At the second public hearing on amending the city's General Plan—a legally required document governing growth—fine arts commissioners and city staff proposed including a 1 percent for arts ordinance.

"Public art creates a landmark which defines the personality of a city," said Kim Smith, Cupertino's city clerk and staff liaison to the fine arts commission. "It becomes a design element as much as architecture."

Fine Arts Commissioner Hema Kundargi defined public art as being more than just a sculpture. "It can include fountains, murals and sidewalks," Kundargi said.

Cupertino already has two prominent public art pieces—a sculpture of a morion (a helmet) representative of California's Spanish explorers, and a sculpture at Cali Mill Plaza. The morion is currently in storage. City officials say it will be in its original location at the corner of Rodrigues and Torre avenues in time for the city's 50th anniversary celebration next fall.

The fine arts commission views the 1-percent plan as a means of funding such art in the future, especially given the tough economic times. Under the percentage system, a portion of construction costs—usually 1 percent to 3 percent—is allocated to funding public art. Roughly 300 cities in the United States have used a similar system to support public art.

"It's something we have been talking about for a few years," Smith said. "Having enough money was always a problem."

In the past, according to Smith, the city helped fund the arts through grants and the support of companies such as Apple, which contributed to the Perspectives sculpture at Cali Mill Plaza. However, due to the lean economy and budget deficits, such grants and corporate support have become harder to come by. The fine arts commission hopes a percentage ordinance can change that.

"Cupertino is growing by leaps and bounds," said Kundargi, a self-described culinary artist with her own Indian cooking show on Cupertino's cable channel. "Cupertino is well known and we want to keep that advantage ... Public art reflects the character of the place. Instead of being anonymous, it adds more to the quality of life."

Smith cautioned that the proposal is still preliminary, but said she hopes it will be considered.

"Over time public art can do wonderful things for stimulating the arts," Smith said, "not just public art but the performing arts and other arts as well."

The next public hearing amending the General Plan will be Feb. 8 at 6:45 p.m. in the community hall.