Kenosha County, WI Holiday Decorations: Lawn Ornament Rules (2026)

County Code § 12.38.020 exempts a specific list of yard features from the setback lines that otherwise keep structures out of a required street yard, shore yard, side yard or rear yard. Subsection (p) puts ornamental yard decor on that exempt list by name: 'Landscape features such as sun dials, terraces, (open), ornamental lights, birdbaths, etc.' are allowed in any yard, with no distance restriction and no district-by-district limit. That makes decorative lawn items one of the least regulated categories in the whole subsection, more permissive than nearby items on the same list: planting boxes are allowed in any yard too, but flagpoles, mailboxes, sidewalks and yard lighting fixtures each get their own separate listing under (m), (q), (y) and (dd), while recreational apparatus such as playground equipment is confined to the rear and side yard under (w) and satellite dishes over two feet in diameter must sit at least five feet from a side or rear lot line and cannot go in a street yard or shore yard at all under (x).

Because sun dials, birdbaths, ornamental lighting and similar landscape features are unrestricted by yard, a resident of unincorporated Kenosha County can place them in a front, side, rear or shore yard, including within the 75-foot shore yard setback along a navigable lake, without triggering a zoning violation or needing a permit from the Department of Planning and Development. This exemption applies only within the unincorporated towns that operate under the county's zoning ordinance; the City of Kenosha and the county's villages set their own rules for yard decor.