Bonita Springs, FL Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Section 10-102 governs outdoor lighting on single- and two-family residential developments and their accessory structures, and subsection (c)(2) is the exemption that decides holiday displays. It exempts low wattage decorative lighting fixtures, defined as incandescent bulbs of less than eight watts each or other lamps of output less than 100 lumens each, from the section's shielding and wattage standards when used for decoration.

The exemption has a calendar attached. Fixtures used in the lanai or porch area and not visible from the road carry the exemption without a date limit. The same lights in the yard may only be used for decoration from November 15 through January 15 for the holidays. Outside that season, yard use is capped at not more than 30 days in any one calendar year.

The flashing rule has its own carve-out. Under § 10-102(d)(2)a.7, flashing or moving lights that change at intervals more frequently than once each six seconds are not permitted for new outdoor lighting, with the exception of the same low wattage decorative fixtures used for decoration. A holiday string therefore stays outside the flashing ban only while it meets the eight-watt or 100-lumen definition.

Two further limits apply. Subsection (b) says nothing in the section supersedes Ordinance No. 01-06, which pertains to sea turtle conservation, and in residential areas regulated by the Sea Turtle Ordinance that ordinance's terms apply if the two conflict. Bulbs above the low wattage definition are not covered by the exemption and fall under the section's general standards for the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Section 10-103 authorizes the county sheriff's office and city code enforcement manager to enforce.