The Advertiser-Gleam

Pink store issue a complicated one
 

The City Council’s review of the pink storefront controversy was a more complicated issue than it may have seemed at first glance.

In the work session before the official Council meeting, city attorney Dan Warnes laid out the legal side of the issue for the councilmen.

He noted that there’s a line in the city design ordinance that reads “Colors shall be harmonious, with bright or brilliant colors used only for accent.“ Mr. Warnes said Mrs. Wedg-worth had appealed the Design Board’s decision on 4 grounds:

That the ordinance did not apply because there had been no substantial design change. “In my opinion, it is a significant design change,“ Mr. Warnes said. “There may not be a significant architectural change, but the ordinance does refer to color.“ That only the lower 3 feet were pink and that constituted an accent color. Mr. Warnes said the Design Board had held that it was not harmonious. He said the board had the authority to decide if that were just for downtown or for all of Guntersville. That the wording of the ordinance is too vague. “That’s really for a court to decide, not the City Council,“ Mr. Warnes said. That other businesses have bright colors and that the city was using “selective enforcement“ of the design ordinance “You need to understand your standard of review,“ Mr. Warnes told the Council. He said the Council had 3 choices in what it could do affirm the decision of the Design Board, reverse it or remand it back to the board. He said there were 4 grounds on which the decision could be reversed: If the board had been substantially prejudiced in its ruling in excess of its authority. If the board had held unlawful proceedings in the matter. If the decision was “clearly erroneous.“ If the board had acted in an “arbitrary and capricious“ manner.

“I have a question,“ Mayor Hembree said. “If a motion were made to accept the awning, but reject the 3 feet of brick, can we accept that?“ Mr. Warnes: “You can send it back to the board with those instructions.“ Councilman Dink Myers said it seemed logical to him that some alternative could be reached by the board and Mrs. Wedgworth.

“If 3 cars are parked in front of the building, you can’t see the pink brick,“ he said. “If no cars are there, you see it very vividly. I would like for Joan to go back to the Design Board to see if something can’t be worked out.“ Mayor Hembree said he didn’t want the Council to get in the business of overturning a lot of decisions made by various boards.

“This is not a trial de novo or as if you’re starting all over again,“ Mr. Warnes said. “You can only rule based on the standard of review I’ve given you.“