Driving through Downtown Grand Blanc along Saginaw Street, you may have noticed all of the pink ribbons adorning lamp posts.  That's in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month which has been around since 1985.

Driving further down Saginaw Street to the intersection at Perry & Bush, you'll notice a gas station painted in Pink -- to raise awareness for Breast Cancer.  The city of Grand Blanc just told the owner, in so many words, to paint the building back to an approved color or pay a $500 daily fine and possibly 90-days in jail!

Mobil Gas Station Grand Blanc Mi - Photo Nathan Reed
Mobil Gas Station Grand Blanc Mi - Photo Nathan Reed
loading...

Owner of the Mobil gas station, Adam Teer, told ABC 12 "I was thinking it was positive and it was the opposite. I was shocked, even when they knew it was Breast Cancer Awareness Month."

There's a Downtown Grand Blanc "Design Manual" for architectural guidance (both business and residential).  I decided to read through the manual looking for the aforementioned approved paint colors and didn't find anything other than this from page 18 of that manual:

  • All vents, gutters, down spouts, flashing, electrical conduits, soffits, etc. shall be painted to match the color of the adjacent surface, unless it is being used expressly as a trim or accent element.

Perhaps there's another ordinance playbook not easily found on the Grand Blanc city government site?  I did find a 12-page Ordinance for signage related to businesses and business property. Still, nothing about specific building paint colors, there.  Further, Part 14 of the Codified Building Ordinance has 8 mentions of "Paint" in that document, again, only related to signage.  (Sidebar suggestion, perhaps add a rule to make sure businesses maintain their signs -- you know when they're missing letters or partially burned out?  That seems more annoying to me than support of Breast Cancer Awareness.)

Get our free mobile app

All cities have ordinances and guidelines -- I'm not arguing against those.  My point is -- City of Grand Blanc, please direct us toward / spell out the approved paint colors while attempting to enforce this ordinance.  I'll happily update my story to include the rules.  Until we know all business owners actually know the approved paint colors--let's tamp down the $500 daily fine or 90 days in jail penalties!

More around Michigan, here:

Most Popular Michigan Baby Names by Year From 1980-2021

Check out the top male and female baby names from 1980-2021 in Michigan.

Inside the Spectacular $18M Walloon Lake Retreat in Petoskey

Consider it all Pure Michigan is the form of a home. This spectacular home situated on the iconic Walloon Lake is currently on the market for $18M making it the most expensive home for sale in the state. Although it shares those bragging rights with a rustic Alpena lodge, there is nothing rustic about this 14,000+ square foot home.

From the massive master suite with a drool-worthy closet to the lower level entertainment area with indoor golf, gym, gaming area, and bunk room/ theater room, the home has everything you can dream of. There is even a guest suite with its own kitchen area and private entrance. The outside is just as mesmerizing with a lakeside gazebo, manicured grounds, and a boat house for 2 nautical toys. Round it all out with a garage with space for 4 cars with its automatic lift and heated driveway.

Take a look inside!

Barge 129 Discovered in Lake Superior 120 Years After Being Shipwrecked

A barge that was shipwrecked by bad weather 120 years ago was discovered at the bottom of Lake Superior by a team working for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.