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November 28, 2007
It's Christmas ... Have a Heart!
Some people love Christmas. Some hate it. Some Boards encourage holiday spirit by holding neighborhood contests for the best displays. Others discourage it by putting the nix on all displays. Sometimes there is good reason but usually, if a director is willing to stop with the jerk "bah humbug" reaction and think about it, he or she can come up with a feasible proposal for displays in any type of HOA that is fair to all residents.
Christmas has become complicated, hasn't it? What is politically correct and what is not? At my grandchildren's school, they don't call it Christmas anymore - everything is "holiday". It's darn hard to remember, not to say the "C word" when you grew up on it.
But alas, yes, a more tolerant and sensitive world would be wonderful.
So let's start it off during the "holidays". Let's try to allow those who want to celebrate do it up right! The sooner you put out some positive feedback to the members, the sooner you will deter the undesirable or overboard conduct. Yeah, I know, there is a requirement of circulation of rules before adoption (30 days) that puts you into January. But maybe there is no preadoption circulation for giving owners some guidance as to what not to do so that buildings and roofs will be unharmed, what to do with windows, doors, and other things that would not be considered a nuisance, and if you want to put it into rules, get the jump on next year.
What can residents do and what are they prohibited from doing? That is the first question people commonly want to know. If the answer is nothing, and then everything, then I urge you to try again.
All I am saying is "Don't be a scrooge" ... (maybe that is politically incorrect too). If you give residents some reasonable parameters, they will likely honor the limits. There may be those wishing to "make a point", but I have to believe that the more reasonable a board is in allowing those who wish to join in the holiday spirit, that those who unreasonably push the envelope will stand out like a sore thumb and have a hard time convincing the news reporters that they are subject to bullying and too-stringent rules.
Happy Holidays everyone! (I am one of the believers that this is the best time of year.)
Posted by Beth Grimm at November 28, 2007 12:23 PM