Hood River considers new mural restrictions

The agreement came following the creation of a mural advisory group, consisting of muralists, art educators, building owners, architects, historians, and representatives from the Landmarks Review Board. The group referenced mural codes from Portland and Milwaukie to help determine what would work best for Hood River.

The mural advisory group, despite their appreciation for murals, recommended mural restrictions on historic buildings.

The potential restrictions would affect buildings and surfaces within the historic district of Oak Street, as well as contributing historic buildings not located on Oak Street. Murals in other districts would likely still face some restrictions, including a minimum two-year time period, matte rather than gloss finishes to avoid reflection, and dimension restrictions.

While the tentative agreement garnered at least four votes from Blackburn and Council Members Doug Stepina, Megan Saunders and Gladys Rivera, some council members disagreed with restricting murals, while others argued the code wouldn’t be strong enough.

“If murals can’t be banned out-right [in the historic district], that’s better than nothing,” Saunders said in reference to the tentative code agreement.

Others, however, voiced concern over the potential restrictions.

“I’m not afraid of art, nor am I afraid of the expression therein anywhere. I understand the hesitancy to that sort of thing, and I understand the fear behind it,” Council Member Grant Polson said.

A public commenter expressed a similar sentiment during opening remarks.

“Murals are not merely decoration, they’re a vital form of public art that enrich our cultural landscape, promote public discourse, and bolster our local economy — particularly in tourist-reliant districts,” resident Lach Litwer said.

The new mural restrictions — if approved — would operate in addition to regulations that already ban billboards in Hood River. Since neither billboards nor murals can be regulated based on content, the regulatory focus is instead on location, dimensions, and timeframes.

“The shorter the time period, the more commercial turning you can get out of this,” City Attorney Dan Kearns said, emphasizing the importance of mural time restrictions. “Everyone is in favor of artistic murals … My concern is what the wars were fought over in the city years and years ago. It was over commercial advertisements visible from the freeway.”

The conversation highlighted the city’s concern, not only about undesirable mural artwork, but about blatant commercial advertising.

Community Engagement Coordinator Jackie Vanderpuye brought the subject before the board to better draft a formal code. The tentative agreement was taken into account, but an official vote has yet to take place.