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Showing posts with label decoration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decoration. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
You Think You Have Tacky Christmas Decorations In Your Subdivision?
This raises a question. How would you like to live next door to some of these people - or across the street? Should subdivision restrictions address the question of not just Christmas decorations, but "decorations" in general?
Click on COMMENTS below and give us your thoughts.
Click on COMMENTS below and give us your thoughts.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Yard Art or Trash
In case you missed the lead article in the Post Dispatch on Labor Day, here’s a summary about subdivision residents with some unusual tastes in decorating their front and back yards.
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Battles over landscape decor can land property owners in court and cost thousands.
A 62-year-old retiree cleared some trees a few years back from the sliver of sloping land outside his Chesterfield home then he install two putting greens that were more than 30 feet long. He built a little creek and a gazebo.
And since nothing spells tropical golf getaway quite like a beach, he brought in about 50 tons of beach sand. The scene really came together once he got the portable golf hitting cage and a bar with pergola roof.
But his neighbors said he crossed the line with the four artificial palm trees — exclamation points standing 8 to 12 feet high that screamed "tacky" to the subdivision trustees. A former trustee gave it a nickname - "Wally World."
Thus began another costly legal battle over landscape decorum. To a few people with eccentric palettes, a lawn is a canvas, and the results can vex city officials and homeowners associations for years.
Two months ago, a group of Ballwin residents begged their Board of Aldermen to do something about a retired art teacher who lives off Morena Court. He constructed clusters of colorful, twisted metal and wooden spikes on his front lawn, and hung silver bowls from the trees.
Greenberg says the project is intended to commemorate the Holocaust. The city cited the homeowner under a littering ordinance, said David Howard, the homeowner’s attorney. "It's going to be extremely expensive, the route they've chosen." Howard argued that under the law, the art is no different from a resident who puts up Christmas lights, a birdbath or a rosebush trellis, adding that the city wants his art removed merely because it offends people.
If landscaping is a form of self-expression, it's difficult to tell what message the shimmering rock garden in front of the home on Ashby Road is trying to convey. Giant slabs of granite line the sidewalk. Faux flowers make their way up a metal trellis, surrounded by pieces of quartz. Well, at least they don't have to cut the grass.
Still, some of their neighbors don't share her post-apocalyptic views or appreciate how she puts them on display. "It's Sanford and Son," said Linda Badgley, who lives across the street. "I'm sure it does a lot for our property values." Years ago, in addition to the rocks, Carl and Carol decorated their yard with a collection of hubcaps.
But that was too much for the county, which persuaded a judge to order the couple to remove the hubcaps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Battles over landscape decor can land property owners in court and cost thousands.
A 62-year-old retiree cleared some trees a few years back from the sliver of sloping land outside his Chesterfield home then he install two putting greens that were more than 30 feet long. He built a little creek and a gazebo.
And since nothing spells tropical golf getaway quite like a beach, he brought in about 50 tons of beach sand. The scene really came together once he got the portable golf hitting cage and a bar with pergola roof.
But his neighbors said he crossed the line with the four artificial palm trees — exclamation points standing 8 to 12 feet high that screamed "tacky" to the subdivision trustees. A former trustee gave it a nickname - "Wally World."
Thus began another costly legal battle over landscape decorum. To a few people with eccentric palettes, a lawn is a canvas, and the results can vex city officials and homeowners associations for years.
Two months ago, a group of Ballwin residents begged their Board of Aldermen to do something about a retired art teacher who lives off Morena Court. He constructed clusters of colorful, twisted metal and wooden spikes on his front lawn, and hung silver bowls from the trees.
Greenberg says the project is intended to commemorate the Holocaust. The city cited the homeowner under a littering ordinance, said David Howard, the homeowner’s attorney. "It's going to be extremely expensive, the route they've chosen." Howard argued that under the law, the art is no different from a resident who puts up Christmas lights, a birdbath or a rosebush trellis, adding that the city wants his art removed merely because it offends people.
If landscaping is a form of self-expression, it's difficult to tell what message the shimmering rock garden in front of the home on Ashby Road is trying to convey. Giant slabs of granite line the sidewalk. Faux flowers make their way up a metal trellis, surrounded by pieces of quartz. Well, at least they don't have to cut the grass.
Still, some of their neighbors don't share her post-apocalyptic views or appreciate how she puts them on display. "It's Sanford and Son," said Linda Badgley, who lives across the street. "I'm sure it does a lot for our property values." Years ago, in addition to the rocks, Carl and Carol decorated their yard with a collection of hubcaps.
But that was too much for the county, which persuaded a judge to order the couple to remove the hubcaps.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Colo. Subdivision OKs Christmas Wreath
A subdivision has withdrawn its threat of $25 daily fines against a homeowner who put a Christmas wreath shaped like a peace sign on the front of her home.
Homeowner Lisa Jensen told The Associated Press on Monday that the board of directors of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association had apologized, called the incident a misunderstanding and had withdrawn its request for the wreath's removal.
Jensen was ordered to take the wreath down when some residents in her 200-home subdivision saw it as a protest of the Iraq war. Bob Kearns, president of the board, also said some saw it as a symbol of Satan.
The homeowners' association demanded Jensen remove the wreath from her house, saying it doesn't allow flags or signs that are considered divisive.
None of the three members of the board in the scenic town 270 miles southwest of Denver was available for comment late Monday. Kearns and colleague Jeff Heitz both had their phone numbers changed to unlisted numbers Monday. Tammy Spezze, the third board member, did not return a call seeking comment.
Homeowner Lisa Jensen told The Associated Press on Monday that the board of directors of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association had apologized, called the incident a misunderstanding and had withdrawn its request for the wreath's removal.
Jensen was ordered to take the wreath down when some residents in her 200-home subdivision saw it as a protest of the Iraq war. Bob Kearns, president of the board, also said some saw it as a symbol of Satan.
The homeowners' association demanded Jensen remove the wreath from her house, saying it doesn't allow flags or signs that are considered divisive.
None of the three members of the board in the scenic town 270 miles southwest of Denver was available for comment late Monday. Kearns and colleague Jeff Heitz both had their phone numbers changed to unlisted numbers Monday. Tammy Spezze, the third board member, did not return a call seeking comment.
Jensen, a past association president, said she was overwhelmed with hundreds of calls of support and offers to help her pay the $1,000 fine that would be due if she kept the wreath up until after Christmas.
"We would like to thank everyone who has contacted us with moral support and offers of financial support. We are grateful to hundreds of complete strangers who felt so moved by this story they contacted us," she said.
"It seems whenever someone tries to say 'Peace on Earth' it is met with so much resistance," she said. "The incredible amount of support we have received over the last couple of days really is proof to us of how many people believe in peace and in our right to say it."
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