Saint Paul, MN Holiday Decorations: Lawn Ornament Rules (2026)

The City of Saint Paul does not regulate the number, size, or style of decorative lawn ornaments, statuary, fountains, or religious yard displays at single-family or duplex properties through municipal ordinance. Political signs are protected as First Amendment speech and are governed by Saint Paul sign provisions only for size — not content; signs in residential zones are generally permitted up to specified square footage under Title VIII (Zoning) sign regulations. Saint Paul's general property maintenance and nuisance provisions in Legislative Code Chapter 45 (Property Maintenance) and Chapter 56 (Public Nuisances) can address damaged or deteriorated ornaments only when they have become a blight condition. In Saint Paul's designated Heritage Preservation Districts (Summit Avenue West, Historic Hill, Irvine Park, Dayton's Bluff, Lowertown, plus individual landmark properties), permanent visible installations — sculpture, fountains, built-in religious shrines, large permanent yard art — facing the public right-of-way may require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Heritage Preservation Commission under Legislative Code Title 8 (Historic Preservation). Temporary seasonal ornaments do not require HPC review. HOA and condo associations retain authority under Minnesota's Common Interest Ownership Act (Minn. Stat. Ch. 515B) to regulate exterior decorations through their declarations. The federal Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 prevents HOAs from banning reasonable U.S. flag displays. Minnesota has no state-law equivalent broadening flag protections to other lawn decorations.