PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - A Plantation family accused of going overboard with their Christmas decorations were summoned to court by the City of Plantation, Tuesday.
The city is asking a Broward County Judge to stop Mark and Kathy Hyatt from using over-the-top Christmas lights and decorations this year.
Their home becomes an attraction the day after Thanksgiving and lasts the whole month of December.
The Hyatts gained national attention for having extravagant Christmas decorations in front of their house. The controversy also made national headlines.
Residents complained to the city after they claimed that the thousands of people visiting the neighborhood to see the Hyatts’ home were creating a disturbance.
Residents complained to the city after they claimed that the thousands of people visiting the neighborhood to see the Hyatts’ home were creating a disturbance.
The city claims that the display brings noise, litter and severe traffic. “People are not parked on 14th Street, but they’re parked all the way down Hiatus, all the way up Hiatus,” said City of Plantation Attorney Thomas Tatum.
“What the city sees as something that must be curtailed is something that the evidence will show brings joy and happiness to many,” said Hyatt Family Attorney James Helf.
Thousands of people visit the home every year. The Hyatts said it is their property and their religious right to have the Christmas celebration. “This is all done out of the goodness of my client’s hearts, and they have never, ever accepted one penny to charge for the display and have never ever financially benefitted,” Helf said.
The city’s attorney, however, showed videos of what they call chaos.
The city gave the Hyatts more than $7,000 in code violations and said the display is dangerous. “There has never been one injury, one arrest, one incident at the display in its entire 23 year history,” Helf said.
Now a judge will decide whether the Hyatts light display will show brightly this Christmas or force them to shut it down.
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