Santa Rosa, CA Holiday Decorations: Lawn Ornament Rules (2026)

Section 20-38.040(O) allows "seasonal and/or holiday decorations and displays such as those related to Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July" to go up on private property without a Sign Permit, so a homeowner does not need City sign approval for pumpkins, a nativity scene, or patriotic bunting. The exemption excludes only "advertising signs disguised as seasonal decorations," meaning a display that is really commercial signage dressed up as a holiday theme loses the exemption and must comply with the standard permit and zoning-district sign standards in Sections 20-38.030 and 20-38.060.

A second, separate provision can still reach an otherwise-exempt decoration: Section 20-38.090(C) prohibits windblown signs, defined to include posters, pennants, streamers, or strings of light bulbs, balloons, or other inflated objects, anywhere in the City, with only narrow exceptions for things like time-and-temperature devices and government signage. Because that subsection is not limited to commercial signs, a large inflatable holiday figure or a string of decorative bulbs used sign-like could be read to fall under the windblown-sign ban even though generic seasonal decorations are separately exempted under 20-38.040(O). The code does not reconcile the two provisions expressly, so the practical reading is that ordinary lawn decorations, pumpkins, wreaths, holiday figurines, are covered by the 20-38.040(O) exemption, while a decoration that functions as advertising or consists of inflated or windblown material invites Code Enforcement scrutiny under 20-38.090(C).