UPDATED Friday, April 6 — The Peachtree City Council Thursday night voted unanimously against a proposed ordinance that would have specified the palette of colors that would be allowed for painting new or existing homes in all single-family residential districts. (Click here for The Citizen Facebook Live videocast of the council meeting. Council discussion prior to the vote comes at the 39-minute mark.)
Councilman Terry Ernst was the most adamant: “I don’t feel the citizens of Peachtree City elected me to tell anyone what color you can paint your house.”
The city’s newest councilman, Kevin Madden, called the house color issue “a can of worms” and said he wished the discussion about expiring neighborhood covenants and code enforcement issues could have started with things like trash in front yards or homes in obvious disrepair.
Several residents spoke against the proposed color rule, with some saying the citizens should vote on it first.
No one spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance.
The vote was unanimous, 5 to 0, against, but with the clear indication that further discussion about code enforcement problems will be forthcoming.
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EARLIER POST:
An item of potential interest to those wanting to paint their home’s exterior will be on the April 5 agenda of the Peachtree City Council. The agenda item calls for an ordinance change pertaining to the colors that would be permitted. Bright colors would be out, and subtle, earth-tone colors would be in. [See editorial column,“Politically correct Peachtree City house colors.”
According to the ordinance proposal, “Exterior colors shall be low reflectance, and subtle, earth-tone, or historical colors from a major paint manufacturer’s historical palette. Bright high-intensity colors, bright metallic colors or fluorescent colors shall not be used. Material or color changes generally should occur at a change of plane; painted patterns and frequent changes in material and/or color selections shall be avoided. Building colors should be carefully chosen so that each building color complements that of its neighbors and/or the development. Unique buildings can be granted exceptions by the Director of Planning and Development.”
Commenting on the proposed change, City Manager Jon Rorie said, “We have a lot of expiring covenants throughout the city. This is a property maintenance initiative. We will also be pushing for a comprehensive review of all zoning ordinances this year.”
The Planning Commission approved the request with the additional text defining historical colors and allowing the Planning and Development Director the ability to approve colors on unique buildings.
