Constable: Can lingering decorations get you in trouble?
Folks who insist on making a "War on Christmas" out of a simple "happy holidays" might be cheered by this news from the suburban front: In the Battle Against Christmas Decorations, there appears to be a cease-fire.
"It doesn't seem to be a problem anymore," says Ed Frank, a retired Hoffman Estates trustee who once considered lingering Christmas yard displays to be such eyesores that he crafted an ordinance in 2003 that would have required homeowners to take down their Christmas lights and decorations in a timely manner.
"If you drive through any neighborhood and everyone has manicured lawns and well-kept houses, and here it is in August, and someone has icicle lights hanging down, that's not right," Frank said in 2003, invoking his proposal as a way to "protect property values" and improve aesthetics. "Who sees a Santa Claus climbing into or out of a chimney in the middle of August? Suppose you're trying to sell your house, and the guy next door has reindeer in his yard in July."
Frank's proposal not only fed me a column, it lured TV news crews to the village. It was one of those 2003 news stories that was fun for a day or two, but couldn't hold the public interest - like the United States' declaration of the official end of combat in Iraq, or another Tour de France victory by that inspiring, hardworking Lance Armstrong.
As did some other suburbs, Hoffman Estates bypassed that controversial ordinance and just said residents should follow the National Electric Code, which is established by the National Fire Protection Association, and doesn't really address Santa but does set a 90-day limit on temporary lighting.
"Most people are really good at removing them," says Betty Melligan, a Hoffman Estates code-enforcement officer, who says she doesn't remember any legal actions against a tardy Christmas reveler in her 14 years on the job.
If the village discovers someone leaving decorations up 90 days after Christmas, a letter goes out and that "is the end of it," Melligan says, adding that neighbors "talk to each other" and stop problems before they escalate.
But there can be complications. If a person is keeping up decorations and lights until a sick child gets out of the hospital or a soldier comes home on leave, no one wants to be the grinch who demands the decorations be removed. Hard-and-fast rules could create a slippery slope.
So can ice and snow, which can make it dangerous for people to take down decorations in a timely manner some winters.
"I've gone into late March or even April some years for things on the roof," says Neil Berkowitz, voted by Daily Herald readers as the winner of the Daily Herald's recent Holiday Lights contest. This year, he, his wife, Serene, and their four young children had their elaborate winning display gone before New Year's Day.
"Everything is down and packed and put away," says Berkowitz. "I attack it pretty quickly. I do not like leaving it out in the weather."
As exciting as it can be to get everything up and working, "I get about as much satisfaction when it's down and put away," Berkowitz says. "That's always a good feeling."
Some homeowners simply go from Christmas into Valentine's Day by tweaking the lights and exchanging Santa for Cupid. Then there are those who put up elaborate yard displays for the Fourth of July. Elaborate yard displays at Halloween rival, if not surpass, Christmas.
To fit the electrical code guidelines and be safe, you really should switch everything out after 90 days.
"If you leave your lights up from Thanksgiving until Valentine's Day, they need to come down," Franks says.
And if your Arbor Day lights stay up until you erect your Labor Day yard display, you might need a new hobby.