Clarence Hayes of Meriden says the look of awe on his children’s faces when they see his holiday lights can make him cry. He’s been putting up lights, setting up Santa and cordoning off candy canes for 4 years all along his Meriden condominium.
This year, Hayes says, his condominium association told him it’s lights out, leaving Hayes shocked and wondering: “Why does a scrooge come along and steal the joy from a child?”
The board at the LaMirage Condominium complex says they got a lot of complaints. Some people said the display was gaudy. Hayes says the board eventually relented and let him put lights on just one tree.
But Hayes says it’s a far cry from what his son and daughter used to enjoy. Neighbors like Bob Nolan say they liked it too: “It enhances the community and in a word it’s joy.”
The President of the board told us Hayes’s light display is against the rules.
We looked up the by-laws and they do say holiday decorations should be limited to doors only and anything extra needs the Board’s consent.
What’s more, Hayes sits on the board, but he questions why it took four years for Christmas to get controversial?
He says rules may be rules, but kids are still kids, and what harm can a bunch of lights do?
“That brings out the Christmas, it brings out the season, it brings out December.”
