VISTA - City Council members voiced strong support Tuesday for more public art in Vista, but said they weren't inclined to require developers to incorporate art in their projects or contribute to a special fund as the city's Public Arts Commission had requested.

The council is already set to consider an increase in traffic fees later this month, and at a special workshop Tuesday, city leaders said it just wasn't the right time to further burden developers with a public art requirement.

Instead, they agreed to look at other options for funding more public art.

"It's just real hard to add more fees on there," Councilwoman Judy Ritter said during the workshop, held at Vista City Hall.

The council's discussion came after the city's volunteer Public Arts Commission presented a wish list of art projects that would cost more than $665,000 over two years.

The commission proposed 16 murals along the Sprinter light-rail corridor, a gateway arch in the city's downtown and an artistic kite installation modeled after the Port of San Diego's "urban trees" program. The commission also asked the city to hire a part-time employee to manage public arts programs and research grants.

To foot the bill, the commission had suggested pulling money from the city's general fund, or requiring developers to spend at least 1 percent of their construction costs on incorporating public art into their developments.

"It's time for Vista to imagine public art as more than an option," Commissioner Candise Flippin said.

At the workshop, several residents and local artists extolled the virtues of public art, including neighborhood beautification and increased commerce.

However, representatives from the Building Industry Association of San Diego and the Vista Chamber of Commerce said that while they supported art, they didn't think developers should have to pay for it.

"I think that's just way overboard," said Jim Baumann, the chamber's chief executive officer.

Councilman Frank Lopez expressed what appeared to be the general sentiment of the council: Support for the commission's ideas, but uncertainty about where the "green stuff" would come from.

The council agreed to revisit the topic during its annual priority-setting session on March 16.

"You've got a commitment on our part to look for some money," Mayor Morris Vance told the commissioners.

The mayor added that public art and display areas would be incorporated in the new City Hall, which is still in the design stages.

Flippin said afterward that while a concrete funding decision Tuesday would have been ideal, she was encouraged to see the council place the issue on its short-term agenda.

"We knew what the reaction would be and what the realities were," Flippin said of the proposal for a public art zoning requirement, adding that it may one day be feasible.

"Some day the city might be ready for that."

- Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.