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City may limit building colors
By SUSAN THURSTON
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW TAMPA -- McDonald's with a light gray arch? Home Depot in earth tones instead of its signature orange? That could happen under a proposal to restrict the color of stores and businesses in New Tampa. The New Tampa Community Council recently asked the city to add colors to the area's commercial overlay district, which sets rules for signs, landscaping and setbacks. The group wants to avoid a mishmash of brightly colored businesses and create a more consistent look. City officials said including colors is possible but will take a while. The city would have to draw up proposals and seek input from property owners. Many of them may not like the choices. "It's not as easy as adding a color palette," said Thom Snelling, manager of land development. "We have to be careful that the overlay (districts) remain in the objective sphere rather than the subjective sphere." The request comes about three months after some people complained about the colors of the new Shoppes of Pebble Creek along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. They said the yellow, orange and purple were gaudy and didn't blend with the rest of the community. The developer disagreed. In a letter to the city, Lynn Grinnell, president of the community council, proposed limiting exterior colors to white or light shades of earth tones, grays and pastels in the pink, peach and yellow families. Trims could be darker. The council recommended banning bright yellow, orange, red, blue and green except on minor trim. It also said no pastel green or blue. The council is the largest community organization in New Tampa. It promotes businesses and quality of life issues and played a vital role in getting the overlay district adopted. Members include business owners and homeowners. In May, the council said some businesses abuse the freedom to select colors. It mentioned the brightly colored Shoppes of Pebble Creek, the "hospital green" Shoppes of New Tampa and the "mustard yellow" storage building near Interstate 75. City Council member Shawn Harrison said he preferred to reserve judgment on the color limits until the staff had a chance to look into it. He supported creating a committee of residents to review projects before they are built. "I don't want to be sitting up there on council and be determining if a building is one tone off of a tan," he said. Snelling said revising New Tampa's overlay district would take some time. The city recently adopted an overlay district for Seminole Heights and is in the process of creating ones for East Tampa and West Tampa. None includes color restrictions. Imposing a set of colors also may be difficult, especially for business owners who bought land before the rules' existence and might resist, Snelling said. Color standards are not new to the area. Several deed-restricted communities, including Hunter's Green and Tampa Palms, limit what color homeowners can paint their houses. People know the rules before they buy. -- Susan Thurston can be reached at (813) 226-3463.
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