Council to decide on AG Foods colour scheme

The District of Invermere is expected to decide during a council meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, June 9) on whether or not to allow a downtown grocery store to paint the outside of its building a vibrant new colour.

AG Foods, which occupies a large yellow building on the corner of 9th Street and 7th Ave., undertook significant indoor renovations throughout the winter. As part of the process, owner Sydney-Anne Porter decided that an outside paint job was in order.

However when she decided on a colour, it became apparent that it likely would not be considered acceptable under the municipality’s Official Community Plan (OCP). The document, which governs the broad, long term plan for the municipality, sates that downtown colour schemes should reflect the natural environment found in and near the town.

The colour Porter picked — as displayed in an illustration forwarded to municipal staff and council members — was a vibrant blue. Given the colour choice, town planner Rory Hromadnik felt the shade may not fit into OCP guidelines and forwarded the request council, who discussed the matter at a committee of the whole meeting on Monday morning.

In the meantime, Porter had erected an in-store display to inform customers of the store’s plans and provide an opportunity to give input into the new design.

Armed with a 300-signature petition supporting the new colour scheme, Porter appeared before the committee with props supporting her argument the colour does indeed reflect the local environment. Along with a matte-finish photo that depicts a slightly less vibrant blue colour, Porter also brought in a colour swatch and a chunk of very blue rock that a customer brought her to prove that such colours do exist naturally in the region. Although the customer wouldn’t specify where the secret stash came from, he assured her the rock was found within half an hour of Invermere.

While Chief Administrative Officer Chris Prosser wasn’t present during the meeting, Hromadnik said Prosser advised him that the idea behind the OCP colour guidelines was that “earth tones” would be represented. However Hromadnik advised that the OCP didn’t specifically state “earth tones” must be used.

Coucillor Al Miller asked Porter how she thought dust in the area would effect the overall colour of the building, to which she advised that it would likely just mute the finish. Miller added that the new colour rendering actually sat better with him.

“I’m actually ok with it,” he said of the colour, noting that it fits well with the AG Foods company colour scheme. The updated look, he said, would put the local grocer ahead of many others in the vicinity. “There are a lot of businesses that need a lot of help,” he said.

Councillor Bob Campsall said he too was happy with the chosen colour, however he expressed concerns that the municipalities OCP wasn’t “as clear as it should be.”

The next regularly scheduled council meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at the District office on Tuesday (June 9) evening.

Update (June 10, 2009): At the June 9 council meeting it was decided to postpone the final decision until the next meeting. The reason for the delay is because AG Foods has apparently not submitted a formal application for the color change.

Copyright © 2009 columbiavalleynews.com