Council members gave preliminary approval to an ordinance amending its Downtown Specific Plan and approved a conditional use permit. Both were necessary to allow for the museum and a ceramics school to open in the 300 block of North Garey Avenue.

The final vote on the ordinance is expected to take place April 4.

Museum founder David Armstrong said the building once occupied by Pomona First Federal Savings will require some improvements but no major remodeling will be needed for the site to serve as the new home of the museum.

"This building couldn't have been built better to fit our needs," Armstrong said recently.

Some work, such as the removal of carpeting to prepare part of the building as exhibit space, has begun, he said.

Work is being completed in a portion of the building where ceramic artists' studios will be available for lease within two weeks, Armstrong said.

Upgrades to the exhibit space will completed by October in order to set up the first exhibit in the new location for a November opening.

The exhibit will be part of the "Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980" initiative.

About 30 prestigious art institutions across Southern California will take part in the initiative, which will shine a light on the rich modern art produced in the region after World War II.

AMOCA received $141,000 to plan its own exhibit, "Common Ground: Ceramics in Southern California 1945-1975" along with an additional $50,000 for publication support, according to Getty.

The exhibit will open Nov. 12 and end March 31, 2012, said Museum Director Christy Johnson.

The Getty Foundation's interim director, Joan Weinstein, said AMOCA submitted a proposal that focuses on ceramic arts, which was a very important part of the post World War II art scene in Southern California.

Los Angeles and Southern California are places "where the limits of ceramic arts where pushed," Weinstein said.

Artists took ceramics beyond the utilitarian and into the realm of sculpture, she said.

"Some of the greatest experimentation took place in Southern California," Weinstein said. AMOCA's proposal "was a perfect fit with Pacific Standard Time and it tells part of the story."

AMOCA's new building will add to the exhibit because it has a mural created by Pomona native and internationally known artist Millard Sheets.

The mural, "Panorama of the Pomona Valley," depicts the 100 years preceding the incorporation of Pomona and significant historic events within that period, including the arrival of the railroad that "changed the face of Pomona forever," Armstrong said.

Sheets considered the mural one of his finest, Armstrong said.

Having a building with a Sheets mural "couldn't be more perfect," Weinstein said.

"Millard Sheets is really a pivotal figure in the development of California arts," she said.

Mayor Elliott Rothman said the museum's move to the new location will establish another area where cultural activities will flourish within the city.

The larger museum will be an asset Pomona will be able to capitalize on as it draws visitors to the area, he said.

Rothman is familiar with Armstrong's work restoring and improving older buildings in the city.

"I've seen the projects Dave has pulled off and they have always been a home run," Rothman said. "I'm predicting another home run."