Shades in the color purple
Amityville Village Clerk Diane Sheridan points out the differences between the new and old Stop & Shop design schemes proposed for the Amityville store. (June 30, 2011) Credit: Steve Pfost
Municipalities have great discretion to determine the look and character of their communities; that's the power of local control. Not very often, however, does it involve shades of the color purple.
The Village of Amityville, which is trying to recapture some of its nautical Victorian heritage through architecture and color, has an ordinance requiring that all commercial signs comply with a special palette scheme. This effort hasn't caused much of a fuss until now.
The Stop & Shop supermarket chain wants to update the sign on its Merrick Road store with its new national logo; that's the power of branding. But the chain's new, bright fruit-bowl colors don't quite match the village's list of approved tones. And the chain wants to put a 12-inch purple stripe the length of its facade.
Both the village and supermarket have good cases, but in this instance, a tip of the scale goes to Amityville. National chains of all stripes, including Stop & Shop, have adjusted their designs to conform to local preferences. Here, the chain is not seeking to establish its presence in a new location or reach unfamiliar customers. This is not about a new Cracker Barrel restaurant off Interstate 95, where a uniform brand and the familiarity it's marketing are essential advertising to attract transient customers.
Still, there's room to craft a compromise to accommodate some version of the logo without creating a special exemption undercutting the village's worthwhile goal. Eggplant anyone?hN
