This is a true story in Dalton, Georgia:
Dalton residents keeping the holiday spirit alive by leaving their Christmas lights up may end up a with a fine from the city. The National Electrical Code restricts the use of holiday lighting for more than 90 days.
Code enforcement officer Alan Parrish says he spent much of March giving out notices to houses still sporting the decorations. He says leaving the lights up is a safety hazard.
Parrish remembers,"One lady told me, she said "I've been trying to get my husband to take those down since Christmas, said, he's just lazy." And I think that's a lot of the problem. People are just lazy, they think, "well, I'll leave them up til next year and I'll just plug them up again."
Residents have seven days to take down the lights or face a $100 fine.
SECOND STORY
DALTON - Dalton officials are tired of residents showing their Christmas spirit.
The northwest Georgia city has begun cracking down on houses violating a city code requiring all Christmas lights be removed by the end of March. Nearly 100 residents have been warned about their seasonal displays, and so far all but seven homes have complied.
The city is giving those homes until the middle of this week to comply or face further citations.
(When will citizens stand up and say enough is enough? VN8)
4 comments:
VN8 most nice looking, organized municipalities are the result of local ordinances and codes designed to keep their cities and neighborhoods from looking trashy and cluttered. But if the citizens of that community don't like the rules and want to leave their lights up all year, throw the fridge out on the front porch and park their cars in the front yard, all they have to do is vote in a new batch of politicians and change the rules. It's as simple as that. But more politicians are elected on the promise that they will clean up a city rather than the opposite.
As they say in New Hampshire, "Live Free or Die." Thank you for your commentary on why I don't live in those types of subdivisions and a reminder of why I want to move out into the country and rid myself of people who constantly want to control peoples lives to suit what they think is acceptable and not trashy and cluttered. I can't even put up a metal carport at the top of my driveway event though there are plenty in the neighborhood already. The city decided that they didn't think they represented what the city wanted to represent! Give me a break as John Stossel says. I personally think they sound like a bunch of snobs. I'd rather live next door to a redneck who has some common sense with Christmas lights on their house all year than an educated snob. I had a client tell me that they had complained to the city about someone bringing their work vehicle home and parking it in his own driveway! I thought, gee, must be a semi. I asked him and he told me the guy was a plumber. I immediately said, damn, I hope you don't ever need a plumber, I think you might have cut off your nose to spite your face. He didn't know quite how to take it, but I think I gave him some food for thought. By the way the client was an attorney and not too much common sense in my opinion.
VN8 I hear you. There are plenty of communities to suite people who want the covenants and codes and there are plenty of places for wide open country living for those who don't. But ironically, most Republicans live in neighborhoods with very strict covenants. You've seen where I live. It's the poor side of affluent East Cobb and my little neighborhood has very strict covenants and it's the very reason I bought here. The covenants make the neighborhood look nice and keep the property values up. I can appreciate the wide open country living aspect also where you can do as you please. But living here in the city with neighbors stacked against one another, it's nice to have a little order and control.
Hey guys, what about the broader issue here? This guy has just given all of us holiday decorating tips for this coming season!
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