The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved the third and final reading to repeal the city’s holiday decorations ordinance during its April 28 meeting.
There was no discussion by the board about a new decorations ordinance.
The push to scrap the ordinance came after resident Alexis Luttrell fought a citation given to her by the city over her use of giant skeleton decorations in various outdoor holiday displays.
Luttrell kept the skeleton decorations in her yard after Halloween, incorporating them in other holiday displays. That violated Germantown’s ordinance that dictated decorations could only be displayed 45 days before and 30 days after their intended holiday.
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The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) filed a lawsuit on Luttrell’s behalf in February in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee against the City of Germantown, claiming the holiday decorations ordinance violated Luttrell’s First Amendment rights.
Germantown attorney David Goodman told the board after reviewing the ordinance that he had some legal concerns about it.
“I would recommend that the ordinance as written would be repealed,” Goodman said in March. “If the board ultimately does repeal (the ordinance), we would then have an opportunity to look into potentially drafting a replacement ordinance.”
Germantown later moved to dismiss the citation against Luttrell.
Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610.
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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Germantown repeals holiday decorations ordinance: Why and what’s next