Colten Williams began putting together his Christmas light show a decade ago at the behest of his grandmother, who was inspired by light shows she had seen on TV.
But trouble started brewing in Kingsville after several neighbours lodged complaints about their street being crowded with cars for six weeks every year.
This month, the city enacted a new bylaw that would force the Williams family to apply for a permit for their display while also placing restrictions on the number of hours they would be allowed to leave the lights on.
“They basically limited the amount of hours I could have my show from about 28 hours a week down to 10 hours a week,” Williams said. “So you have 500 hours, 600 hours worth of set up time just to have 40 hours the lights on all month long. That’s an insane amount of work.”
Rogers said the council is sad to see them turn off the lights but said the show had outgrown its location as well.
“We were saddened to learn that the Williams family will not move forward with their light display this year,” he said.
“Our discussions with the family last year at a council meeting we both agreed that they had outgrown the neighbourhood.”
Rogers went on to say that the city had tried to work with the family to find an alternative location but was unable to meet their demands.
I feel like this should be overridden by the guarantee to freedom of expression
How about freedom to live in a quiet neighbourhood and sleep without a ton of noise and excessive light glaring through your windows?
I love Christmas lights but there is a line of respect for your neighbours and no one has the right to just do whatever they want without regard for others. A truly free society means balancing your freedoms with respect.
Don’t know why people are down voting you. It’s a valid point.
Until your neighbour does it. Houses are for living in. Having a little Christmas display is great. Having an automated light show that last 17 minutes a cycle and took 500 hours to set up is something that should be done at a venue with the proper infrastructure.
The message isn’t the issue, the medium is. Through the operation of the lights and music, these homeowners are infringing on the rights of others.
The article brings up “enjoyment of property”, this is a legal phrase in Canada.
Yes, I’m familiar with the term. I didn’t get the impression that the owners were at odds with their neighbors so much as local council. I am not advocating for it to go such, but I’m curious how a court would view it.