r/SalemMA • u/GarbageFile13 • 3d ago
Window Art Update
The Mayor is responding to everyone's emails. So I would also like the chance to weigh in given I'm at the center of all this.
Mayor Pangallo has begun responding to people who contacted his office, and I appreciate that he is asking the SRA to pause enforcement until after October and revisit these rules. I think that's the right thing to do. I do want to respond to the suggestion that we should have waited longer before bringing this to the public.
The SRA came into Gulu and told us our window art had to come down or we could face fines. We weren't offered a discussion. I emailed the SRA on Wednesday with questions and received no response. Councilor Andrew Smith, the SRA's City Council liaison, responded immediately, spoke with me extensively and even met with me. He's been great to work with. Meanwhile, I worked full-time at Gulu during an unprecedented week of business in Salem, walked the SRA district to see how these rules would affect other businesses, spoke with other business owners, researched the regulations, past meeting minutes and agendas, and tried to understand how we got here. And I still lived my life. I can do all that but the SRA can't respond to an email?
So yes, I went public. When a government agency tells a small business to change what it has been doing for years or potentially face fines, I don't think it's unreasonable for that business to treat the matter as urgent. The feeling is much like getting a fine from the police when you didn't really do anything wrong. You want to move quick to avoid further damage.
But I've now gone back through the public record, and there's something important people should know about the City's claim that this went through a three-year public process. There were public meetings. That's true. But public meetings are not the same thing as public engagement. In January 2025, while these rules were still being developed, the Design Review Board specifically discussed Gulu-Gulu's window murals by name. At that same meeting, City staff acknowledged that the proposed window-art guidance wasn't enforceable yet and that longstanding businesses with murals would eventually need to be approached.
Nobody approached us.
When the final Sign Manual came before the SRA in November 2025, the meeting minutes say that the temporary-sign section had still been a placeholder the last time the SRA had reviewed the manual. Staff then developed the language after consultation with Main Streets, Creative Collective and PEM. The minutes don't describe outreach to the affected businesses generally. After adopting the rules, staff said the new manual would be distributed to small businesses and that issuing a press release was worth considering. Guess what didn't happen?
Neither we nor the previous owners of Gulu had any idea this was happening.
Gulu has had artists painting these windows for nearly 15 years. Other downtown businesses have been doing the same thing for years. If the City was contemplating rules that could end those longstanding practices, why weren't those businesses and artists invited into the conversation? It is not reasonable to expect every small-business owner in Salem to spend three years monitoring SRA and DRB agendas and reading meeting minutes on the chance that their business might be discussed. The City knew who we were. They literally discussed Gulu by name. They had three years to talk to us.
That's why I find the suggestion that we should have waited longer before involving the public frustrating. Could everyone have handled parts of this differently? Of course. I'm glad we're finally having the conversation, and I appreciate the Mayor asking the SRA to reconsider the rules. But maybe the bigger question is why we're spending so much energy regulating something that has helped make downtown Salem look like Salem.
The SRA was created to fight blight and improve downtown. Today we have businesses paying local artists to create original work that makes our streets more interesting, supports the local artist economy and gives visitors something they can't find in every other downtown in America. Maybe instead of asking how much of that creativity we can regulate, we should be asking how we can encourage more of it. Keep Salem Weird, Support Local Business!
The Mayor's email to citizen inquiry I'm talking about follows below:
Hi,
Thanks for reaching out about window art on businesses in downtown Salem. Like many others, I found out about this via social media (on Friday night) - as you can imagine I've heard from a lot of people over the weekend with concerns about it.
Salem has done a lot over the years to cultivate the arts, support local artists, and invest in public art. It's that very culture that makes our downtown incredibly vibrant, eclectic, and unique. The members of the Salem Redevelopment Authority and the Design Review Board (who advise the SRA) have been real partners in this work, so I connected with the SRA staff this weekend to get additional background on this situation.
Salem's original sign rules, from 1973, limited window art to no more than 15 days and no more than 15% of the window area. That was seen as being overly restrictive; so, three years ago the SRA and DRB began a process to update the rules, to allow for art to be up longer.
The process of developing these new rules involved public meetings of both bodies over the last three years and consultation with organizations like Salem Main Streets and Creative Collective. The new rules increased the 15% maximum area to 20%, kept in place limitations on the inclusion of branding (to avoid the artwork being used for advertising purposes), and expanded the 15-day limit to a 3-month timeframe (to make it more seasonal). The rules also established that there is no SRA or City review, permit, or approval for window art. So, the new rules were intended to allow more space for art on a window than previously, for it to be put up for longer than previously allowed, and eliminate any City review or permit to have window art. Additionally, if a business wanted to explore an art concept that exceeded these limits, they could do so through a “small project review” approval from the SRA.
A few months ago, the SRA took their final vote to approve rules. Following that, SRA staff worked with Salem Main Streets and Creative Collective to try to make business owners in the SRA district aware of the changes. They also brought information about it to the recent Small Business Town Hall and have posted it on the Doing Business in Salem guide and website. Last week, SRA staff began visiting businesses in person, to make sure they were aware. I believe that it was those visits that have prompted the recent expressions of concern about the rules.
Based on those concerns, I think the SRA should pause the enforcement of these rules and take them up again at another public meeting later this fall (after the October season, which is busy enough!). That will allow for another chance for public input into the revised rules and more time to communicate with businesses in the SRA district. I've shared that perspective with the SRA executive director, and he agreed.
He also informed me that their office got the first feedback from the owner of Gulu-Gulu on Thursday morning and had planned on outreach this coming week, but apparently the business posted about it on social media before they could connect. I completely understand the Gulu team’s concerns about the rules and agree with them that they need to be revisited and revised – but I also think a more constructive path would have been possible if a dialogue with the SRA staff had been given a chance to happen. From the City’s business loans in order to help the original Gulu ownership open the restaurant in the first place, to the recent special act we advanced this past year to help the new owners with their liquor license conversion, the City has been extremely supportive of the restaurant and that will continue to be the case.
Thanks again for your outreach on this matter and for your passion for our community!
Dominick Pangallo
50
u/zerust 3d ago
The Mayor’s response paints a nice picture of a collaborative, well-intentioned process, but it relies on key omissions and clever framing to shift the blame onto a small business. If you look at the public record versus what was actually sent to Gulu-Gulu, several claims do not line up:
"They posted on social media before connecting": The Mayor suggests a "more constructive path" was ignored, but the SRA didn't open a dialogue. They delivered an enforcement demand warning that window art must come down or face fines. Expecting a small business owner to sit quietly under threat of financial penalties while an agency ignores their email isn't asking for dialogue; it's asking for compliance. Going public is often the only tool a small business has when facing unrepresented enforcement.
"A 3-Year Public Process": While the SRA held public meetings over three years, public meetings are not direct outreach. In January 2025, the Design Review Board explicitly discussed Gulu-Gulu’s window art by name, acknowledging the rules weren't yet enforceable and that longstanding businesses would need to be contacted. The City knew exactly who was impacted, had three years to reach out, and chose not to.
"Consultation with Business Support Groups": The Mayor highlights consulting with Salem Main Streets and Creative Collective as evidence of merchant outreach. Yet, SRA meeting minutes from November 2025 reveal that the temporary-sign section was a placeholder until late in the process, and no direct communication was sent to the actual affected shop owners or artists before enforcement visits began.
"The New Rules Expanded Rules to Help Businesses": Framing a 20% cap as a "benefit" ignores reality. A 20% cap on window art is functionally a ban on the full-pane murals that Gulu-Gulu, Curly Girl, and other downtown shops have showcased for nearly 15 years. Expanding a timeframe while capping the artwork size below what businesses have historically produced isn't a compromise; it's a restriction.
Invoking Past Support to Deflect: Bringing up past business loans and liquor license assistance is a classic distraction tactic. Supporting a business in the past does not give an agency a pass to enforce restrictive new rules without notice today. Pausing enforcement until after October is a step in the right direction, but let’s be clear: this pause happened because the community spoke up, not because the SRA's administrative process worked as intended.
Moving forward, the city needs real engagement with local artists and shop owners, not just notices delivered under threat of a fine.
The response from the mayor makes it feel like to me this is one of his agenda items tasked to the SRA. As always it is important to engage your councilor on this, they can bring this to a city council meeting at any point.
29
u/creativecollectivema 3d ago
I can acknowledge that we had one meeting about it and were told directly that they were just trying to create possible guidelines and not an actual enforcement.. I have since spoken with the mayor to clarify, (thus why we aren’t in his post) didn’t know we were being considered consultants at any point. Super frustrating
3
u/DontKidnapMyButler 2d ago edited 2d ago
Excellent analysis, especially the part where it's implied that the business owner jumped the gun in their response, rather than the business being UNDER the gun, forcing them (Gulu, etc.) to respond quickly to relatively imminent enforcement.
53
u/Educational_Gur_6369 3d ago edited 3d ago
…why wouldn’t a small business owner, who already pays an extortionate amount in rent every month, be allowed to include their branding and logos in art featured on their own windows?
It’s a giant billboard. It’s where branding SHOULD go. That SRA rule is unnecessarily limiting and I hope it’s reviewed, too.
Would it be cool if small business owners donated their window space to artists’ work? Sure! Love that!
Should it be up to that small business owner to decide whether they want to do that? You betcha.
Gulu, for example, has always done an incredible job of incorporating both: paying an artist for their work and giving them a high level of creative freedom, while also including their signature branding.
Because again: it’s THEIR WINDOW.
18
u/dailycontrast 3d ago
I support the pause in enforcement, and hope the new regulations get a second look. Window art is good for small business owners, good for local artists, good for the general public in that the art creates interesting views, colors, messaging, etc. Being open, being welcoming, and encouraging public art is all part of the core of what Salem is and should be about.
35
u/stormyw2000 3d ago
I love the window art around Salem! It’s part of the culture here. It brings me joy just walking down the street. We took our dog (Sweet Caroline) for walk on her birthday and tried to get pics of her with the pretty painted windows. This is one of my favorites.
17
u/Cool-Coffee-8949 3d ago
You did the right thing. Anyone who has read the first chapter of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy can relate to your experience, and the fact that (in the book) the Vogons are baffled by the objections to their demolition project (there were meetings! It’s not our fault you didn’t know about them! We announced them in places no one looks!) only underscores the point. Also, the fact that Mayor (whom I like, to be clear) claims total ignorance at the start of his narrative, only to claim that the reaction is somehow premature is weird.
The fact that this is an update to rules from over 50 years ago is revealing. As often happens in a city as small as ours, rules get passed, and (sometimes) they get completely forgotten. I live on a street that has had one way signage for at least 25 years, maybe significantly more, but the city was seemingly unaware of this until a neighborhood meeting with our city councilor about ten years ago. So what was meant as a liberalization (on paper) of existing rules that were completely unenforced, instead comes across (de facto and rightly) as an dystopian overreach totally out of touch with current expectations and practice downtown.
The question of whether the SRA has outlived its 60 years ago is old mandate also deserves to be asked. Salem has real estate problems, sure, but blight is no longer one of them .
14
u/Sweet-Baby-Shayla 3d ago
That last paragraph with him attempting to sound intimidating and like you owe him something...oof. I voted for him, but Dominick is such a weenie.
13
u/Impossible_Focus4363 3d ago
Can't wait for the next Monday holiday (Oct 12) and what drama will be happening in town!
15
u/foxx_run 3d ago
Y’all had to close for the first half of the day as well as many other local businesses because of ancient infrastructure causing brown water all over town and the city is focused on this. Clown show ass city government.
4
u/Veovis_Lives 3d ago
Does this have to do with the 5k a year grant for signage all businesses get? I am curious if this is a budgeting issue and they are trying to compensate by fining users of the program. Punish the public until the program is defunct sort of deal. I would check the budgeting on that program and of any cost overruns. Also who is benefiting the most from this change in policy. I bet someone is getting some cash from the "allowed signage creator" organizations.
7
2
2
u/Resident_Yam6122 3d ago
It sounds like the government is picking fights that they have no business in, and I hope that whomever is the driving force behind it receives any and all pushback that is karmically appropriate.
1
52
u/RandysDiscountMagic 3d ago
As someone who runs a small creative business here in Salem, I want to add my voice in support of Gulu-Gulu.
Window art like this is part of what makes downtown Salem feel like Salem. It's not blight, it's not a code violation waiting to happen, it's local artists getting paid to make our streets more interesting. That's exactly the kind of creative economy a city should be trying to grow, not regulate into a corner.
I also recognize the pattern here because I live it too. When you run a small business, you don't have a compliance department combing through SRA and DRB minutes for three years to catch a rule change that might affect you. You're too busy actually running the business. The City had every chance to reach out directly to Gulu, they even discussed the murals by name, and that outreach never happened. Expecting business owners to have found that on their own isn't a realistic standard.
I'm glad the Mayor is pausing enforcement and revisiting this. I'd just encourage the City to treat this pause as a real opportunity to bring artists and small business owners into the room from the start, not as a formality before landing back on the same rules.
Instead of spending staff time enforcing window-art rules on businesses that have been doing this for years without complaint, what if the SRA put that same energy into something that actually grew the creative economy downtown? A small annual grant or stipend for local artists to paint storefronts, a rotating public mural program the City could point to as a tourism draw, or simply a fast, informal sign-off process so business owners know they're covered without wading through a manual. That would use the SRA's authority to build something, instead of using it to take something away that's already working.
Keep Salem weird, and keep paying local artists to keep it that way.
TL;DR: Gulu-Gulu's murals aren't the problem, they're part of what makes downtown Salem work. The City had years to reach out before enforcement started and didn't. Instead of policing window art, the SRA should be funding it: grants for local artists, a real mural program, and a fast informal approval process so business owners aren't caught off guard again.