Lexington, KY Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Code § 2-451 creates the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Public Arts Commission to advise the mayor and Urban County Council on "the selection, acquisition, funding, placement, maintenance, and conservation of public art, public art events, and public monuments," and to review applications for installing permanent visual artwork in public spaces from external sources, expressly including memorials and monuments, for their aesthetic design and long-term conservation. 1, any artwork designed to remain in place for one year or longer counts as "permanent artwork" and becomes property of the Urban County Government once placed; "public spaces" covers courthouses, administrative buildings, plazas, rights-of-way and parks owned or leased by the government.

The 16-member commission set out in § 2-452 includes architects, professional artists, arts administrators, a licensed civil engineer, a landscape architect, a Council member, a mayor's office representative and a non-voting LexArts representative, all appointed by the mayor and confirmed by Council. Section 2-455 directs the commission to review applications and proposals for permanent artwork against adopted criteria, coordinate with the department of general services and the district council member before installation, and require prior approval from the commissioner of general services for any artwork with extraordinary operating or maintenance costs. 1.