While Sandy Springs considers a new sign ordinance, local businesses can now throw a little light on the subject.
The City Council voted Tuesday to suspend enforcement of the city's code dealing with lighting and inflatable decorations until mid-January.
The move was not lost on Red Baron's Antiques on Roswell Road, where operators are busy installing a display that will include more than 150,000 white lights.
"We have an entire [exterior] wall all lit up with white lights and Christmas wreaths with white lights on them," said manager Bob Brown. "Our whole front yard, we have 15 trees lit up and two main Christmas trees at the entrance of the building lit up."
It's a stark contrast from two months ago, when the city cited Red Baron's for having an inflatable Frankenstein monster on its roof for Halloween.
"It was pretty restrictive for the city to decide they didn't like holiday lighting," Brown said. "I think the city's trying hard to overcome some of the bad rules they had that were affecting businesses."
City Councilman Gabriel Sterling, who has led the campaign for more liberal sign policies, said he thinks the city will adjust the city code to be more business-friendly.
"This moratorium allows us to have a wider range of celebrations among our commercial establishments," Sterling said. "Time constraints didn't allow us to fully vet a full ordinance before Christmas."
So as not to push their luck, the folks at Red Baron's have no plans to install an inflatable snowman on their roof.
"No," Brown said. "The city didn't agree with Halloween being a holiday either."
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