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A well-known mural in town will remain unfinished a little while longer due to a procedural misstep.

Michael “Porkchop” Lavallee started the mural [pictured above], located on the corner of Bond Street and Cookman Avenue, about a year and a half ago. Lavallee didn’t apply for permission from the city’s public arts committee first, so progress was halted.

The public arts committee was recently revamped, making it easier for artists to apply for permission to create murals. Lavallee’s partner Jenn Hampton attended the public arts committee meeting on Sept. 16 on his behalf. She applied for — and received — permission to finish the Bond Street mural and create a new one near the ocean front.

But now, Lavallee must wait another month to start work on the murals.

The public arts ordinance requires artists to notify through certified mail all property owners within 200 feet of a proposed mural site of their plans. Hampton did notify the building’s neighbors, but the ordinance also states the neighbors must be notified 10 days in advance, according to interim public arts committee chair Mike Sodano. A neighbor of the building claims notification was not received until four or five days before the meeting, he said.

Now, Hampton must re-apply at the Oct. 16 committee meeting and notify all the neighbors once more.

“Unfortunately, we were called on it by a property owner,” Sodano said. “I’m disappointed that we overlooked that detail, but we are doing everything we can to correct it … We’re looking to remedy this as quickly as possible and get the project going.”

The application will be heard once more at the Oct. 16 public arts committee meeting held in the city manager’s conference room in City Hall at 6 p.m.

“If residents or property owners come and comment at the meeting, we will take into consideration what they have to say and try to make all parties feel like they’re in a win-win situation,” Sodano said.

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