Merchants disagree with colour rules

Colour became a hot topic in Black Diamond council chambers after a merchant expressed frustration regarding a Town employee’s reaction to a business owner adding a bright-coloured coat of paint to his business over the summer.

Business owner Marv Garriott approached Town council during its Sept. 9 meeting expressing concern that Cool Hand Luc’s Treasure Shop business owner Luc Bayard received “flack” from the Town after painting the building he is leasing blue.

“My point is if someone does take the initiative to actually spruce up their building a little bit and make it more exciting they shouldn’t be getting flack over it,” Garriott said.

Bayard, who didn’t attend the meeting, told the Western Wheel afterward that he spoke with Rod Ross, the planning and development officer, about his interest in painting the 1929 building he leases a new colour earlier this year.

Bayard said he painted the building a different shade of blue than Ross had suggested.

“He said it doesn’t match the hotel,” said Bayard. “I said, ‘That’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to match other buildings.’”

Bayard said despite the comment, tourists and customers have been complimenting the new colour.

“Everybody loves it,” he said. “I came from B.C. where I was living for 12 years. I came back to the blue sky. I love blue.”

The Town of Black Diamond hosted a workshop in the spring called Colour Black Diamond with the intention of informing business owners of the importance of adding a new coat of paint to their buildings as an inexpensive way to refresh the landscape.

“A lot of the buildings downtown are brown, beige and fairly monodramatic,” said Ross, who attended the meeting. “The intention of the event was to get people to think outside of brown.”

During the meeting, merchants were encouraged to take into consideration the colours of neighbouring buildings when selecting a colour for their own business, said Ross.

“If you have a red building beside you, you probably don’t want to paint it hot pink or if you have something that’s earth tone you don’t paint the next one a pastel colour,” he said. “Things can clash or things can compliment.”

Ross said merchants who don’t take the suggestion into consideration won’t be penalized, but he hopes they use it as a guide when considering a fresh coat of paint in the future.

The Town established the Historic Main Street Project in the early 2000s and further revamped it last year to revitalize and beautify the town’s downtown.

New commercial, industrial and institutional development along the two highways are required to adhere to specific design restrictions to create a 1920s and 30s boomtown historic look.

The restrictions include a pallet of 152 colours new business owners must choose from to paint their business, but do not apply to existing buildings, said Ross.

“No one is going to get a fine for painting their buildings the colour that’s not shown on the guidelines,” he said. “We just want a streetscape that is visually interesting and exciting, but also pleasant. The intention of the workshop is to get people thinking about how their building can contribute to the creation of a downtown that is attractive and exciting and complimentary.”

Ross said new buildings must comply with the guidelines through the development process.

“If a building is approved with a specific colour, that colour is a part of their development permit approval,” he said.

Black Diamond mayor Sharlene Brown said three businesses applied a new coat of paint recently.

“It’s very important for community to be able to have a viable attractive downtown,” she said, adding the repainted buildings “look great.”

Brown said the downtown guidelines keeps the downtown core looking consistent.

“That’s what the people come to our community for and it’s important to have a viable downtown that’s attractive for business retention. Businesses move from one side of the street to the other side of the street. It’s part and parcel to the amount of time our community has spent on establishing the main street program and moving that ahead and making sure that we comply to that.”

Garriott, who said he was involved with the main street project since its inception, said he agrees with many aspects of it, but not that businesses should be limited by their neighbours.

“I feel that the business owners should have some say in the colours that they paint their buildings,” he said.

“My next business colour is kind of a maroon and creamy colour and I painted mine pink. What difference does it make what’s next door. What makes this town unique is the buildings themselves.”

Garriott said he’s been in business in Black Diamond for 20 years – the majority of those as owner of Marv’s Classic Soda Shoppe.

“I believe that our downtown is the first thing people see when they come into town, the first thing that sets in their brain that this is a nice place and this is where I would like to be,” he said.