Alachua County, FL Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)
Key Facts
- Seasonal exemption
- Seasonal/ornamental lighting exempt from Art. XIV
- Blinking lights allowed
- Chase-light ban exempts seasonal displays (§407.146(b))
- Small fixture exemption
- Under 2,250 lumens, mounted over 3 ft, exempt year-round
- Sign lighting
- Exempt if compliant with Art. II Signs (§407.145(a))
Summary
Holiday and other seasonal light displays are exempt from Alachua County's outdoor lighting article entirely: no photometric plan, shielding, or footcandle limit applies to seasonal displays or landscape ornamental lighting under § 407.145(c), and the county's separate ban on blinking or color-changing fixtures specifically carves out temporary seasonal displays.
The following outdoor lighting is exempt from the requirements of this Article:(a)Lighting for signs that is allowed in Chapter 407, Article II, Signs;(b)Light fixtures for single-family homes mounted greater than three (3) feet above grade that generate less than two thousand two hundred fifty (2,250) lumens;(c)Seasonal displays and landscape ornamental lighting;(d)Lighting that is installed as a requirement of any public safety agency for the purposes of traffic control;(e)Lighting that is installed as a requirement of federal or state regulations for airports;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
145 lists outdoor lighting that Article XIV's development-review standards do not reach. 144. 146(b), which bans blinking, flashing, moving, revolving, flickering, color-changing and chase lighting for most fixtures but expressly excepts 'temporary seasonal displays' from that ban, meaning holiday lights may flash or change color even though a commercial sign or parking-lot fixture doing the same thing would violate the code. 145(a) exempts sign lighting that already complies with Chapter 407, Article II. None of these exemptions constitutes a permanent development approval, they simply remove seasonal and small residential lighting from Article XIV's plan-review, shielding, and illumination-limit requirements that apply to commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-family projects.
Violations & Fines
Because seasonal displays are exempt, the county does not review or cite holiday lighting under Article XIV. General nuisance, electrical-safety, and right-of-way obstruction rules elsewhere in the County Code still apply, and a temporary display converted into permanent decorative lighting would need to meet the article's shielding and footcandle standards like any other fixture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for holiday lights on my Alachua County home?
Can holiday lights blink or change color if other lights can't?
Are small yard or porch lights on a house also exempt?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alachua County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Alachua County to another location·View the Florida sign regulations overview
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