Pembroke Pines, FL Holiday Decorations: Lawn Ornament Rules (2026)

The Pembroke Pines Code of Ordinances does not contain a specific provision regulating residential lawn ornaments. Homeowners outside HOA communities may display flamingos, statues, religious figures, gnomes, holiday figures, and similar items on private property without permit or notification. General property-maintenance provisions in the Pembroke Pines Code can be invoked if ornaments are broken, hazardous, or contribute to blight. Right-of-way and sight-distance rules in Code Chapter 155 prohibit placing ornaments in the public swale or sidewalk and require corner-lot displays to stay clear of the sight-distance triangle. Religious lawn ornaments — including Virgin Mary statues, nativity scenes, menorahs — receive heightened protection under Florida's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (FL §761.05) and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA, 42 U.S.C. §2000cc), which restrict government burdens on religious exercise. The U.S. Supreme Court's First Amendment jurisprudence further protects private religious expression. The dominant practical restrictions in Pembroke Pines come from the master-planned HOA communities — Pembroke Falls, Pembroke Lakes, SilverLakes, Chapel Trail, Spring Valley — which under FL §718.113 and §720.304 typically restrict the number, size, and placement of lawn ornaments through Architectural Review Committee approval. Those private restrictions cannot, under recent Florida amendments to Chapter 720, prohibit certain protected religious symbols affixed to door frames. Hurricane preparedness applies: heavy or unsecured ornaments should be brought indoors during a declared storm.