. The criteria should in- sure greater representation from the community: at the current time, there is only one community representative. Such criteria would insure that in- dividuals chosen to serve would have a background in matters of urban design and aesthetics and guarantee that these issues are weighed along with the other important considerations of this body. Meetings should be scheduled at times when residents are better able to attend and one mem- ber of the Urban Design and Public Art Committee should serve as a vot- ing member of the Design Review Board. In addition, the Urban Design and Public Art Committee, established by the Conference and Visitors Bureau, should be reconstituted as a City en- tity. This group has been working on models for a public art program in Huntington Beach and has done a diligent and effective job. Its mission statement is appropriate to its task—"to encourage improved urban de- sign and promote public art projects for the purpose of enhancing the im- age of the City, fostering a sense of well-being and aesthetic sense of place, and improving the quality of life for the residents of Huntington Beach." However, if the City's public art program is to expand beyond its current ad hoc arrangement', it is critical that this body have the standing that 7 The following recommendation,II.BA, goes into detail about this. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 27 accrues to a body within City government.The structure of this new pub- lic art advisory body must allow for easy interaction and collaboration with the Cultural Services Division. Recommendation II.B.4: The existing ad hoc public art program should be formalized into programs for public and private sector development. Many communities use art in public places to enhance the urban environ- ment and quality of life and to provide more humane landscapes through sensitive urban design. Such programs are common in Southern Califor- nia. The Allied Arts Board identified the need for such a program as early as 1985. While a percent for art ordinance was proposed in 1989, it was not passed by City Council; instead an ad hoc program of site-specific art pro- jects has been implemented. The consultants agree that a City-wide public art program would be a significant benefit to Huntington Beach. And, while some public art projects have been done in the City, it is now time to formalize the arrangements. A public art program in Huntington Beach should have several compo- nents. Most important, there should be a public component that is based on the standard one percent of all CIP development costs. Such a program of on-site public artwork can include such elements as integrated art- works, e.g., tile works, street furniture, etc. If a capital improvement pro- ject is inappropriate for on-site work, the percent for art funds should be pooled and held by the City to be reprogrammed for another public space. The emphasis should be on developing a collection of diverse and high quality works that reflect residents' appreciation of art and the City's aspi- rations to use art to improve the quality of life in all areas of the City. The program should reflect a broad range of community input as well as in- volvement by professional artists. In addition, incorporating artists into the design team for all public construction projects would be beneficial. Another component for a public art program addresses the private sector.. This program should involve voluntary participation by private develop- ers, negotiated in the development agreement with the City. The Urban Design and Public Art Committee has researched program models in this area. Developers could address this commitment through a wide range of Page 28 The Wolf Organization, Inc. cultural amenities,including such things as artwork, facilities, cultural services, and programs (which might include performing as well as visual arts opportunities) designed in partnership with local arts and cultural organizations. Although this private sector program is envisioned as voluntary, there must still be standardized guidelines to address project selection, approval procedures, and other important matters. The consultants believe that such a voluntary program is in the interests of the City and the private sector. It is a way for developers to show a commitment to the community at the same time as they are adding an appreciable asset to their property. They are also able to improve the standard of design—an important com- munity benefit—by including artists on the design team early in the de- velopment process. In the long term, after assessing the effectiveness of the voluntary program, the potential for a mandatory program should be explored. The final component of a public art program involves non-traditional sponsors other than private developers or the City. For example, non- profit community organizations or neighborhood resident associations might work in partnership with arts and cultural organizations or directly with artists. As a team they might identify potential sites for projects in the neighborhood such as local parks. Or, alternatively, temporary instal- lations might be developed through commercial and merchants associa- tions, coordinated by the City as a way to complement City festivals. It will be important to lay the groundwork for this program slowly and carefully. Developing the public art ordinance—one that mandates a pub- lic sector program and outlines the voluntary private sector program— will require the active involvement of both the Cultural Services Division and the Urban Design and Public Art Committee. The process of educat- ing the general public, elected officials, City staff, and developers to the benefits of this program must continue. In order to continue to move this project forward and to resolve the many outstanding issues, a consultant who specializes in public art should be en- gaged. The consultant should assist in defining the structure of the Public Art committee,writing an ordinance for the public component, and other matters. Even before an ordinance is written and approved, it will be Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 29 necessary to develop a comprehensive public art plan to address a wide range of issues for this complex program, including matters such as oper- ating guidelines,procedures, funding mechanisms, etc. In addition, it should be noted that there are several capital projects cur- rently in the advanced planning stages, in some cases with working draw- ings near completion, and it will be important to make sure that public art project planning—with active artist involvement—be implemented as soon as possible. Among the projects that should be considered are: • the beach projects, in particular Pier Plaza and the project north and south of the pier • the completion of Celebration Plaza in the area surrounding the new Art Center • public improvements along major traffic corridors. Recommendation II.B.5: An historic resources and preservation plan should be developed to augment the historic element in the City's General Plan. There is an historic element proposed as part of the revision to the City's General Plan and it is a start at addressing the many issues and problems in that area. However, while the element is a good starting point, there are many considerations with which it does not deal. And while this cultural planning document can address issues of historic resources and preserva- tion issues in a general way, it is beyond its scope to consider the full range of those issues. There is a need for a comprehensive historic plan that provides an inven- tory of historic resources and guidelines for consistent policies on local landmark designation and proposes incentives to support adaptive reuse of historic structures. In particular, there need to be regulatory requirements to address the broader issues of historic preservation and landmarks, specifically: • an historic preservation ordinance • guidelines for infill development, rehabilitation, demolition, and al- teration to the historic fabric Page 30 The wolf Organization, Inc. • incentives for rehabilitation and adaptive reuse • adoption of the Secretary of the Interior's standards for rehabilitation • creation of a survey, nomination, and landmark designation process • adoption of the State historical building code • designation of the Historic Resources Board, Planning Commission or the City Council as the body to approve all of the above. While there are many ways to develop such a document, the priority should be-on conducting the evaluation and planning components as quickly as possible.This would allow the planning effort for historic pres- ervation to coordinate with the General Plan revision, as well as this cul- tural masterplan process, as much as possible. Recommendation II.B.6: Opportunities to enhance the cultural components of existing com- munity events and promotions should be explored. In addition, events with a single focus on arts and culture should be considered. There are many events that occur in Huntington Beach,ranging from community events, of interest primarily to residents, to major sporting ac- tivities that draw audiences from well beyond the borders of the City. These events offer opportunities for increased exposure for arts and cul- tural activities to these various audiences. Among the events that might benefit from enhanced cultural components are the following: • Existing community events and attractions—including the Equestrian Event and the Cruise of Lights, which are primarily fund-raising activities for arts and culture—might have mini- performances or other opportunities to enhance the experience for atteriders. • Major sporting events—such as the OP Pro and the US Open of Surfing, which reach huge national and international audiences of all ages via electronic media—might add juried outdoor art exhibitions on particular sports-related or youth-oriented themes. • Community celebrations—such as the July 4th Celebration or Pierfest,which already have arts elements—might develop ways to Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 31 encourage additional arts involvement, for example, through artists' floats, with sponsors or prizes. These activities represent potential "markets" for arts and culture and it will benefit the arts to draw the attention of these audiences to their activi- ties.While the range of artistic expression at these events can and should be quite broad, it is will be important to assure that the quality of activities be high and that they are positioned to fit into the existing mix of offerings in place in the City. In addition,participation in "cross-promotions" should be considered. For example, a display to promote the cultural com- ponent of a community celebration might be mounted at the Huntington Center Mall, as a way to provide a value-added element for the mall and to promote arts groups. It is also important to consider developing new events that have a sole fo- cus on arts and culture. One concept that has been discussed among arts supporters is an "Evening of the Arts," that highlights a wide range of arts and cultural activities in a variety of locations throughout the City. This might include cultural facilities and outdoor locations. Another notion is to develop a weekend event with activities scheduled from Golden West College to the Pier. The advantage of such events is that they can highlight a complete range of high quality cultural activities at appropriate venues to show the work to greatest advantage. While it may be more time- consuming to develop the audience for these events (since they must be developed "from scratch"), the consultants think it is worth the effort. C. Communication Recommendation II.C.1: Strategies to enhance networking within the arts community, and between arts groups and the general public, should be developed. One of the most common remarks among artists and representatives of arts groups was the lack of a ready means of communication within the arts community. In addition, many residents who were not strongly con- nected to the arts were often almost completely unaware of activities, events, and issues in the arts. It will be important to develop mechanisms Page 32 The wolf Organization, Inc. to address this need for better communication to allow for more effective sharing of information among artists and groups and to create opportuni- ties to share and learn from each other. These mechanisms are also neces- sary to inform the wider public of cultural activities and important concerns in the arts community. Note that the consultants have recommended some information systems for arts groups' and those are considerably more formal and sophisticated undertakings.What is being proposed here are informal mechanisms to bring people together. Many artists express feelings of isolation and of the importance of having places for artists to get together. These gatherings can foster a stronger arts community, even if they are only scheduled once or twice a month. Other communities have found that such gatherings have a positive impact on the cultural community and much information sharing occurs through these informal "networking" opportunities. In Pittsburgh,for example, the local arts agency sponsors a monthly "Arts Happy Hour,"where art- ists and volunteers from arts groups are notified of the location of an in- formal get-together from 5 to 7 p.m. In Portland, Oregon, artists and administrators gather at a different gallery on the third Thursday of each month for informal meetings,panel discussions, and other programs. However,while this networking is informal, it does require a formal "con- venor" to make sure that all interested parties know the schedule, espe- cially during the first six months or so. As the Art Center becomes operational, it is planned that it will provide a central location for artists to gather and the Cultural Services Division might facilitate these informal meetings of artists and representatives of arts groups. (Indeed, the opening of a highly visible arts-oriented facility may go a long way to addressing this need.) Such sessions would likely be self-sustaining without much work by staff once the initial set-up was completed. Additional opportunities for communication between arts groups and the general public are also important. The best strategy is to start with those in the general public who have the closest connection to arts and culture— audiences. Cultural groups should establish programs of informal pre- performance lectures or after-performance open houses as a way to 8 Cf.,recommendation II.A.1 on page 10 Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 33 educate and inform their audiences. Such programs can be designed to build a sense of community with audiences. Once these programs are well-accepted, cultural groups can begin to es- tablish communication with those who are less connected with the arts, perhaps through open lectures and mini-performances as well as presenta- tions at civic clubs and neighborhood associations. The focus of these ac- tivities should be to provide a brief"taste" of the art form,with informal interactions between the artists and the public accounting for the bulk of the presentation. Another option that should be explored is working with the local print media to have columns written by artists that appear on a regular basis. While it will be important to conduct more formal outreach and awareness campaigns about the value of arts and culture in the everyday lives of all residents (as discussed in the following recommendation), the activities de- scribed here are easy, inexpensive first steps that can set the stage for the other campaigns. Recommendation II.C.2: A campaign should be undertaken to raise the community's aware- ness of the full range of arts, history, and culture available in Hunt- ington Beach. The consultants found that, depending on the definition of"arts and cul- ture," support for such activities in Huntington Beach varies widely. Among non-arts attenders or supporters in particular, the more inclusive the definition, the consultants found, the greater the likelihood for sup- port. Thus, in order to build the most potent coalition for arts and culture, it will be necessary to portray the arts as playing a role in everyone's life. For example, a campaign to raise the awareness of the arts would empha- size that the arts can provide enjoyment and enrichment, and at the same time they also can offer positive experiences to enhance the well-being of the community and address such key social issues as education and public safety. Among the types of activities that might be considered as part of an aware- ness campaign are the following: Page 34 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • convening quarterly meetings of civic and business leaders with re- gional, state, and national arts administrators and artists to discuss such topics as the impact of cultural activities on the local economy, innovative partnerships between the arts and developers, or how cul- tural groups can assist in business relocation efforts • developing more joint promotional materials including brochures that feature a wide range of cultural organizations, activities, and events, and distributing these to both residents and visitors • using the media production resources of the City's Channel 3 and Golden West College to produce innovative pieces that promote arts,history, and culture within the context of Huntington Beach's other assets • strengthening the relationship between cultural groups and various civic and neighborhood organizations by encouraging cultural pro- grams at their meetings and developing opportunities for joint spon- sorship of events that highlight local arts and cultural groups. In general, the goal of all these activities is to create a positive image of arts and culture in the City—that arts and cultural groups are an integral part of the community; that they are open and accessible; that they provide di- verse and stimulating programming. Perhaps most important, the arts must be positioned as part of a broad coalition that supports the "quality of life" in Huntington Beach. Such a coalition is a recognition that com- munity services like the arts, culture, parks, recreation, library, education, and others have an overlapping agenda in the community. Mechanisms that provide for better communication and coordination among these vari- ous interests would be beneficial. In the context of this report, better coor- dination between the Department of Library Services and Cultural Services Division would be a high priority. Increasing the visibility of the arts may also increase the amount of media coverage, which is generally a positive outcome. However, in such situa- tions there is always the potential for controversy and training in how to approach the media and how to manage controversy might be considered as part of developing this campaign. Finally, note that the purpose of this campaign is not to raise the visibility of Cultural Services Division. The Division would be actively involved in this campaign, but it would be Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 35 promoting the entire cultural community and that must be made clear throughout. _ Recommendation II.C.1 Programs of outreach to new constituencies for arts and culture should be developed. According to many interviewees, most of the support for arts and culture has come from a relatively narrow spectrum of Huntington Beach resi- dents. Much of the thrust of this plan involves recognizing the necessity to reach new constituencies, both to broaden the programming offered and to identify new sources of financial and political support for the full range of cultural activities. The timing of the opening of the Art Center, along with its initial planning efforts, suggests that many outreach activities are likely to occur within the context of its programming.The consultants are confident that the Art Center staff has addressed outreach. According to some interviewees, some of the constituencies in Huntington Beach that have not taken an active role in arts and culture include the following: • families with young children • residents of tract housing developments • youth • people of color. All of these groups tend not to relate to the downtown area, and that may account in part for their lack of involvement. In order to reach these groups there must be a shift in attitude by arts groups. Arts groups must make an active effort to target these new audiences and to design programs with them. This might mean working with community groups to hear residents' ideas for programming; it might mean developing special bilin- gual programming, or designing ways to celebrate ethnic diversity.While arts groups in Huntington Beach have been successful in serving their ex- isting audiences, they are increasingly likely to need to target these new groups. Among the important considerations are the following: Page 36 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • One way to reach families with young children is through extracur- ricular programs in schools and arts groups should consider ways in which they might participate in such programming. For example, artist-in-residence programs might be designed to place artists in schools,parks, the Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA,at the beach, or in malls. • Partnership opportunities should be explored for arts groups to work with neighborhood groups, particularly in ethnically diverse areas, to provide exposure to visual and performing arts and to offer training in traditional arts and crafts. • .Programs for youth that are designed and managed by young people might be developed in various neighborhoods,using neighborhood community centers in local parks as sites (as well as the new Art Center and public schools). In addition, a project to create a network of arts activities and events by middle and high school students might be developed. It might include City-wide availability of pro- grams with a variety of possible components, including drama, mu- rals, and art designed for specific community festivals. • In addition, the "Vital Link," a business mentoring and skills devel- opment and training program for at-risk youth, might serve as a model for arts-based businesses in concert with the Chamber of Commerce • A community-wide, high quality Children and Youth Art Festival might be established to highlight the artwork of young people and the role the arts can play in their education. Such an event might be jointly produced by the Parks and Recreation Division, the Depart- ment of Library Services, and the Cultural Services Division,work- ing with private business supporters. It might include exhibits of children's art in downtown storefronts, as well as weekend programs that provide opportunities for young people to participate in master- classes, as well as performing and exhibiting their own work. Recommendation II.C.4: A private-sector umbrella group of leadership supporters of arts, history, and culture in Huntington Beach should be established. As mentioned earlier in this report, the consultants'were struck by how often issues relating to communicating the value and importance of arts Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 37 and culture arose in Huntington Beach. It will be critically important to build a coalition in support of arts and culture that is considerably broader than those assembled in the past. For this reason, a new,formal group should be established to take a lead- ership role in communicating about arts and culture in the City. This "Cultural Partnership" group would include community-wide representa- tion of arts, history, and cultural groups, as well as civic and business lead- ers. The consultants strongly recommend including a significant representation from the membership of the Cultural Masterplan Task Force, since these knowledgeable individuals have spent a great deal of time in the past months considering questions relating to arts and culture. The consultants have tried to limit the number of new groups and com- mittees whenever possible,understanding that creating such structures can often complicate matters. In this case, however, they believe that it is nec- essary to create a private sector body to educate about and advocate for art and culture in Huntington Beach. Among the activities in which the Cul- tural Partnership group might become involved are the following: • providing a forum to address key issues and concerns relating to arts and culture, as part of the on-going implementation of the cultural plan • developing mechanisms to bring together a wide range of supporters of"quality of life" concerns to develop an effective coalition to en- hance the role of arts and culture • serving as an informal facilitator to bring together potential partners to explore options for joint projects • overseeing arts marketing programs to educate business and civic leaders on the economic value of the arts' • coordinating and leading the advocacy efforts on behalf of a wide range of arts-related issues, including arts programming and funding, both public and private. In a later section of this report, the consultants discuss an expanded role for the Allied Arts Board, the body that serves as an advisory group to the City Council. There are necessary limitations on that public group's abil- ity to function and that is part of the reason for establishing this new 9 Cf.,recommendation II.C.2 on page 33. Page 38 The Wolf Organization, Inc. group10.What is most important is that this new body, representing a cross-section of Huntington Beach's civic and neighborhood leadership, become a strong voice in support of arts, historic, and cultural concerns throughout the community. D. Arts in Education According to interviews conducted by the consultants, the quality of arts education in Huntington Beach depends in large measure on the particular district and school that a child attends. In part because there are four school districts in the City—Huntington Beach City, Fountain Valley, and Ocean View, all of which feed into the Huntington Beach Union High School District— many interviewees commented that the range and quality of offerings varies quite a lot. It is difficult to summarize the offer- ings of the various school districts in the City. However, the following is offered as a general summary: • Elementary and middle schools rely on classroom teachers to use the arts as a teaching tool, integrated into the curriculum. • Middle schools have arts specialists in visual arts and music (band and choir) and instructors are shared within districts. • All four high schools have basic instruction in some of the perform- ing arts (generally, some combination of choir, band, drama, and dance) with faculty shared among them.The visual arts have pro- grams at each school and there are two visual arts specialists in each of the four high schools. • The School for Performing Arts at the Huntington Beach High School was established to provide advanced performing arts classes and ensembles at the high school level. It offers a wide array of arts experiences to students city-wide. 10 There is a discussion of expanded roles for other community-wide arts and culture fund-raising or programming groups in recommendation IV.3 on page 58. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 39 Recommendation II.D.1: Huntington Beach's four school districts should increase their sup- port of arts education. The public schools in Huntington Beach have cut back programming in arts education in order to address their severe budget problems. This is of grave concern to the consultants. The issue of access to arts training and appreciation courses is an important one. Study after study has shown that the arts are a valuable tool to enhance learning in the classroom, both by providing pathways to success for students who do not excel in more tra- ditional academic pursuits and by adding an interesting and exciting di- mension to learning in a variety of other subject areas. They also have been shown to improve school attendance in certain situations and to enhance the self-esteem of students, particularly "youth at risk." In this section, the consultants propose several mechanisms to enhance arts education, in part by using the resources of arts groups. It is impor- tant to note, however, that,while additional assistance from arts and cul- tural groups is important, the primary commitment for providing valuable educational experiences in the arts lies with the school districts themselves. The consultants acknowledge that the school districts are in a difficult budgetary situation and realize that increases in financial commitment to arts education are not likely in the short run. However, they are convinced that there are ways that the districts can make arts education a higher pri- ority than it presently is, even without a substantial infusion of additional funds. Such efforts will be rewarded many times over in the valuable expe- riences offered to the community's children. Recommendation II.D.2: A City-wide, multi-district "Arts Education Planning Group" should be established. Many communities have discovered that the best way to begin community-wide planning and advocacy for arts education is to organize educators, school and district administrators, parents, and community leaders into a formal working group. Such a group,without a great deal of Page 40 The Wolf Organization, Inc. support and infrastructure, can provide a mechanism for communication and coordination of advocacy and planning in support of arts education. Initially, the support network for this group might be built on PTA/PTO membership, as well as using the booster clubs of various school perform- ing arts activities. Such a group could not only encourage an increased focus on arts and cul- tural education and arts programming for young people, but it could begin to develop a long-term plan for arts education, both in school and out. Such a group could also develop an advocacy strategy to promote the arts as an important part of the education of every child, citing national studies on how the arts promote basic learning skills and self-esteem. The Allied Arts Board already has an ad hoc committee on arts education, and that body should be incorporated into this new group. In general, the member- ship should include parents, arts educators, students, school administra- tors, community representatives, and civic leaders. Among the issues that this group might address, aside from fostering a higher priority for arts in education in all four districts, are the following: • approaches to the coordination of planning and advocacy for a se- quential curriculum that is consistent among all four school districts • mechanisms to foster communication between and among the dis- tricts to raise awareness of what is available for students and to de- velop policies to address inequities that result from an arts education program that is reliant on the talents of specific teachers in a given school and on the volunteers available. In addition, representatives of all the school districts described the need for better information on available arts education resources. The Planning Group might work with the Cultural Services Division to identify funding sources to cover the costs of compiling an arts education resource direc- tory that would be distributed to all schools. In the process, existing re- sources, and those that are missing,would be identified, thus providing a basis for future advocacy and planning efforts. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 41 Recommendation II.D.3: Opportunities to strengthen and coordinate arts, cultural, and his- toric groups'participation in school programming should be developed. Arts and cultural groups in Huntington Beach have played an important role in providing educational opportunities for school children. Among the activities that have been provided, for example, are the following: • The Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee, in addition to raising money for the Orange County Performing Arts Center, co- ordinates field trips to the Center for a variety of tours and perform- ances. They also bring ensembles into the schools for assemblies that can include performances and demonstrations of instruments. They sponsor the "Music Mobile," which travels to elementary schools to introduce third graders to musical instruments. • The Newland House Museum offers tours of its facility to schools, primarily third and fourth graders who are studying local and Cali- fornia history. In addition, the Historical Society has a visiting histo- rian program in the schools. The Society attempted to develop a training program for history teachers but the school districts were unable to provide substitute teachers so the classroom teachers were not able to attend. • The Japan America Society has developed a cultural program for schools building on the sister city program. Working with profes- sional designers, a puppet presentation has been developed based on Japanese folk tales. While these efforts and others have been an important adjunct to the pub- lic schools' arts education offerings, it will be increasingly important to develop mechanisms to coordinate these activities and to work with other arts, history, and cultural groups to increase participation. In addition, there are several other areas where work needs to be done. For example: Page 42 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • The annual county-wide showcase of arts education programs is at- tended by representatives of some PTA/PTOs who select programs they will sponsor at their schools. There is no coordination with schools to relate arts programs to curriculum. Perhaps more impor- tant, there is no quality control for the programs at the showcase. While the showcase is county-wide, a mechanism is needed to assure more equitable access to this resource, as well as to assure that the arts experiences are of high quality. • Currently there is no one coordinating or fostering long-term rela- tionships between professional artists and the public schools. In the elementary schools, for example,programs are either "enrichment" assemblies or field trips, or are provided by classroom teachers. Pro- fessional artists should be brought into the curriculum planning process for arts education. Addressing these issues will require coordination. Discussions on strate- gies for addressing these concerns must be a high priority of that body. It might be helpful to establish a sub-committee with membership including PTA/PTO volunteers, school administrators, arts educators, and others to provide the necessary community-wide focus. It should be noted that the new Art Center will have an "Arts Education Coordinator" as part of its staff who will be responsible for developing and implementing education programs for the Art Center. While it is pos- sible that some of this person's time might be available to coordinate strategies to address these issues, it is unlikely that the time commitment could be extensive.Thus, it will be necessary to continue to rely on volun- teers in the short term. Recommendation II.D.4: Opportunities to enhance the range and scope of arts educational programming offered by the City should be developed. While the primary responsibility for providing arts education experiences for children lies with the public schools, there are other ways to provide additional such experiences for children and older residents. Aside from the activities of the Cultural Services Division (including the soon-to-open Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 43 Art Center), the City has several programs that have an impact—and might have a greater impact—on arts and cultural education.They in- clude the following: • The City's Channel 3 already offers one talk show about the arts and there is much more that might be done. For example: - The station might assist arts and cultural groups in developing programming (the Historical Society has expressed interest in de- veloping programs on local architecture and history). - The Art Center might create a series of short promotional pieces that could be used on a variety of outlets to highlight its exhibi- tion and special event schedule. - A bi-weekly or monthly calendar of arts and cultural events (from information gathered by the Cultural Services Division) might be provided on a scheduled basis . - The performances of local groups (for example, the Huntington Beach Playhouse or the Concert Band) might be taped for broad- cast on Channel 3 and other cable outlets. - Special features might be developed that highlight particular cul- tural attractions, such as the International Surfing Museum, local artists, or particular aspects of special events, such as the 4th of July floatmakers or Cruise of Lights decorators. In addition, Golden West College has close ties to Channel 50, which is housed on its campus. With its extensive student television and video programs, this might offer a potential for enhanced part- nership with the City. • The Parks and Recreation Division offers an extensive class pro- gram in parks throughout the City, although there are relatively few classes in visual and performing arts. Few if any classes are offered for teens and adults, and classes for children include some crafts and dance. Facilities and qualified instructors appear to be the major lim- iting factor. In addition to needing more fine arts classes and inter- mediate and advanced level courses in arts disciplines, it would also be valuable to have artist residencies in community centers and other facilities throughout the City. The Art Center's education program will address some of these gaps in programming. Page 44 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • The Central Library offers a range of cultural programs,including an "Authors Day" that sends authors into the schools to make pres- entations to students, as well as a carnival to kick off the "summer reading season." There is a new children's wing, but, according to some interviewees, because of budgetary constraints,the amount of cultural programming is limited. Concern has been expressed by some representatives of arts and cultural groups that the rental fees for using this space will prove prohibitive. In order to assure that this space provides arts educational opportunities, a priority of the Arts Education Planning Group should be to work with the Depart- ment of Library Services to develop a strategy to provide such pro- gramming in a cost-effective manner in the facility. Recommendation II.D.5: The Arts Education Planning Group should consider options for equitably providing a full range of performing and visual arts edu- cational programming to school children. Because of the music education programming of the Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee, and the fund raising it does to support those programs, the City's students have access to a range of musical experi- ences. But,while activities in this discipline are provided on a consistent basis, others (in particular, drama and the visual arts) are not,unless they are offered by particular teachers or parents. It is important to design an approach that eliminates the inequities of this arrangement. The consultants recognize that this problem will be addressed, at least in part, through the programming that will be coming on-line at the Art Center in the coming months.With the mix of programs provided by the Philharmonic Guild and the new Art Center, this situation is likely to im- prove in the next year or two. However, it will not be fully addressed. The Arts Education Planning Group should begin to develop strategies that will provide a more comprehensive and equitable solution. There are several options for the future that can be considered. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 45 • The activities might be split between two groups.The Philharmonic Committee might alter its structure to undertake school program- ming more broadly in the performing arts (including non-musical activities); the Art Center might establish an Education Guild,in ad- dition to the two guilds it has begun for hospitality and docents, to undertake more active school programming in the visual arts. • A completely new organization might be established to take respon- sibility for developing partnerships with arts and cultural groups to coordinate and oversee school programming in all arts disciplines. Either of these options will create the opportunity for access to arts educa- tion programming for all children. However, the consultants concede that each of these options will be difficult—either requiring substantial shifts in the mission and activities of established groups or creating new entities —and neither of them is ideal. However, there is time available to develop a solution and, depending on the direction the programs at the Art Center take, other options may emerge. Page 46 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Part Ill Role of the Cultural Services Division Throughout this report, the consultants have made recommendations to enhance the cultural life of Huntington Beach over the next five years. Many of these recommendations require oversight, coordination, or other assistance to be accomplished and the Cultural Services Division is the logical candidate to provide this.The Division has been in existence for about eight years and has, according to many interviewees, contributed to a substantial improvement in the cultural climate of the City. In this sec- tion of the report, the consultants provide recommendations on the struc- ture of the Cultural Services Division and other related bodies to allow for the best possible implementation of this plan. Recommendation IIIA: The Cultural Services Division should be designated by ordinance as the City's local arts agency. A "local arts agency" is officially designated by local government to ad- dress arts and cultural activities for the community. "Typically local arts agencies get involved in a wide range of activities, among the most impor- tant of which are the following: " Such a designation, standard in the field,is not intended to suggest a lack of emphasis on historic preservation and cultural heritage issues. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 47 • provide marketing programs in support of the complete range of arts and cultural activities of the community • develop directories and information services for artists and arts groups • facilitate programming partnerships between and among arts groups, the business community, and others • make recommendations to City departments on matters relating to arts, historic preservation, and culture • provide assistance to public schools in developing arts education programs • regrant public funds to local arts groups and artists to help support arts programs of high quality for residents • manage community-wide programs for such things as public art, community arts education, event presentation, etc. The Cultural Services Division is not currently designated as the City's lo- cal arts agency and as a result, it is not eligible for significant funding avail- able through state and Federal sources to such agencies. The Division is responsible for an impressive array of activities, including oversight of construction and program development for the new Art Center, oversee- ing historic and cultural programs in the community, and much more. At the present time, its primary roles are that of manager of many of the City's existing arts programs and presenter of visual arts activities.There are, however, other components to what Cultural Services Division does, including: • serving as a "catalyst" to assist local arts groups in promotion, locat- ing space, raising funds, etc. • actively fund raising for cultural projects (this currently takes a sub- stantial amount of staff time because of the commitment to the Art Center) • capital project oversight, including the design and construction of the Art Center. The consultants have been impressed with the range, depth, and quality of the activity of the Division, and they believe that it is critical that the Divi- sion be designated as the official arts agency for Huntington Beach. In- deed, the implementation of this plan depends in part on such designation. Page 48 The Wolf Organization, Inc. With the likely increase in cultural activities resulting from this planning process,the Cultural Services Division will need to shift its emphasis somewhat in order to more effectively handle the range of responsibilities that it will ultimately have". Over the course of the next five years, the Di- vision should shift its emphasis away from additional program manage- ment responsibilities and toward more of a community facilitator, oversight, and policy and planning role. This is not to say that it will shed all its programmatic activities. For exam- ple, it is likely that the Division will always manage the Art Center or the public component of any art in public places program. Nevertheless, the Division must take a strategic role in facilitating the growth of the arts and cultural community, and the consultants believe that priority considera- tion should be given to: • being a high visibility advocate for the arts and culture of the entire community • being "at the table"when important civic decisions are being made • assisting in educating the general public about the value of the arts • coordinating the gathering and disseminating of information about arts and culture, both for arts groups and the general public • providing coordination of technical assistance programs to enhance the development of local arts, history, and cultural groups as well as individual artists • facilitating the creation of partnerships among arts and cultural groups and the public and private sectors. This is a common evolution for local arts agencies. In Huntington Beach, it is based on the assumption that the next few years will witness a growth and maturation of the cultural community, as a result of the new cultural facilities and programs in the City. There is one additional role that the Cultural Services Division should ul- timately undertake—that of regranting public and private funding to arts and cultural organizations. Such a program to provide small grants to cultural groups is not likely to be established within the time frame of this 'Z The consultants note that additional staff is another important strategy to address the responsibilities of the Cultural Services Division and in rec- ommendation III.3 on page 51 they discuss this issue. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 49 plan and, indeed, priority should be given to stabilizing the funding of the Division itself". However, the value of such a program is that it would al- low private, nonprofit arts groups to further their development with a minimal amount of City assistance. It would also provide a way for start- up activities to receive initial support. By having this program established within the Cultural Services Division, quality control would be assured and issues of community-wide access to potential funding would also be addressed. It should be noted that, in the consultants' experience, a pro- gram of this sort is among the most common for local arts agencies, due in large part to the ability of small public sector grants to leverage private sector dollars many times in excess of the public expenditure. Recommendation III.2: The City's arts and cultural programming should be centrally coor- dinated by the Cultural Services Division. As the Cultural Services Division becomes the visible agency with involvement and responsibility for the full range of arts and culture in the community, it will be important to make sure that all of the City's pro- gramming in this area is coordinated in some way by the Division. Such an arrangement would be designed to enhance efficiency and to avoid dupli- cation of services. It is not the intent of this recommendation to suggest that all arts and culture-related services be centralized in the Cultural Services Division, al- though such a model is quite effective in many communities across the country.What is more important than actual consolidation is establishing a mechanism for effective communication and planning. It is important to make sure that the staff people with expertise in arts programming have substantial input into the design and management of such programming, no matter where in the City's infrastructure it is being conducted. The consultants recommend that a high-level inter-agency working group be established made up of senior staff from all City departments with ex- isting or potential cultural programming, including the Manager of the Cultural Services Division. The purpose of this body is to develop strate- gies to enhance communication among these agencies and to coordinate 13 Cf.,Part IV of this report, in particular recommendation IVA on page 60. Page 50 The Wolf Organization, Inc. cultural initiatives and shared cultural objectives for City government. Such a body could share information, develop consistent policies, and cre- ate more cost-effective programming. While such a mechanism will go far to address some of the issues of coor- dination and communication, there is some additional action that should be taken. Consideration should be given to moving some cultural activities to the Cultural Services Division. From a logistical point of view, those that are already in the Community Services Department—the Parks and Recreation Division's crafts and arts classes—would be the easiest to move. There is a strong case to be made for this shift: • There is a need for enhancing the current range of offerings in the area of arts and culture and the Division is well-equipped to design such offerings. • Once the Art Center is on-line, its education programs will need to be coordinated with existing classes and providing continuity of pro- gram management and oversight will simplify this. • Consolidating all crafts and arts classes within the Division is a logi- cal, easy to understand arrangement that will allow for better pro- motion and marketing; it will allow existing classes to gain from additional publicity surrounding the opening of the new Art Center. • It may be possible to create additional space for recreational activi- ties in park facilities by moving some arts classes to an old school site, thus benefiting both programs. • Being able to provide a fully sequential range of offerings from be- ginner through advanced will be an important way to market arts and cultural instructional programming. The consultants acknowledge that this shift will require some flexibility on the part of the Community Services Department. Staffing and other is- sues will need to be addressed before the process can move forward. In ad- dition, they raise some caveats about possible problem areas: • It will be important to ensure that beginner and amateur classes re- ceive high priority since they represent the entry point for most of the community. • Consideration should be given to providing bilingual classes so that they can be accessible to a broader range of residents. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 51 Recommendation III.3: The City should allocate additional staff resources to the Division of Cultural Services. The consultants note that the Cultural Services Division's staff has been stretched to its limit. Existing staff cannot perform all the new tasks out- lined in this planning document and additional staff is a necessity. It is true that four additional positions are being considered for the Art Center14 However, the staffing levels for the Art Center are modest considering the level of programming to be conducted. And while it may be true that ini- tially they will have time to address community-wide projects, it will not be long before there is no time to address the range of priorities proposed in this plan. For that reason,the consultants recommend that, in addition to staff to run the Art Center and existing positions in the Division, there should be several new positions, including: • A Special Events Coordinator, perhaps initially three-quarter time with benefits, to facilitate and coordinate a range of performing and visual arts activities, including concerts, street fairs, and community- wide celebrations. In addition, this individual could act as liaison be- tween the Division, artists, and historic, cultural, and arts groups. • An Education/Outreach Coordinator, who might also be part time initially, to develop a broad range of educational programs (that might be implemented by other groups), and to provide some ad- ministrative support for the Arts Education Planning Group. • An Art in Public Places Coordinator,who ought to be part time or a consultant initially, to plan and implement the Art in Public Places program when it becomes operational, and to provide assistance in promoting and marketing Huntington Beach's arts and cultural community. 14 At the time this report was written,these new positions include an Arts Education Coordinator, an Exhibitions Coordinator, a Preparator, and a Cultural Arts Aide II. Page 52 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • An Historic Services Coordinator, initially half-time, to provide some support services for the Newland House Museum, the Histori- cal Society, the International Surfing Museum, and other groups, as well as to develop the concept for the local history resource center (as described in recommendation II.A.4). • It should be noted that the Division will need additional clerical as- sistance as well. Recommendation IIIA: The role of the Allied Arts Board as advisors to City Council should be strengthened. The Allied Arts Board is designated to advise City Council on all matters pertaining to the arts in Huntington Beach. It was responsible for devel- oping the initial ten-year plan for cultural activities that led to the estab- lishment of the Cultural Services Division, as well as other important milestones in the development of the cultural life of the City. Along with the Historic Resources Board (which oversees historic programs and ac- tivities), the Allied Arts Board, in its role as advisor to the City Council, can, among other things: • study and interpret the needs of the community for cultural pro- grams and facilities • recommend cultural policy on such matters as programming, facili- ties, and funding . • assist local arts groups to better fulfill their missions • encourage individuals, civic groups, and businesses to support arts and culture with time, money, and in-kind services.15 There are some limitations to what the Board can do and how it can func- tion. Of particular relevance to this planning process, the Board cannot advocate for particular positions except to the City Council. In addition, while it is able to appoint ad hoc committees, it cannot appoint standing committees (which can only be done by City Council). Despite these 15 This list has been developed based on interviews with Allied Arts Board members and a review of the Board's Manual for Members, revised 1989. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 53 limitations, the consultants believe that there is a great deal of room for the Allied Arts Board to become an even more active player in the cultural life of the City. One important need that appears to be within the purview of the Allied Arts Board is to conduct "fact-finding" and gather input from the com- munity on issues relating to arts and culture. The consultants suggest that, on a regular basis (perhaps semi-annually),the Board appoint ad hoc com- mittees to provide it with input on specific issues, such as: • community-wide involvement in arts education programming • developing new audiences for arts and cultural activities • the need for additional cultural facilities • a public art program for the entire City. Such a committee should be made up of artists, representatives of arts groups, developers, business and civic leaders, government officials, and other interested residents. It would be convened by the Board and would meet no more than two or three times as a "focus group." It would hear a presentation on the issue under discussion and express its opinions on the subject. This information would be analyzed and refined by the Allied Arts Board to inform its process of information gathering so that it can better advise the Council. In addition, the Board might use the informa- tion gathered to provide details about arts and culture as part of the cam- paign to raise the awareness of arts and culture." The consultants believe that through this activity, the Allied Arts Board will obtain an expanded base of information that will allow it to speak with greater authority in its recommendations to the City Council. It will gain credibility as a valued authority that can articulate the needs of the entire cultural community. In order to enhance this role, it will be neces- sary to diversify the membership of the group to include a broader per- spective from all segments of the City. This enhanced role for the Allied Arts Board will be a major boost for the cultural community. In the long-term, it would be a logical progression for this Board to become an Arts and Culture Commission. Such a body would have responsibility for serving in an advisory role to the Cultural 16 Cf.,recommendation II.C.2 on page 33. Page 54 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Services Division,providing advice on such matters as regranting of public funding, Division staffing needs, or budget considerations. The Historic Resources Board could continue to deal with matters relating to historic preservation,including issues that might develop from an his- toric preservation ordinance(such as demolition, rehabilitation, environ- mental review, etc.). In addition, it must address concerns beyond preservation,including programs such as the Newland House Museum, development of the local repository for collections"', as well as activities such as the Civil War reenactment and tours of historic buildings and districts. 17 Cf,recommendation II.A.4 on page 15. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page SS Part IV Resources Huntington Beach has been generous in its support of arts and cultural ac- tivities. The recent history of private sector financial support for the Art Center, as well as the City's funding of the Cultural Services Division over the past ten years, indicate an encouraging trend of increased support. It is interesting to note that this support has been available during some of the bleakest economic times in California's history, which suggests a real and strong commitment on the part of the community. As additional cultural activities are initiated, and as existing activities mature,there is every rea- son to assume that this trend of increased support will continue. In this section of the report, the consultants provide recommendations for in- creasing financial support from a variety of public and private sector sources. Recommendation IV.1: Opportunities to increase the earned income potential of arts and cultural groups should be developed. Increasingly, arts groups of every size are realizing that it is critical for them to maximize their earned income. These groups have learned that this can provide a double benefit: first, they have access to larger amounts of earned income; second, they are often able to leverage increased earned income into greater contributed income, since many funders are more likely to give to organizations that have high earned revenue figures. Even though most of the arts and cultural groups in Huntington Beach are Page 56 The Wolf Organization, Inc. relatively small, there are still opportunities for them to increase the amount of their income that they earn themselves. 'This is, in part, a matter of being more realistic about the costs of their 'services, but it is also a matter of thinking entrepreneurially about what types of services they might provide and who would pay for them. And while there may be a limit on ticket prices, there may be other types of revenue producing activities these groups can engage in. Particularly for the smaller groups, it will require that they see themselves as providing an important community service that they should charge for whenever feasible. More sophisticated arts and cultural groups should consider ways that they can form partnerships with business and City government to provide services that these sectors need. One obvious possibility is to create a stronger connection to tourism. The visitor industry is always looking for ways to promote Huntington Beach as a destination. While it is unlikely at the current time that the City's arts groups will be a primary reason for a visit, they certainly can contribute to a lengthened stay. Among the ways that arts and cultural groups might be involved are the following: • promotional tie-ins linking arts events with restaurants, hotels, and other regional amenities • the use of vacant storefronts in the downtown area as temporary art- ists' galleries to provide an exciting and changing array of retail op- portunities for visitors • specially prepared docent tours or pre-performance lectures targeted to specific tourist groups (for example,visitors from other countries). Another possibility that should be explored is designing programs to ad- dress social issues, ranging from latch-key children to drug use prevention. Programs that employ the arts to address these issues on a contract-for- services basis can be funded through various governmental and private agencies. Some possible project might include the following: • performing or visual arts classes for elderly residents of nursing homes and senior centers, as is done in St. Paul, Minnesota Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 57 • after-school arts and crafts programs for children whose parents work, cosponsored by the school district, City government, and parents • theatre projects designed for children who have been involved with drugs or alcohol, such as those developed in San Fernando County. Such activities may seem beyond the scope of many of the arts and cultural groups in Huntington Beach at the present time. The consultants are not convinced. They believe that there is a strong likelihood that arts groups will grow and mature rapidly and in dramatic ways in the next three to five years. These alternatives,which appear unlikely at the moment, may well be seen as appropriate at that time. Recommendation IV.2: Programs that target increasing charitable contributions from the private sector should be implemented. In addition to increasing earned income, arts and cultural groups must consider strategies to increase contributed income from individuals, busi- nesses, and foundations.The consultants believe that, even with the weak regional economy, this represents the likeliest area for short-term growth in funding, given existing levels of support from the private and public sectors. Arts and cultural groups should consider increased use of corporate spon- sorships,which have been used effectively in the community (perhaps most notably in GTE Directories' sponsorship of the Equestrian Event). In particular arts and cultural groups should design sponsorship opportu- nities that target smaller businesses, since there are more of these busi- nesses and because they have been among the least approached to date. When developing sponsorships, it is important for arts groups to be care- ful to calculate their costs accurately. Often, in the desire to attract corpo- rate donors, cultural groups provide a wide array of services and benefits that almost outweigh the cost of the sponsorships. Opportunities might include more extensive underwriting of performances or exhibitions, as well as advertising in catalogues or programs. More ambitious Page 58 The Wolf Organization, Inc. opportunities might include sponsorship of performance series and exhibi- tion or performance spaces. Groups should keep in mind that sponsorships are generally considered advertising and promotion rather than charitable giving. This means that a business must be convinced that group's "vehicle" for the promotion will reach its selected audience. Another vehicle for private sector fund raising is special events. This has been used quite effectively in Huntington Beach and there is little the con- sultants can add to the formula that has been developed. They do offer several suggestions that might enhance an already effective activity: • It may be possible to develop special events that are more broadly focused in the community. For instance, the youth and children's arts festival18 might provide an opportunity for a "costume party" exhibition opening event with prizes for costumes in several catego- ries. This might be a relatively low ticket price event to assure greater participation. The goal of such an event would be to counter the per- ception that the cultural community is a "clique" by involving more people, as well as to raise money. • It may be possible to develop a special event that builds on the sister city involvement in Huntington Beach, in particular the arrange- ment with Anjo,Japan. For instance, an event that highlights some exchange opportunity with a cultural celebration might provide an opening to seek more substantial underwriting from many of the corporations that are subsidiaries of Japanese-owned businesses. Recommendation IV.3: Fund-raising efforts for art, history, and cultural initiatives should be more broadly based in the community. Huntington Beach has some very effective private-sector fund-raising ini- tiatives. For example: 18 Cf.,recommendation II.C.3 on page 35. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 59 • The Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee raises money, some of which goes to support local educational experiences for chil- dren around certain types of music. • In addition, the Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation has raised significant sums of money in support of the construction and pro- gramming at the Art Center, some of which will involve educational programs for children. However, without a comprehensive fund-raising initiative for all arts and culture in all parts of the City, it is very difficult to equitably address the needs of the community. The consultants acknowledge the need of the Art Center to get its programming in place and develop a secure base of sup- port. Clearly that must be the priority. However, once this current period of integrating new facilities and programs into the community is over, they believe that a new priority must be established to develop fund- raising initiatives that target the entire community, both in terms of the area from which funds are raised and the population to which services are provided. In addition, the consultants note that fund raising in Huntington Beach has historically been focused on "bricks and mortar" capital funding. In the future, the emphasis must shift to annual giving in support of pro- grams. There are some models of annual campaigns that take this ap- proach. For example, the Youth Shelter,while it has had problems, is a good example of targeting smaller contributions, in the range of$100 and under. Such appeals can be broader based. In addition, the Art Center raised over$36,000 through small contributions solicited through resi- dents' water bills. Such programs need not ignore larger contributors, but they build upon that base and attempt to reach donors of more modest means. Such campaigns have several watchwords —specifically, smaller contributions; many of them; on an annual basis. The consultants believe that fund-raising efforts for arts, history, and cul- ture in Huntington Beach should: • be City-wide in their focus, which may mean raising money with smaller gifts • be based on membership structures with low dues to encourage broad participation Page 60 The Wolf Organization, Inc. • recruit volunteers and support from various public school PTA/PTO groups and arts booster clubs, since these people are likely to have children who are interested and involved in arts activities • attempt to build support in the neighborhoods throughout Hunting- ton Beach, rather than just to target selected up-scale areas • make sure that funds are raised to support programs in various neighborhoods, not just at the new facilities. Recommendation IV.4: Mechanisms to enhance the level of public support for arts and cul- ture should be explored. The City has begun to support arts and cultural activities in the past six or seven years and it has a reasonably good track record during that period. Excluding capital funds, the City has spent approximately$1.1 million in the past seven years, or about$165,000 a year(one dollar per capita) on average. While this amount is substantially less than many other commu- nities in the region (many of which average between$5 and $6 per capita), it is a good start, especially considering that until very recently there has not been much City cultural programming. Based on their interviews, the consultants believe that, given the City's track record, it is safe to assume that with the advent of new programming,its support will increase. There are a number of new options for public funding of cultural activities that have been discussed in Huntington Beach. Basic to this discussion is the understanding that self-generated fees and charges for services will be built into all City cultural programming, so that some percentage of the costs for these activities will be generated from users. The consultants pro- pose a mix of approaches to this complex issue. Core functions: While some new revenues sources are likely to be neces- sary to fund City arts and cultural activities—a high priority among resi- dents—such funding will require time to be developed. At least initially, such funding may be more likely to flow from existing sources,primarily the General Fund. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 61 This is quite defensible,particularly in light of the cultural agenda outlined in this report that addresses the needs of all residents of the City. The con- sultants believe that the core operational expenses of the Division (includ- ing staff and administrative support) should come from General Fund. They believe that this base-line level of commitment from the City should be clear and unequivocal. Much effort and energy (from Division staff and arts and cultural advocates) has been spent in battles over this issue and that time could be spent more productively in other ways. In addition, educational activities and program expenses must also be cov- ered during an initial, start-up phase, perhaps with General Fund money loaned to such programming,with the expectation that fees and charges, as well as some private sector fund raising,would be used to repay the Gen- eral Fund over a negotiated period of time. Program and facilities: Perhaps the most viable options for covering the City's share of cultural programming costs are through a sales tax assess- ment district and a percentage of City parking fees from the downtown parking structure. It is important to note that these mechanisms do not represent new taxation; rather, they simply designate that some percentage of the additional revenue gathered that is attributable to cultural activities be allocated to finance those activities. The downtown and the Pacific coast areas have been designated as "visitor serving" in the General Plan. The City is committed to developing destination attractions and activities in those areas, most of which are seen to be related to arts and culture. These attractions and activities include such things as the Art Center, the planned Celebration Plaza, the International Surfing Museum, arts and craft fairs and festivals, and concerts in Pier Plaza and the Central Park Amphitheatre. These attractions are bringing visitor dollars to the targeted areas, increas- ing foot traffic and bringing consumers that increase retail sales. Therefore, there is strong justification for a sales tax assessment district. Such an ar- rangement would allow some negotiated percentage of the incremental in- crease in sales tax revenues to be dedicated to support arts and cultural activities throughout the City. In addition,parking revenue increases are due in part to the downtown cultural facilities and to arts and cultural pro- grams, so there is also justification for dedicating a portion of City parking revenues to arts and culture. Page 62 The Wolf Organization, Inc. For example, on a recent weekend when there was an arts and crafts festi- val downtown that allowed exhibitors to show only original work, the parking structure was completely filled and the downtown had its single highest sales tax day. Without that cultural event, averages indicate that the parking structure would have had about 40 percent occupancy,and retail sales were likely to have been only average. The consultants suggest that a formula be developed to allow this incremental difference to go to City- wide arts and cultural programming. These sources could provide a steady and reliable stream of funding for the arts and responsible estimates suggest revenue of between$200,000 and$300,000 annually. Such funds would be available for programming; in addition, some portion could be retained for covering the costs of cul- tural facility construction or renovation. Alternatively,the money raised by the Art Center Foundation might be "repaid" from this pool so that the Foundation could establish a program endowment for the Art Center. While the options discussed above represent the most fruitful areas for discussion, there are some others that should be mentioned. These appear more likely to be phased in after several years,when programming war- rants. They include: • Increasing the hotel/motel tax by one or two percent and negotiat- ing a formula by which some percentage of that is used to cover the expenses of cultural programming. There is a strong justification for using such revenue sources in support of cultural activities—indeed, it is one of the most common devices nationally. However, it seems unlikely that an increase in the hotel/motel tax would be considered in the present environment. • Although the Community Enrichment Library Fee is allocated to the Central Library, once the major burden of construction costs have been addressed, it would be appropriate to consider including this fee in the mix of funding for other arts and cultural activities. Consideration should be given to an annual reappraisal of this fee with some portion of the funds being distributed by the Cultural Services Division to arts groups for specific projects.19 19 Cf., recommendation IIIA on page 46 for a discussion of such a program. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 63 • Finally,when a public art program20 is implemented, it will require that one percent of the budget for CIP development costs be set aside for public art. Depending on capital expenditures over the next ten years, this could represent a substantial sum. Rather than commit all of it to public art, some percentage might be set aside for con- struction or renovation costs for cultural facilities. Recommendation IV.5: Issues relating to the level of "self-sufficiency" required of the Cul- tural Services Division's programming should be resolved quickly. In the present economy, all California cities are pressed for money, par- ticularly because they are getting less from the state. In Huntington Beach, one strategy to deal with this has been to mandate that all new programs must pay for themselves. Such a directive, while understandable, has been particularly hard on the Cultural Services Division. Even though the Divi- sion is relatively new, its programs have been in the advanced planning stage for a very long time—especially its Art Center programs which are only now coming on-line.The irony is that the City has been very sup- portive of cultural activities, responding to impressive community support and fund raising; yet these very programs are threatened with being frozen out of additional reliable avenues of City support. It is problematic for the Division,just beginning its most active program- ming, to be expected to establish that programming on a "no net cost" ba- sis. It would be more realistic in this situation to establish City-wide goals for self-sufficiency, rather than singling out specific, new programs. Such a plan would require that all City programs increase their "earned revenue" which would provide additional resources for, among others, the Cultural Services Division. In addition, since the Art Center has been built, in part, by private sector funds and will be sustained by those sources as well as self-generated fees and charges, it seems particularly important to establish the relationship between public and private dollars in this venture, as a model for future such partnerships. 20 Cf.,recommendation II3.4 on page 27. Page 64 The Wolf Organization, Inc. This is at root a political problem and it must be resolved through a dia- logue among all the relevant parties.The consultants therefore suggest a workshop session of the City Council to address this issue. Such a Coun- cil session would include senior City staff(as well as the Manager of the Cultural Services Division) and representatives of the arts community (in- cluding the Art Center Foundation). The purpose of this meeting would be to discuss the mix of revenue sources that is appropriate for the Divi- sion, including the role of fees and charges, General Fund support, and contributed income in the future of the Division. Finally, the consultants note that they conducted many interviews with in- dividuals knowledgeable about Art Center funding. It appears that there is no written letter of understanding and thus no agreed-upon understanding about what operating costs of the Art Center the City will cover and what will be covered by the Art Center Foundation. Particularly because a reso- lution of this issue is necessary in order to resolve staffing issues at the Art Center, it would be prudent to schedule this study session as soon as it is practicable. Recommendation IV.6: The City should consider ways that it can assist arts and cultural development through incentives. While City funding for arts and cultural activities is a priority, there are other ways in which the City can support such activities. In particular, the consultants suggest that the City consider the potential for abatements or other developer incentives for providing discounted space to artists and arts groups. This might take the form of either retail spaces in the down- town for cooperative artists' galleries or studio and/or rehearsal space in industrial and commercial parks. By providing incentives that offer an im- portant benefit to artists and arts groups, the City would be signaling its support for arts and cultural activities. The City might also consider options to provide temporarily unused City-owned space to arts groups at low or no rental fees for use as exhibi- tion, performance, and/or administrative space. In addition, many arts and cultural groups are in need of volunteer support. The City might make an arrangement whereby City staff could use some pre-determined amount Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 65 of compensatory time for volunteer work with these groups, thus allowing the individuals to work on arts groups' projects during business hours without loss of compensation. Recommendation IV.7: The Cultural Services Division should apply for federal and state funding for arts activities. In particular, it should apply for a Local Incentive Grant through the National Endowment for the Arts. Once the Cultural Services Division has been designated by the City as its official local arts agency, it should apply to the National Endowment for the Arts for a Local Government Incentive Grant. These grants require a one-to-one match with new local funds, over a two to three year period, one half of which must be public dollars.While this would represent an increase in public funding, it is an attractive time for such a proposal, since City funding for arts and culture is likely to increase in any case and being able to leverage such increases with federal dollars will be very attractive. These grants are awarded in the range of$100,000 to $300,000. According to the current program guidelines, applicants may request support for such things as, "regranting, technical assistance programs, audience devel- opment projects....and arts education programs." The guidelines indicate the importance of having gone through a cultural planning process,which, the consultants feel,positions the Division quite effectively. There are many options for projects that might be appropriate to put for- ward for funding through this application and careful thought should be given to the approach that is most likely to be successful, as well as which approaches are most likely to garner support in the City. Based on their research in Huntington Beach, the consultants believe that technical assis- tance and arts education initiatives should be priorities. Page 66 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Part V Next Steps Several steps in Huntington Beach's cultural master planning process have already been undertaken and completed, including: • fact-finding conducted by Wolf Organization consultants • receipt of the consultants' preliminary planning document • review and comment on this document by the Task Force and City staff • a presentation to the community of the key points of the consul- tant's report (as revised by the Task Force)with an opportunity for review and comment. Subsequent steps will include: • revision of this document based on feedback • presentation of the revised report to the community • review and approval of the revised community cultural plan by the appropriate bodies • on-going implementation of the plan. Much work will be required to review, set priorities, and begin implemen- tation of the resulting cultural plan. Communication has consistently been identified as a key issue in Huntington Beach and it will be important to assure that all the relevant groups in the City, both arts and cultural groups and other civic bodies, are brought up to date on the planning process. The consultants believe that they interviewed a wide range of Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 67 individuals during their fact-finding,which should simplify the task of communicating about the resultant planning document. In this section of the report, the consultants outline the necessary steps to move this com- munity cultural master plan forward. Recommendation V.1: The Cultural Masterplan Task Force should review and "accept" this report with any necessary revisions. The ad hoc Task Force, having been involved in this process from its in- ception, met in mid-April to review this document. The purpose of the meeting was fourfold: • to answer questions that arose about the content of the report • to identify areas where consensus on recommendations existed, as well as areas where more discussion was required before consensus emerged • to revise, if necessary, and "accept" the consultants' report • to discuss the initial steps toward implementation. A "consent calendar" approach was used for this meeting. A consent cal- endar is a device used by a group to identify areas of consensus in order.to focus on areas where additional,discussion is most likely to be required. With this report, each member of the Task Force received a list of recom- mendations and each member indicated whether he or she agreed, wished to discuss (usually just for clarification or technical information), or disa- greed with each recommendation. If at least two-thirds of the participants agreed with a recommendation, it was placed on the consent calendar and approved with a single vote at the end of the meeting. Otherwise, the rec- ommendation was listed on the meeting's agenda for discussion. At the end of the session, a vote was taken to "accept" the report with any necessary revisions. It is important to understand that "acceptance" in this context did not imply complete agreement with each detail and every rec- ommendation. Rather, it meant that the report can serve as the conceptual framework for subsequent discussions about cultural issues in Huntington Beach. Thus while one might have disagreed with a particular recommen- dation or the degree of emphasis on a particular program, there was a Page 68 The Wolf Organization, Inc. general agreement that the philosophical underpinnings and basic thrust of the report reflected the groups vision for the City's cultural future. In addition, an informational session was conducted, open to the public, to review the findings of The Wolf Organization consultants and the work of the Cultural Masterplan Task Force. This session was widely promoted in the community". A public forum followed the consultant's presenta- tion that allowed for questions, concerns, and suggestions from the many Huntington Beach residents who attended. The comments (which gener- ally reflected those heard by the consultants during their extensive inter- viewing) have been,when appropriate, incorporated into this revised report. Similar opportunities for review and comment have been provided for the senior staff of the Cultural Services Division and the Community Services Department. Their comments, generally providing feedback on City poli- cies and procedures, have been incorporated into this revised report. Recommendation V.2: The cultural element of the General Plan should be developed, based on the revised cultural planning document. Now that the consultants' report has been revised, it more closely reflects the thinking of the ad hoc community Task Force, the staff of the Cultural Services Division, and others in the City. At this time, the Task Force should meet to set priorities for the various recommendations. During the same period, the consultants will cast this masterplan document into the format of a "cultural element," which articulates City priorities for the cultural future of the community.When these tasks are complete, the re- vised cultural masterplan report can be considered the basic cultural plan- ning document for the City. Z' The informational meeting and public forum was advertised in the Los Angeles Times,the Register, and the Independent;flyers were distributed through the library;public service announcements were aired on Chan- nel 3;and invitations were sent to all interviewees and members of all City Boards,Commissions, City Council, as well as management staff of the City and members of the General Plan Advisory Committee. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 69 It is important to clarify that, in addition to the community-wide cultural masterplan, the cultural element will be developed. While the masterplan proposes actions for all sectors of the community (including, for example, the school districts, arts groups, businesses, etc.), the cultural element ad- dresses only City priorities. Based on the community cultural masterplan, including the vision statement in Part I, it will be necessary to abstract the details of the cultural element. A careful reading of this revised document will indicate that the consult- ants have presented recommendations with options for how they might be implemented. In developing the cultural element, an important task will be developing action plans, goals, and objectives by, in effect, choosing among these options. It should be emphasized that this task does not in- volve so much re-thinking the plan as re-casting it into the standardized format for General Plan elements22. To accomplish this, the consultants recommend that, as is common in the City, goals and objectives for the cultural element be developed by the ap- propriate City staff. An ad hoc committee should be assembled with rep- resentation from the Cultural Masterplan Task Force, the Allied Arts Board, and the General Plan Advisory Committee. This body should in- clude individuals who have been active in this planning process from the beginning as well as others who have a clear understanding of the cultural life of the City. Meeting once or twice, the ad hoc group should review the staff's work on the cultural element to make sure that, within the context of the revised cultural planning document, it accurately reflects the thinking of the Task Force and the needs of the community. This body should approve both the cultural element and the goals and objectives. Staff should present the cultural element to the General Plan Advisory Committee and the goals and objectives to the City Council for appropriate action and approval. 22 The consultants note that, as part of their present scope of work, they will provide an initial draft of the cultural element. Page 70 The Wolf Organization, Inc. Recommendation V.3: The Allied Arts Board and,when established, the proposed private sector arts and cultural support group should be responsible for tracking the implementation of the cultural plan. Since the existing ad hoc Task Force was charged with overseeing the de- velopment of the consultants' report (which it has ably done),its responsi- bilities have been fulfilled. However, there is more work to be done to assure that the detailed cultural plan is actually implemented.While the primary responsibility for implementing the plan lies with the Cultural Services Division, it is important to have a committed group of concerned residents to work with the Division to provide input on particular issues or priority setting, should such concerns arise. It will also be important to identify a group that can continue the necessary education and communi- cation process throughout the City, so that information about the cultural plan and its implementation is properly disseminated. While the original structure of an ad hoc, unaffiliated, community-based Task Force was appropriate for its task, the next steps require an existing entity that has an acknowledged advisory role on arts and cultural matters. The Allied Arts Board is ideal for this function. In addition, the proposed Cultural Partnership" group—the private side partner that can educate and advocate broadly in support of arts and cultural initiatives—should, once it is formed,work with the Board in this task. The consultants do not envision a complex process. Rather, once the cul- tural element has been approved, they suggest that a schedule of bi-annual advisory and review sessions be developed. At those sessions, members of the Allied Arts Board would hear progress reports from appropriate indi- viduals (including, for example, Cultural Services Division staff, represen- tatives of arts groups, other relevant City staff people, and school officials). They would issue a statement annually on the progress of imple- mentation with their suggestions for future priorities. 23 Cf., recommendation II.C.4 on page 36 for details of this group. Cultural Plan for Huntington Beach Page 71 Recommendation V.4: A public information plan should be developed to educate the gen- eral public regarding the contents of the community cultural plan. Even before the plan is completed, it will be critical to take steps to assure that it will be understood by the community and ultimately implemented. Work should begin as soon as possible to disseminate the consultants' findings and the recommendations as revised by the Task Force and oth- ers. Since the recommendations will require action from a variety of sec- tors in the community(the City, the school districts, arts and cultural groups, etc.), coordinated informational activities should be developed. Among the most important considerations are the following: • The revised report should be distributed to interested people in the community. Since the report is quite long, a nominal fee for duplica- tion might be charged. Copies for free examination might be placed in public libraries and short "executive summary" material might also be developed. Copies of the consultants' report should be sent to the individuals who requested copies at the recent public meeting. • Informational meetings about the cultural plan should be held with representatives of government, business, education, civic and neigh- borhood groups, artists, and others. The purpose of these sessions is to increase enthusiasm and support for the plan, as well as to gain more active involvement in the on-going implementation of the plan. • Specific written material should be developed, including a special brochure or newsletter that gives a concise summary of the high- lights of the revised consultants' report. In addition, as necessary, specific position and background papers should be developed to de- scribe the impact of particularly complex or potentially controversial recommendations (for example, "Enhance arts and cultural educa- tion—how will we do it?" or "What will a public art program do for our City?" or "What is culture in Huntington Beach?"). • It is important to remember that the public news-worthy moments of this planning process are comparatively few and must be carefully Page 72 The Wolf Organization, Inc. exploited in local and regional media outlets. Among the most im- portant are: - the acceptance of the consultants' report and the receipt of the re- vised document - the adoption of the cultural element by the Allied Arts Board - the acceptance of the element by the General Plan Advisory Committee. Much of the work of the next several months will depend on individual supporters of the plan who accept a public relations role and reach out into the community to "sell" the plan. Among the key people to under- take this activity are Task Force members, Allied Arts Board members, representatives of the Art Center Foundation,Arts Associates, and others. This type of work is greatly dependent on personal connections, enthusi- asm, and a willingness to tell the story of Huntington Beach's diverse and vibrant cultural community. Appendix X-X- dix A List of Interviewees The following individuals were involved in the factfinding for the project. All titles are for identification purposes only and were current at the time of contact. Karen Akamine Artist; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Bill Anderson Art Teacher;Member,Allied Arts Board; Member, The Arts Associates; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Fran Androti Principal, Oak View Elementary School David Anthony Dean of Fine Arts, Golden West College; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Diane Baker Executive Director, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau Rich Barnard Deputy City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Lloyd Baron Member, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; Member, Allied Arts Board; Member, Art in Public Places Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Robert Baron Founding Member, Huntington Beach Art Center Ralph Bauer Member, Huntington Beach City Council; Founding Patron, Huntington Beach Art Center; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Appendix Page A.2 List of Participants Suzanne Beukema Owner,Main Street Cafe;Member,Downtown Business Association Steve Bone The Robert Mayer Corporation; Chairman of the Board,Waterfront Hilton Beach Resort Margaret Bromberg Arts Supporter;Founding Member, Huntington Beach Art Center Lana Campbell President, Huntington Beach Playhouse; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Diana Casey Member, Board of Directors, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; Co-Chair, GTE Directories Summer Classic Equestrian Benefit; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Bonnie Castry School Board Member, Huntington Beach Union High School District Jerry Chapman Member, Executive Board, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; Member, Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau;Vice President, General Plan Advisory Committee; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Norma Clapp Member, Huntington Harbour Philarmonic Committee; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Louisa Cohrs Artist Paul Cook Former President, Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce; Former City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Linda Couey Vice President, Huntington Beach Concert Band; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Michael Couey Arts Supporter Elaine Craft Former Member, Allied Arts Board Akil Daniel Aerosol Artist Mary Dessert Artist Lucy Dunn Senior Vice President of Development, Koll Company The Wolf Organization, Inc. Appendix Page A.3 Jim Engle Deputy Director, Community Services Department, City of Huntington Beach Doug Erber Member,Sister City Association; Member,Japan America Society Bob Franz Deputy City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Anna Friesen Artist; Member, Allied Arts Board; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Karen Fuson Artist Dick Geosano Realtor; Member, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation Clyde Glasser Principal, Perry Elementary School Lloyd Glick Former Manager, Huntington Beach Concert Band Liz Goldner Free-lance Writer; Member, Allied Arts Board Bob Goodrich Chairman, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; Member,Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau Ron Hagan Director, Community Services Department, City of Huntington Beach David Hagen Superintendent, Huntington Beach Union High School District Rayna Hamre Teacher, Golden West College Elaine Hankin Member, Allied Arts Board; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Ron Hayden Director, Department of Library Services, City of Huntington Beach Howard Hitchcock Artist Mary Linn Hughes Artist Don Jankowiak Member, Board of Directors, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation; District Sales Manager, GTE Directories; Co-Chair, GTE Directories Summer Classic Equestrian Benefit Appendix Page A.4 List of Participants Barbara Kaiser Deputy City Administrator, Economic Development Department, City of Huntington Beach Elaine Keeley Teacher;Performing Artist;Former Chair, Allied Arts Board Jim Kerins Artist Marc Klein Member, Downtown Residents' Association Main Street Committee Natalie Kotsch Executive Director, Huntington Beach International Surfing Beach; Founder, International Surfing Museum; Member, General Plan Advisory Committee; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Sid Kuperberg Member, Board of Directors, Huntington Beach Public Library;Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Brandee Lara Arts Facilitator, Huntington Beach Union High School District Victor Leipzig Councilman, City of Huntington Beach Carol Lung Artist; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Bob Mandic Owner, Mandic Motors; President, Downtown Business Association Marcello Mercado Aerosol Artist Barbara Milkovich Former Chair, Historic Resources Board, Orange County Historical Commission Paul Morrow Principal, Sowers Middle School Phil Mosbo Managing Director, Orange County Performing Arts Center; Vice Chair, Allied Arts Board; Member, General Plan Advisory Committee; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Linda Moulton-Patterson Mayor, City of Huntington Beach; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force The Wolf Organization, Inc. Appendix Page A.5 Michael Mudd Manger, Cultural Services Division, City of Huntington Beach; Staff Liaison to Allied Arts Board and Historic Resources Board; Member, Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Eunice Nicholson Founder and Co-Chair,Founders Committee, Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation Chris Ortt Aerosol Artist Naida Osline Director, Huntington Beach Art Center, Cultural Services Division Rosemary Parravechio Director of Program Operations, Girls Inc., Newport Mesa Jerry Person Past Chair, Historic Resources Board; Member, Huntington Beach Historical Society; Member, General Plan Advisory Committee . Randy Pesqueira Aide, Cultural Services Division, City of Huntington Beach Thaddeus J. Phillips Manager, Library Services, City of Huntington Beach Joyce Riddell President, Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce; Member, Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau Maureen Rivers Chair, Board of Trustees,Newland House Museum; Member, Huntington Beach Historic Resources Board; Member, Huntington Beach Historical Society; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Pat Rogers Marketing Director, Huntington Beach Mall Steve Schwartz Performing Arts Teacher, Huntington Beach Union High School District; Past Chair, Allied Arts Board; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Mary Shebell Chairman, Allied Arts Board; Founder, Huntington Beach Art Center; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Appendix Page A.6 List of Participants Ray Silver Assistant City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Daryl Smith Superintendent, Park,Tree and Landscape Department, City of Huntington Beach Steve Smith Auditorium Manager, Huntington Beach High School Jim Staunton Principal,Huntington Beach High School Scott Steidinger Recording Technician, Golden West College Barbara Steward Arts Supporter Ann Sullivan Principal, Smith Elementary School Ann Thorne Public Arts Consultant; Member,Urban Design and Public Art Committee, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau; Member, Cultural Masterplan Task Force Joan Towgood Artist; President, National Women's Caucus for the Arts Michael Uberuaga City Administrator, City of Huntington Beach Joanna Viserta-Galinas President, Huntington Beach Historical Society Pat Williams President, Huntington Beach Art League Loretta Wolfe Board Member, Historic Resources Board Kay Work Member and Past President,The Arts Associates Doreen Yonts Principal, Eader Elementary School 7/ � .��. 064 19"y CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION with CULTURAL MASTER PLAN TASK FORCE to discuss THE CULTURAL MASTERPLAN A Needs Assessment & Planning Document October 17, 1994, 5:00 p.m. AGENDA OPENING COMMENTS Phil Mosbo, Chairman CMP Task Force GPAC Jerry Chapman, Vice Chairman GPAC PROCESS Carol Goldstein Wolf Organization KEY FINDINGS Michael Mudd, Manager Cultural Services HISTORIC PLAN Maureen Rivers, Vice Chairman Historic Resources FUTURE USE OF DOCUMENT Anna Friesen, Chairman Allied Arts Board DISCUSSION J-A"J@ CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION HUNTINGTON BEACH TO: MICHAEL T. UBERUAGA, CITY ADMINISTRA%0 / FROM: ROBERT J. FRANZ, DEPUTY CITY ADMINIST SUBJECT: CULTURAL MASTER PLAN DATE: OCTOBER 17, 1994 have reviewed the attachment to the RCA on the Cultural Masterplan. I am concerned about the "Resources" section beginning on page 55 of the document. Specifically, Recommendation IVA which begins on page 60 of the Master Plan. This section of the report is, in my opinion, unrealistic and runs the risk of raising expectations from the Community Services Department's staff and the public that tax subsidies will be available to support the Cultural Arts in the future. For instance, on page 61, the Master Plan states as follows: "perhaps the most viable options for covering the City's share of Cultural programming costs are through a sales tax assessment district and a percentage of City parking fees from the downtown parking structure." It is not realistic to suggest that parking revenues are available when the structure operates at a deficit of several hundred thousand dollars per year. Incremental increases in sales tax revenues are needed to cover other, existing costs in the downtown area. The City spent $17 million on the parking structure and second block improvements downtown, over $12 million to rebuild the pier, and over $1.5 million to improve Main Street. There are no projections of future parking revenue, sales tax revenue, or other revenues from the downtown area that will fully repay these investments or even cover our ongoing costs for downtown Huntington Beach. To suggest that some of the sales tax or parking revenues could be earmarked for cultural affairs ignores the fact that we have substantial tax subsidies currently that will continue into the future for the downtown area. There are no "incremental" tax revenues when current revenues do not cover current costs. Another example is on page 62 as follows: "although the Community Enrichment Library Fee is allocated to the Central Library, once the major burden of construction costs have been addressed, it would be appropriate to consider including this fee in the mix of funding for other arts and cultural activities." 0005830.01 10/17/94 1:06 PM The above statement indicates there is no understanding of the approved method of paying for the Library expansion costs. The Community Enrichment Library Fee is totally dedicated, for the next 20-30 years, to the repayment of the cost of building the Library expansion. As I stated at the Department Head meeting when we discussed this cultural masterplan, the inclusion of specific proposals tends to raise the expectations of the individuals reading the report. I realize that the plan only recommends the exploration of funding sources and that the approval of the plan does not mandate new funding sources. The plan therefore should limit itself to stating that funding sources should be explored. If it is necessary to leave in specific references to potential new funding sources, then the plan needs to be edited to delete those that are unrealistic so that they do not unnecessarily raise expectations. would be glad to work with the Community Services staff and the consultant to modify this section of the plan if it is so desired. RJF:pdc cc: Ron Hagan 0005830.01 10/17/94 1:50 PM