Troy Planning Commission denies paint application for 15 South Market Street after color discrepancies

The Troy Planning Commission on Feb. 12, 2025, voted to deny a certificate of appropriateness for the storefront at 15 South Market Street, citing discrepancies between the paint on the building and the color swatches that staff and commissioners had approved in a prior review.

At the meeting, staff told commissioners the applicant was not pursuing any additional requests and that the item before the commission was limited to review of the storefront color. In staff's view, the proposed paint met the commission’s design guidance: “in staff’s opinion, it does meet the criteria for design manual section 2.6,” staff said, while also noting the commission could prefer a darker storefront to match upper windows.

Commissioners expressed confusion and concern about what had actually been painted on the buildings and whether the approved colors matched the work on site. Several commissioners said the paint on 15 South Market — the “South Building” in the packet — did not match the approved “Lagoon” swatch and appeared lighter or more blue than the approved samples. Commissioners also discussed that the neighboring property (13 South Market) had an approved color scheme from a previous June approval and that allowing both buildings to share the same first-floor color could create a concentration of similar colors on the block.

The panel asked staff to produce and compare physical swatches rather than photocopies; during the meeting staff produced a swatch and commissioners held it up against the buildings. One color code shown during the meeting for the chartreuse/yellow was 0073. Commissioners said the chartreuse/yellow was broadly acceptable but repeatedly returned to the mismatch of the aqua/teal/lagoon blue on the first floor of the South Building.

Because the applicant was not present to explain the discrepancy, commissioners chose to act. A motion to deny the paint application for 15 South Market Street — i.e., to deny approval for the currently painted color on the South Building storefront — passed on a roll-call vote with all voting members recorded as voting yes. Staff said it would send an official denial to the property owner and discussed next steps: the owner may appeal to the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals or repaint to the previously approved swatch and then, if required, return to the commission with the actual swatch of the paint to be applied.

Staff also noted there may be outstanding items on the neighboring North Building (13 South Market) tied to an earlier approval — awnings and decorative railings — and that staff will evaluate whether the work on No. 13 conforms to that earlier approval as part of follow-up enforcement or review.

The commission’s options on the motion were to approve, deny or table; commissioners chose denial with direction that staff contact the owner about the color discrepancies and the potential need to repaint or appeal. The denial may trigger enforcement steps if staff determine prior approved work was not completed as represented.

The decision highlights the commission’s expectation that applicants supply exact physical paint swatches (for example, manufacturer swatches such as Sherwin-Williams) rather than photocopies, and that colors visible on site must match those approved in the file. The commission did not set a deadline for corrective action during the meeting; staff said they would follow up in writing with the property owner and noted the owner retains appeal rights to the Board of Zoning Appeals.