LILBURN, GA-Developers of new projects are being asked to pay or donate art objects to help dress up this Gwinnett County city's aging retail and other commercial districts.

Lilburn city staffers tell GlobeSt.com they haven't heard of any formal complaints by developers to the new ordinance that was passed in June. That ordinance instructs developers to set aside 0.75% of the value of projects worth more than $750,000. However, area brokers just learning of Lilburn's artistic-related endeavors tell GlobeSt.com some private developers may balk at paying for art that the public will enjoy.

Still, national retailers such as Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc. have agreed to give the city at least $42,000 for the art project. Home Depot is building a new store next to the new Wal-Mart on Lawrenceville Highway. The art work has to be themed to either Lilburn history, community veterans or City of Champions (athletic or academic).

The Lilburn art program is patterned after the Brea, CA project started 30 years ago, according to the office of Lilburn city manager Tom Combiths. Combiths worked in the California city in the 1980s.

Atlanta has a similar art project that is underwritten by a portion of the city's construction budget for public art. Private developers have previously donated art at Georgia's largest regional shopping center, the 1.9-million-sf Mall of Georgia in suburban Buford, and also at the Atlantic Station redevelopment in Midtown Atlanta.