TAMPA - The City Council on Thursday voted to expand the city's public art ordinance to include the Channel District and raise the cap on required payments to $400,000.
The current ordinance, adopted in 1989 and amended in 1998, includes only downtown's central business district.
The law requires that developers set aside 0.75 percent of their total project cost for public art or give 0.5 percent to the city's public art fund up to $200,000.
Council member John Dingfelder argued for expanding the ordinance further to include major projects throughout the city.
"We've missed some opportunities," he said, noting big construction projects in the West Shore business district and condominium towers on Bayshore Boulevard. "We shouldn't miss anymore."
Other council members, though, worried about discouraging growth by burdening developers. The proposal passed 6-1, with Shawn Harrison voting against it.
The revision needs approval of the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission and then will be scheduled for two public hearings before the council can make a final vote.
