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Minutes - San Leandro City Council Meeting - May 2, 1994 Page - 8 - PUBLIC HEARINGS (continued) In response to questions from the City Council , Mr. Emslie again reviewed the chronicle of events. He said, although Mrs. Campbell said she contacted the City in September 1993, nothing formal was submitted until December. He said, as Zoning Enforcement Official , he made the decision to automatically appeal this item to the Planning Commission because he knew there were protests and that it would be appealed in any event, and his automatic appeal would expedite the process. Justin Murphy, Project Planner, continued the staff report. He described the zoning in the area and presented slides with an overview of the surrounding area, the mural , and the highlights and details of the mural . He also described the light-activated lights which had been installed and which are on from dusk to dawn. Alice Campbell , 14655 Outrigger Drive, the Appellant, described the process involved in organizing artists who paint the mural . She noted that seven of the artists are from San Leandro. She said the mural was a creative way to get rid of an on-going graffiti problem on her building. She said she called the City in September 1993 to tell them about the mural idea but did not have any further contact until December, at which time she was asked to send a letter of intent. She said the regulations regarding non-commercial murals did not go into effect until January 1994, and she feels she has been grandfathered into that process. She said, at the time she planned on painting the mural , only the Camozzi ' s objected. Members of the City Council asked Mrs. Campbell why she did not go through the legal process regarding the mural . They asked why, after the Planning Commission denial ; she did not wait until the Appeal had gone through the City Council to paint the mural . She said she was under a deadline because March was National Women's History Month, as well as the 100th Anniversary of the San Francisco Women's Art Association, and she felt it was necessary to move forward. She said she had already contacted more than 60 women who would be .working on the mural , and it was too late to stop their activities. She noted the sign, which was the title of the mural , is not a commercial sign and should not be regulated by commercial -sign laws. In response to questions from City Council , Steve Meyers, City Attorney, noted that the Zoning ordinance, which contains the four lines related to the mural , was approved a couple of years ago but not enacted until the Zoning Maps were approved. Steve Emslie added that the references to non-commercial murals had been added to the Code as early as fall or winter of 1991 . He said the Zoning Code was adopted in April 1992 and became effective a year later.