Fresh paint gets rotten response

Alex Coolman

It looks a little like bricks, or like the rusty clay of Spanish tiles.

In parts, it resembles the rich yellow of a ripe squash.

But Newport Beach resident Suzie Brierley has a different interpretation

of the color scheme: “Hideous. Absolutely hideous.”

The paint hues, which workers started applying to the remodeled

Albertson’s supermarket on Monday, were chosen to reflect a

“Mediterranean approach,” said Mark Steinman, a spokesman for the

company. Its colors are intended to be reminiscent of the south of France

or coastal Italy.

Not so, says Brierley.

“You literally get nauseous looking at it, so that the last thing you

want to do is go food shopping,” she said.

Brierley, a salesperson of electronic advertising, has been fighting

against the color scheme since February, when it was merely a proposal.

At that time, she said, she faxed a protest petition with the names of 80

area residents to the Albertson’s corporate headquarters in Boise, Idaho.

But Brierley doesn’t feel the company has been responsive to her

concerns.

“They basically just blew me off,” she said.

If necessary, she says, she may escalate her drive against the store’s

colors. “If I have to organize pickets, I guess I will.”

Newport Beach, unlike communities such as Irvine, does not have any rules

limiting the colors that businesses can use to paint their buildings,

said Jim Campbell of the city’s planning department.

And the Albertson’s store, as far as Campbell can tell, is not violating

any laws.

“It’s in substantial compliance with their plan,” he said.

When the designs for the store were originally approved by the city,

Campbell said, the main concerns of the planning department had to do

with traffic and the loading of trucks.

“Color was not an issue at the time,” he said.

Steinman said angering members of the community with its choice of colors

was the last thing Albertson’s had in mind.

“What we tried to do, through our design consultants’ efforts, was to

come up with a design that would be pleasing to the community,” he said.

“We’re trying to be a sensitive community member and be a good neighbor

to everybody.”

Campbell said the residents and the store will have to settle the issue

themselves. Albertson’s is not legally obliged to change the colors or to

keep the colors the way they are.

But Brierley certainly hopes the store will consider a make-over.

“It looks 10 times worse than anyone ever imagined,” she said.

“Everybody’s horrified.”