The Alamar Community Association recently approved updates to the Owner Design Guidelines for Alamar, so we’ve put together a quick rundown of the new standards for string lights.
A look at the updates
String lights
- Even though string lights (aka bistro, café, festival, or party lights) are in your own backyard, their illumination and location can affect your neighbors, so you’ll need approval from Alamar’s Design Review Committee before you install the outdoor strands.
- String lights (including support poles or brackets) must be a minimum of 2 feet away from any property line, fence, or yard wall.
- They can be anchored directly to your house, shade structure, or accessory structure, but they should not be attached directly to a property wall or fence.
- String light poles can be a maximum of eight feet in height.
- If using poles or posts, they should be concreted into the ground to eliminate swaying and should be between 2 1/2″ and 3 1/2″ in diameter. Include the pole material and thickness in your design review application.
- No pole, post or lead line from a pole or post should be attached to a fence or yard wall to eliminate any damage to surrounding backyard walls.
- String light bulbs need to be white or clear. Colored or flashing lights are prohibited.
- If the appearance of the string lights becomes unsightly, they need to be immediately removed or replaced.
- Check pages 25 and 26 of the Design Guidelines, where you’ll find everything from the number of support poles allowed to the max strand length to the type and brightness of bulbs permitted.