For more than 30 years,  Lee Sepanek and his wife, Patricia, have been doing an extensive light display at their home in Phoenix.

“If you’ve ever seen the movie Christmas Vacation, it’s Clark Griswold times 10,” explains Jon Riches, who serves as general counsel for the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute. “It’s become a real tradition for people in Phoenix to come by and enjoy the holiday display, and people throughout the state come from all corners to see it.”

In October, city officials met with Sepanek and placed what Riches calls a series of unattainable demands on him regarding the display.

“They also told him that he was not allowed to serve hot cocoa or cookies to visitors of the display,” Riches informed. “As a result, Lee got disheartened and canceled the display for this year, although assuming that the city does the right thing here, he intends to bring Christmas back in the years to come, so long as he is not facing enforcement action from Phoenix.”

The Goldwater Institute and Rose Law Group are working on behalf of Sepanek to resolve the matter with the City of Phoenix.

“We are in the process of talking with the city to make sure that we can get everything resolved so that Lee knows he can go forward with his display without any more threats from the city,” the legal expert assured.

The Phoenix City Manager did not respond to OneNewsNow’s request for comment.