DPD Tallies Costs After Lit House Goes Viral
A house in the 6200 block of Deloache Avenue drew a lot of attention over the holidays.
When People Newspapers shared our post about the Christmas Lights House on social media, it generated thousands of views, prompting a deeper dive into the chatter on neighborhood platforms and public forums.
After the house went viral on social media, massive crowds flocked to the Preston Hollow neighborhood.
Neighbors reported trespassers, excessive noise, and littering. A frustrated homeowner was reported to have turned on his sprinklers to deter crowds from trampling his lawn.
Reports of illegal parking and safety concerns poured in, and teams of off and on-duty officers were dispatched to control traffic and ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians.
According to the Dallas Police Department, 71 on-duty personnel were assigned to the location for eight nights, generating a total of 250.65 hours with the total expenses for on-duty resources reaching $25,375.04; the expenses included $17,546.35 for personnel, $7,206.19 (250.65 hours @ $28.75 per hour) for vehicles, and $622.50 (½ hour fuel and maintenance) for a helicopter.
The City of Dallas Department of Code Compliance issued a Notice of Violation for light glare and noise to homeowners Mandi and Ryan Devitis, compelling their response to both praise and criticism on social media and chat forums.
Probing comments included queries of how much the electric bill would run the homeowners, why Christmas grinches were shutting down the display, and whether taxpayers would end up covering the related city resource costs, with a top Reddit commentator reminding enthusiastic onlookers that, “while on duty DPD were reassigned to deal with the excessive crowds and traffic, your car was being broken into at NorthPark Center with no cops available to respond.”
Dallas Councilmember Gay Donnell Willis weighed in on the issue. “While I appreciate homeowners lighting their homes to bring joy to others during the holidays, compromising public safety resources to this extent doesn’t reflect the spirit of the season. I’ll be directing staff to evaluate policy on how home displays can be balanced with consideration of neighbors and taxpayers,” she said.
The Twitter group making plans to repeat the two-hour road trip to view next year’s display may want to wait and see if the City implements any restrictions.
