Suburbs

Germantown’s potential ordinance change to address the controversy over whether skeletons can be year-round yard decorations rather than exclusive to Halloween is the latest change in the look of the suburb’s landscape.

Reporter Abigail Warren broke the story this week, saying the Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider the three-reading process of changing the city’s regulations regarding the decorations. This is to try and resolve the federal complaint by Alexis Luttrell that Germantown was violating her First Amendment rights by demanding she take down the boney statues – a skeleton and a dog – within 30 days of Halloween.

Luttrell countered by decorating the skeletons with finery of the next holiday season on the calendar, including red and pink for Valentine’s Day last month.

When the city told her that wasn’t going to work, she called “check” by going to federal court seeking relief.

While the case is still unsettled and the board must change the ordinance, it does bring back memories of how strict Germantown once was when it came to various signs – primarily in commercial areas.

But even residential areas weren’t immune from the code enforcement folks discerning eye. No yard signs. Political signs had not only a time limit but size limitations. There was a regulation that garage doors should remain closed. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen went through changes on whether a real estate agent could add another metal strip under their name on a real estate sign to say if the for sale house had a pool.

I can’t remember if there were limitations on painting a house to prevent garish coats.

While that seems far-fetched, it would have been in keeping with the controls the city put on how things looked in Germantown.

But the real limitations were in the commercial district. Ground mounted signs. Back-channel lighting for names on buildings. Certain earth-tone colors allowed and limitations on logos.

Many years ago, the suburb’s Design Review Commission rejected a Burger King sign on the south side of Poplar. It was a time when the burger chain had a sign designed like a hamburger. You couldn’t have food represented on the sign in addition to limitations on the size of the logo, so the DRC made them square off the bun, among other adjustments, to meet the criteria.

There was a long, long battle over the colors used when a BP gas station as being built on Germantown Road south of Wolf River Boulevard (which may not have even been open at the time). In the end, the resolution to the argument may have involved a name change for the color and a slight, slight variance in the hue.

If any at all.

But, alas, things have changed. Certain aspects were challenged. The city became slightly more tolerant of things and adapted to growth and a shift in direction.

And maybe, just maybe, more challenges to the strict approach. - Suburbs editor Clay Bailey

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