Scottsdale Environmentally Sensitive Lands Overlay · LRV ≤ 35 · 474 colors

Benjamin Moore colors for the strictest Scottsdale overlay.

474 exterior-rated Benjamin Moore colors are under the LRV 35 cap and pass our screen for the Munsell chroma limit. Interior-only colors and colors Benjamin Moore doesn’t recommend for exterior use are left out, because the ESL Overlay applies to exterior paint. Section 6.1070.G of Scottsdale’s zoning ordinance (the ESL Site and Structure Development Design Standards) sets two numerical limits on exterior paint:

  • The LRV clause: “No paint colors (other than roofing materials for low slope roofs) shall be used within any landform that have a LRV greater than thirty-five (35) percent.”
  • The Munsell clause: “Exterior paint and material colors (other than roofing materials for low slope roofs) shall not exceed a value of six (6) and a chroma of six (6) as indicated in the Munsell Book of Color.”

Filtering on LRV alone leaves strong accent colors on the list even at low LRV, and those colors would never pass ESL design review. We screen them out by each color’s Munsell chroma. Warm hues (tans, browns, reds, roses and corals) are held to the city’s limit of 6; blues, greens, violets and blue-leaning pinks are held to a stricter one.

On paper, Munsell value 6 is stricter than the LRV clause: it works out to about LRV 29. In our experience the city’s review centers on the LRV number and on keeping colors from standing out, so this list uses the LRV 35 cap plus our chroma screen. If you’re choosing a color between LRV 30 and 35, confirm it with the city before you buy. The ESL Overlay covers about 134 square miles of Scottsdale’s desert and mountain areas, north and east of the Central Arizona Project canal, including the McDowell Mountain foothills and Pinnacle Peak. Properties outside the overlay are not bound by these caps at the municipal level (HOA CC&Rs may still apply).

Sources: Scottsdale Revised Code, Appendix B (Zoning Ordinance), Sec. 6.1070.G, items 1.g and 1.h; area from the city’s ESL Overlay page. Our Munsell numbers are calculated from Benjamin Moore’s color data rather than read off a physical chip, so treat them as close estimates; design committees use the published Munsell Book of Color as the authoritative reference. Verify the latest ordinance language with the City of Scottsdale Planning & Development department before submitting a paint application.

All 474 colors · sorted by LRV (brightest qualifying first)

Other Arizona color lists

PV Hillside (≤ 38)Foothills (≤ 40)Heat-reflective (≥ 70)