Color Scheme, Density Concerns Surround Corte Madera Development
CORTE MADERA (CBS SF) -- A new Bay Area development being ordered to tone it down not because of noise, but because of the loud colors used for the paint job on the apartment complex.
The orange and green walls of the apartments in Corte Madera have some locals seeing red.
"It's a hideous jumbled kaleidoscope of colors," said Corte Madera resident John Cullum
Marni Loverich agreed.
"It could have looked nice, without going orange or brown," said Loverich.
The white wrapping paper is finally coming off the Tam Ridge residences and some neighbors have a palate problem.
"Vomit orange maybe, like that color when you get really sick," weighed in local Jennifer Leathers.
"If I was a neighbor, it would be do-it-over bad, said Cullum. If i built it, it would be you-have-to-live-with-it bad."
The folks inside Corte Madera's City Hall have decided the paint job was, in fact, do-it-over bad. Officials instructed the builder to soften the spectrum before green-lighting the end of construction.
But the truth is, color is hardly the primary dispute here.
"The color doesn't really…that's the least of it," said Leathers.
"Mostly the traffic of it all, how it's going to impact the area," said Loverich.
In that respect, the years-long dispute over these apartments could happen anywhere in the Bay Area, because what really has people concerned here is growth.
"I understand the density of housing and the need for more housing," said Loverich. "But just putting it here on one lane roads?"
Put simply, density sparks discussion.
"Well, discussion is mild. It turns into shouting matches. It really is a wound that's not healing," said Corte Madera resident Cheryl Longinotti.
But the plan for the entire Bay Area is essentially more density. And whether it's the Livermore Valley or Tamalpais Valley, getting people on board with that will be a steep hill to climb.
"It's turning Marin into a city," said Leathers. "It's a bummer I'm thinking of moving to some place less dense."
The Corte Madera planning commission will take up the paint issue Tuesday night, reviewing four possible new color schemes.
