GILROY—Despite a push from Mayor Don Gage and city staff to implement an ordinance restricting the colors of new and existing buildings in Gilroy, a divided council put off adoption of a law some called “overregulation” and “anti-business.”
However, Gilroy’s planning staff will continue to research ordinances in other cities that govern the color of residential and commercial buildings. The council voted 4-2 to have staff conduct the research, a move opposed by councilmembers Dion Bracco and Cat Tucker.
Planning staff recommended the council adopt a specific color palette that all builders must abide by—something very few California cities have done, according to senior city planner Rebecca Tolentino.
The concern, she said, is that certain colored buildings don’t harmonize with the surrounding environment.
But the proposal did not receive much support from the council.
“That’s too far-reaching,” Councilman Perry Woodward said of the proposed ordinance. If adopted as recommended, he said it would create an “unnecessary layer of regulation” for what he called a fairly isolated problem that applies to a handful of buildings in the city.
As it stands now, building color is evaluated as part of the architectural and site evaluation process—which requires the review of city staff, the planning commission and city council.
While Gilroy’s municipal code restricts the colors of buildings in riparian or residential hillside areas, local law is silent on what colors buildings elsewhere can be repainted, according to planning division manager Sue Martin.
“New and existing buildings could be repainted with colors that are not in harmony with adjacent development or the character of surrounding neighborhoods,” Martin wrote Monday in a staff report, recommending the council adopt broad restrictions on paint colors with specific requirements on what colors can be used.
Staff identified four cities across the country—two in Texas, one in Arizona and another in Florida—that use a blended approach similar to what they wanted to see in Gilroy. During its review, no Bay Area cities were identified that restrict specific colors across the board, according to Tolentino.
The cities of San Jose, Fremont and Saratoga do not regulate the colors of existing buildings, she said. Most of the cities that staff researched do not restrict or require certain colors.
The proposed ordinance says it would restrict “offensive” colors downtown, in residential hillside areas and riparian zones near local waterways. Any changes to the color of a new or existing building would require city approval.
Complaints drive effort
Back in council chambers, Gage called on the council to rein in the use of bright colors, citing about 24 complaints he said he received about a lime green furniture store at the intersection of 10th Street and Monterey Road that “sticks out like a sore thumb.”
Furniture Revolution, located at 6980 Monterey Road, is one of a handful of examples cited by city officials as a reason why Gilroy should consider restricting paint colors.
“I get the most complaints about colors that are psychedelic or exceptionally bright,” he said. “They just stand out … they hit you in the face when you drive into town or drive down a neighborhood.”
“We ought to have a scheme that says this is acceptable, and this is not,” he added.
The council discussed the city of Campbell’s ordinance, which regulates building color only in the downtown business district. It prohibits “overly bright, garish or otherwise offensive colors or color combinations.”
But Councilman Bracco said business often suffers when someone’s personal opinion about what is acceptable becomes a city law. He added that he hasn’t received any complaints about the colors of any buildings around town.
“We’re anti-business enough,” Bracco said, addressing the mayor. “What’s offensive to you might not be offensive to me.” He said he drives by Furniture Revolution daily on his way to work and “it doesn’t bother me one bit.”
The variety of different colored buildings throughout the city is an asset, Councilwoman Cat Tucker said.
“I don’t see why we need this,” she said. “We have a diverse town and we need to acknowledge that.”
Gage said he envisioned the council adopting a color palette that explicitly restricts certain colors, rather than leaving it up to the city’s enforcement arm to make a determination about what paints are “acceptable.”
Providing examples of which colors are permitted would help the city’s code enforcement determine what’s acceptable and reduce the burden on city staff, he said.
The city may consider hiring a “qualified design professional” to identify Gilroy’s color palette, Tolentino said.
The topic will come up for discussion again in February 2016, when staff hope to present the draft ordinance, Martin told the Dispatch.
