Damaged Public Art and Murals in San Diego

The City's public art is managed by the Cultural Affairs Department, which develops and stewards the Civic Art Collection. The collection includes paintings, sculptures and works on paper in municipal buildings, plus art integrated into the City's libraries, parks, public safety facilities, civic buildings and other public spaces. The Commission for Arts and Culture advises the department.

• Say where it is. The park, library, building or street and nearest cross street, and where the piece sits (entrance, plaza, wall facing the street). Leave out house numbers if you share it publicly. The title or artist from a plaque helps.
• Send a photo of the damage and one of the whole artwork, so staff can judge how serious it is.
• Not sure it is City art? The City publishes the collection and a Collection Map from its Explore the Collection page.
• Do not clean or repair it yourself. Under San Diego Municipal Code section 22.5903 (Chapter 2, Article 2, Division 59), no artwork owned by or in the custody of the City may be removed, relocated, conserved, altered or disposed of without the approval of the Cultural Affairs Department. The department uses artists, skilled art technicians and qualified fine art conservators for conservation work.

Art in City parks and libraries is part of the same Civic Art Collection, so 619-236-6808 or [email protected] applies. It also helps to tell the staff on site. Under the City's Administrative Regulation 95.00 on managing the collection, each City department must immediately report to Cultural Affairs any loss, damage, deterioration or failed operation of artworks in the public places it manages, and preserve any evidence of vandalism or theft.

• Parks. San Diego Municipal Code section 63.0102(c)(5) (Chapter 6, Article 3, Division 1) makes it unlawful to cut, break, deface or injure any building, monument, fountain or other structure or property in a park without the City Manager's written permission. The Parks and Recreation Department's Ask Parks form takes general questions and concerns, but the City says not to use it or Get It Done for emergencies or time-sensitive issues.
• Libraries and civic buildings. Tell library or building staff and report it to Cultural Affairs. Under the City's rules, the department where an artwork is located does its routine cleaning, and Cultural Affairs handles specialized conservation.

For other park problems, see our parks and playgrounds guide.

Who looks after a mural depends on whose wall it is on and how the mural was approved.

• On City property or in the public right-of-way. The City requires any artwork, including murals, proposed for property it owns or controls to be reviewed by the Commission for Arts and Culture and approved by the City (Proposing Artwork for City Property). Under the City's mural toolkit (PDF), the applicant signs an agreement to maintain the mural and remove it at the end of the exhibition period: up to five years in the public right-of-way and up to one year on City property. For murals in the right-of-way, the applicant must post the name, phone number and email of the party responsible for the mural where it can be seen from the right-of-way. Look for that notice: it tells you who to contact first.
• Approved does not mean City-owned. The toolkit says approval of a mural design does not make it part of the Civic Art Collection unless the City commissioned or acquired it, and that the City does not take responsibility for maintaining or preserving artworks outside the collection. If the responsible party does not keep the mural in good condition, the City may remove it before the exhibition period ends.
• On a private wall. The toolkit says it does not apply to murals on privately owned property. Under San Diego Municipal Code section 142.1210(a)(3) (Chapter 14, Article 2, Division 12), murals, mosaics or other graphic art painted on a wall or fence that contain no copy, advertising symbols, lettering or trademarks are not signs under the City's sign regulations. A private mural belongs to the property owner, who decides on repairs. Other rules may still apply to a particular building, so owners planning a mural should check with the City first.
• Art required in private developments. Some private, non-residential projects must set aside money for civic enhancement, often met by installing artwork (Art in Private Development Projects). Under Municipal Code section 22.5911(a), the owner of the development must maintain and preserve that artwork in good condition and protect it against destruction or modification, and section 22.5913 says failure to maintain it may be a public nuisance. The program is overseen by Cultural Affairs, so report neglect or damage to [email protected].

In the Municipal Code, graffiti means an unauthorized inscription, word, figure, picture or design painted or marked on public or private property (section 54.0402, Chapter 5, Article 4, Division 4). A mural painted with permission is not graffiti; a tag sprayed on top of it is.

• Report the tag. Inside the City, use Get It Done (graffiti form) or the Graffiti Hotline at 619-527-7500 (City graffiti page). Say in the description that the graffiti is on a mural or artwork. If it is a City artwork, also email [email protected] or call 619-236-6808, since City art may only be conserved or altered with Cultural Affairs' approval.
• On private property, the owner is responsible. Section 54.0405(b) makes it unlawful for a responsible person to let graffiti remain on a surface they own or control when it is visible from the street or other public property. If you know the owner, the business or the artist, tell them too.
• Not every report stays with the City. The City's Guide to Get It Done Reports and Services says graffiti reports may be handled by another provider, such as the Port of San Diego, Caltrans, MTS, the County or a commercial property owner. Those reports show as "Referred" and do not get further status updates, so for art on those properties it is faster to report directly as described below.

Our graffiti guide covers removal timeframes, cost recovery and what owners must do in detail.

Some of the most visible art in San Diego is not on City property at all.

• Port of San Diego tidelands. The Port's Art on the Tidelands page describes more than 70 pieces, from bronze sculptures to murals and fountains, across its five member cities, with self-guided tours that include San Diego's North Embarcadero and Shelter Island. The Port says it inspects its art for wear, vandalism and environmental damage and asks the public to report art that needs attention through its Service Portal, with the location and a photo. The portal has graffiti and damage reports but only covers areas in the Port's jurisdiction. Port of San Diego Harbor Police non-emergency line: 619-686-6272 (Harbor Police); emergencies, 911.
• Trolley stations and transit centers. MTS has added murals at several Trolley stations and transit centers through its "Color the Corridor" beautification project. The MTS pages we checked do not list an artwork-specific channel; the Customer Feedback form has a field for the station or stop, and Customer Service is 619-557-4555, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you see vandalism happening, contact MTS Security by call or text at 619-595-4960, 24/7.
• Freeway walls, bridges and state highways. Art on state highway property goes through Caltrans' Transportation Art program. Caltrans says the art is provided, installed, maintained and restored or removed by the public agency representing the area, under a maintenance agreement (FAQ), and the City's mural toolkit says murals on Caltrans walls in the city also need an agreement with the City for maintenance. Report graffiti or damage to Caltrans through its Customer Service Request form or District 11 at 619-688-6699 (Caltrans contact page). See also our freeway and highway guide.

• City artworks. Under Municipal Code section 22.5904, routine cleaning of a Civic Art Collection piece is done by the City department where it is located, at Cultural Affairs' direction, while Cultural Affairs manages specialized maintenance and conservation. The City says it selects artworks for conservation based on the severity of their condition, their historic and artistic significance and their importance to the community, so a repair may not be immediate. Cultural Affairs also keeps condition records for the collection.
• Approved murals that are not City-owned. The City monitors them for compliance with the maintenance agreement, and the responsible party is expected to repair them.
• Port art. The Port says it records findings and works with conservation partners to restore pieces, and its Service Portal lets you follow the progress of your request.
• Vandalism as a crime. If you saw who did it, or the damage is serious, also report it to police. Inside the City, the San Diego Police Department non-emergency number is 619-531-2000 (SDPD contact page). The City also has a graffiti reward program, covered in our graffiti guide.

For other problems, see our guide to reporting a problem to the City of San Diego.