A Brush With the Law : Dana Point Color Code Stops Hotel in Mid-Stroke

In this city, buildings must be cool gray, cool blue, cool green, lead red or white.

And, as the owners of the Dana Point Inn have learned, any deviations from those five will be dealt with by the proper authorities.

The hotel decided to change its cool blue and cool gray paint scheme to peach, and didn’t ask the city for permission. When city code enforcement officers saw the peach, they ordered a halt to the painting and left hotel owners with a two-tone building.

“They said (the peach paint) was too loud,” said Linda Dizon, manager of the 88-room hotel. “We thought it looked more cheerful.”

In any event, owners of the five-story hotel overlooking Doheny State Park must go through proper procedures before the building’s color can be changed, said City Councilman Michael Eggers.

” . . . They have to get a city permit,” Eggers said. “Otherwise, somebody could get a gray-blue approved and then three days later paint it purple.”

Paint color has been an issue in the city ever since the Dana Point Specific Plan was approved by the county about 10 years ago. At that time, the community decided it wanted to stick to a New England-style, Cape Cod architectural look limited to a few colors, said Ed Knight, the city’s director of community development.

But since Dana Point incorporated last year, city officials have been considering whether to change building design rules, Knight said.

“We’re going to take a look at the idea of the New England style and either elaborate on it or do away with it,” Knight said.

In the meantime, the Dana Point Inn must go along with the rules and submit its new color choice to the Planning Commission for approval. And while the hotel’s owners are before the commission, they will be asked to explain the approximately 20 flags flying along the building’s retaining wall that faces Coast Highway.

While checking files for the inn that was built about three years ago, city officials discovered that the hotel had not sought permission to fly the flags, Knight said.

“They need to show us under what authority they’re flying those,” Knight said.

So far, Dizon said the paint controversy hasn’t hurt business at the hotel, whose rooms rent for between $69 and $185 a night. But the new color is drawing mixed reviews in the neighborhood.

“I’m sure it’s supposed to be like a salmon, but it’s pink,” said Gregg Williams, owner of the Mariner’s Market convenience store across the street. “I think it needs something--the building’s got no pizazz.”

But Julie Chis of Monarch Beach disagreed. “I was used to the blue, and I think the blue would look better as a whole,” Chis said. “Peach is kind of bold.”

Whatever color the hotel ends up being, Knight predicted the building will not remain two-tone for long. “We sure would like to resolve this pretty quick,” he said, “and get this thing going one way or the other.”