Homeowners massive 60,000-light Christmas display dubbed a safety hazard by HOA

‘Tis almost the season for goodwill toward all—unless you’re Neil Heuer and his neighbors.Heuer, a semiretired tech entrepreneur, lives in Aero Plantation, an exclusive fly-in community in Waxhaw, NC, with his wife and their children.Over the past several months, he’s been locked in a battle with Aero Plantation’s HOA over his annual Halloween and Christmas displays, which his neighbors say disrupt the neighborhood and make them feel unsafe. Heuer has been putting on the light shows, which include more than 60,000 lights, choreographed animatronic displays, and coordinated music programming, for the past five years. He estimates he’s spent more than $70,000 on the exhibitions.But after last year’s shows, his neighbors began complaining.

Those complaints led to a hearing, a lawsuit, and proposed potential changes to the HOA’s bylaws that would prohibit Heuer’s Christmas and Halloween spectaculars in the future. For his part, Heuer believes the drama has little to do with the lights and more to do with a golf course dispute and a once-anonymous newsletter he penned to bring HOA issues to light. “I realize that this is a little unorthodox, but, you know, everybody celebrates things differently,” Heuer says of his light displays.“I have friends that celebrate their birthday for the entire month and I might be lucky to have a slice of cake on my birthday, but it doesn’t matter.

This is my hobby.I love to share it with people.

I sit outside and record it myself, and I smile.I’m just so giddy with it.“It makes me happy, which is good,” he continues.

“Especially right now, because I do feel like it’s draining.It’s been a very draining experience.”Six years ago, Neil and his wife, Stephanie, moved to Aero Plantation, an exclusive fly-in neighborhood with a private airstrip, tennis courts, an equestrian center, and other luxury amenities.The Heuers’ five-bedroom, 8,000-square-foot home sits on 2.36 acres and includes a pool a...