Council changes mural-height limit to roof line after public hearing

Hood River — Following a public hearing, the City Council voted Aug. 10 to amend Chapter 18.03 of the Hood River Municipal Code (Ordinance 20‑97) to change the maximum permitted height for original art murals from 15 feet to the roof line of the building.

Staff summarized the code’s development process and stakeholder engagement, saying the 15‑foot figure was suggested early in the deliberations and that the draft amendment proposes changing the standard to roof line without altering other mural-code provisions. A staff explanation noted a pending application for an 18‑foot wall and that one nonconforming mural already exists on a municipal building.

Councilors discussed the policy balance: supporters argued that the roof-line standard allows compliance for existing nonconforming murals and supports public art; others warned that allowing murals to reach the full height of building façades could effectively create billboard-like walls. “If we just make it the roof line, understand that it can be the entire side of a building… we may have these sides of buildings look like billboards,” one councilor said during the debate. The motion to adopt Ordinance 20‑97 (first and second readings by title) passed and the ordinance will become law in 30 days.