Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder is pushing for stricter enforcement of holiday decoration rules in the city’s historic district, focusing on oversized inflatable characters displayed by businesses.
Blonder said the decorations “just don’t seem in character with our historic district” and noted that the Bayfront had “gotten pretty crazy” with arches, snowmen, and other large inflatables.
She said the city would like to make enforcement of existing rules a “priority.”
City attorney Isabelle Lopez clarified that St. Augustine’s code already limits commercial and institutional properties in the historic district to white holiday lights, while blow-up figures are technically allowed only on residential properties.
Lopez said the city has traditionally taken a light touch on enforcement because “American culture is really big on snowman and Frosty and all of that, and the Grinch and all of these. It’s part of our… American cultural lexicon of Christmas.”
Blonder also broached the idea of limiting what types of vendors can set up shop in the historic district, arguing that some uses aren’t commensurate with the Old City’s profile.
She highlighted a commercial photo booth in the plaza as an example of an undesirable offering.
“I would like to see us explore our options on some sort of vendor ordinance,” she said.
