A Scottsdale establishment will retain its orange outdoor awnings and canopy, despite initially being told the hue of Desert Blossom orange wasn’t acceptable.
On May 5, the Scottsdale City …
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A Scottsdale establishment will retain its orange outdoor awnings and canopy, despite initially being told the hue of Desert Blossom orange wasn’t acceptable.
On May 5, the Scottsdale City Council voted 5-2 to affirm a Development Review Board decision requiring Detroit Coney Grill to change their outdoor colors to teal, or another color in context with Gateview Park shopping center, which the restaurant is located within.
Mayor Jim Lane and Councilman Guy Phillips were the two dissenting votes.
Detroit Coney Grill is at 6953 N. Hayden Road, and the property is owned by Robert Ong Hing and Alice Y Hing Family Trust.
The applicant, DCG McCormick Ranch LLC is doing business as Detroit Coney Grill.
In fall 2019, the restaurant reportedly installed the orange awnings --- which is a part of its logo color scheme --- without exterior design approval.
In December 2019, the case was continued at the Development Review Board with a 6-1 vote; on Jan. 16, the case was approved with stipulations by the DRB with a 4-2 vote. The DRB’s stipulations required the orange awnings and canopy to be switched for a teal color or other appropriate color in context with the shopping center.
According to a city staff report, the shopping center Detroit Coney Grill is embedded utilizes teal-colored tiles, metal canopies and fabric awnings as originally approved in 1994.
“The bright orange awnings and canopy are not consistent with the warm neutral and pastel color scheme of the surrounding development,” the staff report states.
An appeal for orange
The property owner and applicant filed an appeal to City Clerk Carolyn Jagger after the DRB approval requesting the orange be replaced.
The appeal, filed by Scottsdale-based attorneys Geoffrey S. Kercsmar and Jessica A. Wilson, outlines four reasons the January DRB decision should be reversed or modified. They include:
The DRB’s decision imposed an unclear, previously unknown legal burden on Hing and Detroit Coney Grill that has not been imposed on previous applicants;
The DRB’s decision lacked credible evidence;
The DRB’s decision and the Design Guidelines are based only on aesthetics, not public health, safety or welfare; and
The DRB’s decision was arbitrary and capricious.
The appeal outlines that the city’s Commercial Design Guidelines do not mandate any color for awnings, stating that they should be functional and provide maximum shade to the window area. The guidelines also state awnings of a single color are preferred.
“...Neither Hing nor Detroit Coney Grill were aware that Detroit Coney Grill’s single color could be deemed problematic under the Design Guidelines,” the appeal states.
“To be clear, Hing does not seek to limit its shopping center, Gateway Park, to a scheme of one or two colors, or a single accent color; only the DRB seeks this result.”
The appeal also states the DRB never considered or voiced any concern with the awnings, let along the awning color, other than the aesthetics presented.
Public comment submitted to the city during the DRB meeting and the City Council meeting voice disappointment in considering a trivial matter.
Ben Kauffman stated in his comment prior to the May 5 council meeting, that he is highly disappointed in the DRB’s decision.
“As a resident close to the establishment, the restaurant has been a positive influence to the shopping center who is struggling to retain tenants,” Mr. Kauffman stated. “The awnings are tastefully done and add an enhanced look to the older exterior. I listened to review board’s meeting and do see the applicant’s point about special treatment to large corporations.”
Mr. Kauffman states he used to live next to the Bashas and McDonald’s on Indian Bend and Hayden roads, where the fast-food hamburger joint’s awnings and colors do not match the shopping center’s colors.
“During these unprecedented times, do we want to add additional costs to a tenant that is benefiting the community?” Mr. Kauffman asked.
Sam and Cid Merrill sent a letter to the Development Review Board in January, outlined similar concerns.
“This is to express our shock and displeasure with how the Detroit Coney Grill is being treated,” the Merrills stated. “We don’t understand how something as simple as the color of the awning should create an issue for a new business coming into Scottsdale to bring great food, and a lot of ‘hometown’ feeling for those of us who came from Michigan.”
The Merrills have been Scottsdale residents for more than 30 years, and stated they are “astounded” at the flippant manor of treating the local business.
Consideration of a new plan
After Scottsdale City Council’s vote to uphold the DRB’s decision, Planning, Economic Development and Tourism Executive Director Randy Grant met with the restaurant owners to negotiate a win-win situation.
According to Scottsdale spokesperson Kelly Corsette, Mr. Grant issued a staff approval after the owner agreed to eliminate some of the awnings. The awnings will remain Desert Blossom orange.
“In short, conditions have changed (in the shopping center and in the local economy) since the DRB’s decision and the appeal of that decision to City Council. Based on the applicant’s willingness to reduce the number of awnings and therefore the dominance of the orange color on the west face of the building, I felt that a staff approval was justified and was not in conflict with the council’s decision,” an emailed summary attributed to Mr. Grant states.
Mr. Grant also explained in an inquiry response that his action was not in any way a staff action that invalidated or circumvented the council’s decision.
“...it was consideration of a new plan that reduced the number of awnings,” Mr. Grant stated.
Mr. Grant said some changes to existing buildings can be approved by staff, while major changes or changes that are not consistent with the city’s design guidelines will be reviewed by DRB.
“The initial application for Detroit Coney Grill included large areas of the orange color that is one of the company’s logo colors. Since that is not a color that is contained with the architecture in the shopping center in which the Grill is located, and generally the use of corporate colors on large areas of the buildings is discouraged, staff made the judgment call to ask for review by DRB,” Mr. Grant stated.
“The Board was divided on the application, but was swayed by the fact that many of the existing awnings within the shopping center were faded and torn.
Since the time that the DRB made their decision to deny the application, the applicant assisted in getting the many of the faded awnings in the center replaced.”
Melissa Rosequist Managing Editor | East Valley @mrosequist_
I first started my journalism portfolio at the age of 15 while in high school before going on to study at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Being in the journalism field is the only professional avenue I was ever interested in, and have worked hard covering topics from school boards to hard news while working for the Independent, where I have been awarded for my reporting.
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