OLDS — The town's municipal planning commission (MPC) has approved a mural on an Uptowne Olds building, even though its creation didn't originally follow the Town of Olds' approval process.
The mural was painted on the east side of the Mountain View Publishing building at 5013 51st Street in Olds, facing the alley.
It was created as part of the set for an episode of The Last Of Us, filmed in Olds May 31 and June 1.
Ordinarily, under rules approved by the previous town council, proposed murals must initially be submitted to the Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC) for approval.
The proposed mural then goes to the MPC for final approval.
Because this mural was created for a movie set, it was simply painted on the building without going through that process. It was expected to be painted over after the film crew left town.
However, building owner Murray Elliott liked the mural and asked Town of Olds officials if it could be approved after the fact.
In a letter addressed to the PAAC and MPC, Elliott said if the mural was approved, he had been advised to apply a clear coat to it to provide additional protection to it and make it easier to clean any graffiti that might be applied to it.
However, Elliott said the artist who painted it, Steve Hornung of Vancouver, said it's that’s not likely to happen.
"Wall sprayers are loathe to deface another artist's work,” he wrote.
Elliott also said if the mural was approved, he planned to eventually have a plaque installed denoting how it came to be there and who painted it.
The mural was approved earlier by the PAAC and came up for final approval during MPC’s July 21 meeting in town council chambers.
After about 10 minutes of discussion, MPC approved a development application for the mural under three conditions recommended by administrative staff.
Those conditions are:
• The development must be constructed in accordance with the approved plans and conditions. Any revisions to the approved plans must be submitted for approval to the development authority.
• The applicant shall be responsible for maintaining the mural in a proper state of repair and shall keep it properly painted at all times (and) clean all mural surfaces as it becomes necessary.
• Use and development of the subject site shall conform to all other applicable requirements of the Town of Olds land use bylaw 01-23 except where a relaxation has been expressly granted.
