What’s Your Spin on rules governing holiday displays?
Halloween. Thanksgiving, Hanukah. Christmas. New Year’s. The
holiday season fast approaches and with it all sorts of lighting and
decorative 
outdoor displays!
But when is enough enough? How do you handle the neighbor
who still has his Christmas wreath on the door from last year?
As we approach the Autumn and Winter Holiday seasons, homeowners start to think about holiday décor and lighting displays. Some communities restrict outdoor displays around the holidays. Does your community have any specific rules and regulations concerning the type of decorations, placement and the length of time outdoor displays/lights can remain?
How does your community handle holiday displays? Should communities have such rules and regulations? What’s your spin?
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One could ccomplain about holiday displays being too much or too often and maybe your neighbor did leave their lights up from last year – but so what. A few days or a few weeks of holiday lighting can only bring some joy and cheeriness (new word) to what is sometimes a cold drab part of the year. I don’t think we should restrict the desire of another person to make their house or their neighborhood look a little more festive. This may even be a 1st Amendment right granted by our Constitution. Here in Gold Key Lake at the N.E. part of Pa. we have no rules regarding this. Give me a break we have enough rules going around so do we need more?
Comment by Jerry Goldberg — August 2, 2010 @ 5:11 pm
The communities that seem to have the least amount of problems are, in my experience, communities that also know how to be reasonably “owner friendly”. To me, this issue falls under that category. If a reasonable person were to buy a home in a community that held strict rules prohibiting holiday decorations and outdoor lighting, he or she would likely realize that the community that they just bought into is not very “owner friendly”. Communities that enact strict rules of this sort are usually the same communities that prohibit things like bicyle riding, skate boarding, storage of bicyles on patios even in summer weather, etc. If you are a parent of a child, you would want to steer clear of ownership in those sorts of communities because if they enact strict rules around holiday decor, you will also likely find that its not a very friendly place to raise your children. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to error on the side of the living, the spirit of holidays being a part of that…. rather than on the side of rigidity in the name of “keeping our neighborhood looking good.” The latter ought to name themselves a retirement community if they havent already done so……the only ones that are happy with it are the ones who lock themselves indoors and peep out their windows to see what “the neighbors” are up to.
Comment by Anthony Brummans — August 9, 2010 @ 12:48 pm
I think rules are necessary, some people do not celebrate the holidays and lights can be distracting and a nuisance to other residents who do not get involved. For instance if someone next door to me had an excessive amount of flashing or blinking lights it could turn my living room into an unwanted light show every time my blinds are open. I have actually had residents call in to complain that the amount of lights plugged into the exterior outlet are a fire hazard, and they were right. By regulating what people can hang and display you are not only going to save yourself the phone calls from complaining residents but you also limit the safety risks associated with an excessive display. If it is the second or third week in January and the lights are still up and there is a tacky plastic Santa in the yard what recourse do you have? With no regulations in place how do you maintain the look and feel of your community that was sold to residents when they bought in. People choose to live in restricted communities for a reason. They want structure and continuity in their community, if you want neither you shouldn’t buy in to an HOA or a Condominium Association. I think buyers need to pay more attention to the regulations in place before they decide to move into a restrictive community.
Comment by Brian Patterson — August 9, 2010 @ 1:21 pm