Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
HOLIDAY LIGHTS SURVIVE LAWSUIT
Plantation tried to say no to the ho-ho-ho, but family’s display is back and bigger
The sparkle is back in Mark Hyatt’s yard, and it’s brighter than ever.
His family’s massive Christmas display lights the night with a seemingly infinite number of bulbs, and this time, there even are LED lights for extra pizzazz.
The Plantation attraction — one of South Florida’s most controversial — is in full swing, drawing groans from neighbors and cheers from visitors.
In the past, Hyatt has estimated using about 200,000 bulbs at his home, but this time, he doesn’t offer a tally. You’re welcome to figure it out. “We can count it together,” he says.
The display features lit gingerbread men, toy soldiers, reindeer and a Ferris wheel that gives stuffed animals an endless ride. There’s an inflatable cocoa cup — even a real Santa posing for photos with children on his lap.
People snap selfies with choir singers.
“It’s a tradition,” Mark Hyatt said. “It feels like home.”
The return of “Hyatt Extreme Christmas,” as the family calls it, marks the first time it’s in full swing since the city of Plantation unsuccessfully sued to shut it down.
The city, which spent nearly a half-million dollars in taxpayer money to fight the display, at 11201 NW 14th St., failed to persuade a judge that the scores of visitors who choked the street were a threat to public safety.
Last Christmas, after Mark and Kathy Hyatt defeated Plantation in court, the display went up but the gates were closed to the public because Hyatt said he hadn’t had enough time to prepare.
This time, police aren’t closing the street or trying to shut down the display. The police department mounted lighted display boards warning drivers who show up to gawk at the lights not to park on Hiatus Road.
The display shines on the front lawn of the Hyatts’ home, with the gates open for the public to walk around.
Some visitors’ comments on a recent night: “Wow!” “No, you can’t touch that,” parents tell their kids.
“Look at mommy. Say cheese!”
Mark Hyatt has become a councilman since his battle with the city over the display began. He said he thinks the crowds — which in years past averaged hundreds a night — appear a little thinner this year.
The “drama is no longer there,” he says.
But his battle with the city isn’t entirely over, and Hyatt is making it part of his display.
The site bears a sign that reads, “Shame on you Mayor of Plantation” and urges residents to call for Mayor Diane Veltri Bendekovic to take a lien off the house for a code violation concerning an illegal Santa’s workshop. The telephone number for her office is on the sign.
The city previously cited him for the structure, saying it violated code.
But Hyatt didn’t pay by this year’s deadline. City spokesman Horace McHugh said last week that the fine has reverted from a reduced penalty of $1,725 to the original $7,000, and the lien on Hyatt’s house will remain.
Bendekovic told the Sun Sentinel in an email that she isn’t part of the code enforcement process, and that the rules are “enforced uniformly to our residents, even council members.”
For years, the Hyatts’ neighbors have complained about the crush of traffic on their cul-de-sac. This season, they say it’s still not easy for them.
“People think the street is closed for them and they look at me and other people driving through the street as a bother to them,” neighbor Adam Fractenberg said. “There’s a complete reversal in reality. We live there and expect to freely move around in and out of our property and they expect [us] to not bother them while they enjoy Christmas lights.”
Visitors on a recent weekend parked at a nearby church and walked, or were directed by the Hyatts’ volunteers to fill in empty lots nearby.
During the first weekend this month, Police Chief Howard Harrison said police were called six times to the Hyatt display by neighbors, mostly for illegal parking; there were four tickets written and two warnings. In one case, a person who was parked illegally on Hiatus Road by the display opened a car door into oncoming traffic and shattered somebody’s side mirror.
During the second weekend of his event, there were five calls for service, Harrison said.
William Rivera drove from Delray Beach to enjoy the lights with his wife and baby boy. He said “thank God” that the city had lost its lawsuit and that his child enjoyed the display.
“It’s something he wouldn’t have been able to do if they won the lawsuit,” Rivera said. “There are not many places you can go and do this. We would never have been able to experience it.”
“I think they should join in the fun,” display-goer Shameen Simmons, of Plantation, said of the Hyatts’ neighbors. “Maybe if the whole block did it, it would be cool.”