The owner of a brick building in downtown Oswego this month was given permission to finish painting the rest of the building’s exterior even though the village’s rules do not allow it.

Village trustees unanimously approved the variance for the building, located at 76-78 Main St. Premier Investments LLC. requested the variance.

“The petitioner has stated that they painted the brick to create a cohesive look to the structure since the top half of the building had been altered over time to remove/cover the brick at the second story,” Oswego Development Services Director Rod Zenner told village trustees.

The village’s Unified Development Ordinance states that painting brick, limestone or other natural stone is prohibited so that the materials retain their natural colors.

“If material was painted prior to this ordinance and is a legal nonconformity, surfaces may be repainted as part of normal maintenance,” the ordinance states.

Village trustees approved the village’s Unified Development Ordinance in April 2024.

Zenner said the rules were put in place not only for aesthetic reasons, but because of the durability of brick.

“Brick can last hundreds of years, while paint does not,” he said.

He said Premier Investments had started painting the structure as part of an exterior maintenance project and did not know the village’s rules.

“Staff discovered that the brick was being painted in violation of the UDO requirements and contacted the property owner,” Zenner said. “The petitioner was not aware of this restriction in the code. By the time staff and the petitioner discussed the situation, the painting of the brick was nearly completed.”

In asking the village for a variance to allow the rest of the building to be painted, Premier Investments LLC. said the building was in severe disrepair inside and out when it was purchased from the previous owners.

“The building is the cornerstone of the downtown area and is highly visible to traffic and visitors coming to downtown Oswego,” the petitioner said in asking for the variance. “Making the outside fresh and new will help bring new visitors and businesses to the downtown.”

The petitioner also said the outside repairs to the building and painting the brick will help keep patrons safe as they walk through the downtown.

Village Trustee Karen Novy thought granting the variance would be the appropriate thing to do.

“At this point, I don’t want to put the undue burden of cost on the owner of the building,” said.

Village Trustee Rachelle Koenig said she would like more discussion about the ordinance and its intent in the future.

“I’m kind of torn here for a couple of reasons,” Koenig said during discussion of the issue. “Having had conversations with some of the tenants of the building, I was assured there was no nefarious thing going on here. It was really just trying to beautify the building and have it look better and have continuity between that shorter building and this building.”

At the same time, Koenig said she was concerned about buildings in downtown Oswego with “eight colors of bricks.”