In reaction to recent unusual paint schemes on Naperville buildings, the city’s planning and zoning commission is seeking additional oversight of downtown design standards.
The commissioners Wednesday asked the city’s staff to develop a new guideline — while vague in the request — that would allow them to review exterior paint schemes that might be within the established code but veer from the norm in artistry.
The request came in the wake of the board’s November meeting when commissioners expressed disappointment over the paint scheme at soon-to-be-opened JoJo’s Shake Bar at 5 Jackson Ave. While the turquoise accent color adheres to code by covering less than 25% of the building’s facade, board members disapproved of the dripping effect that looks like melting ice cream.
Allison Laff, the deputy director of the city’s transportation, engineering and development department, said the staff would return to the commission with a new guideline suggestion where a downtown building owner would need to go through the board if “the accent color becomes more decorative or artistic — something beyond the standard square, rectangle.”
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