Chico has no specific ordinance regulating residential holiday lights or seasonal decorations — no city-imposed put-up or take-down dates apply. General nuisance, light-trespass, and noise rules govern excessive impacts. Animated/flashing decorations on commercial property may qualify as 'signs' under CMC Chapter 19.74 and trigger sign approval. Sound from amplified displays must comply with Chico's noise ordinance (CMC Ch. 9.38). HOAs may impose stricter limits independently. Lights and cords must comply with California Electrical Code (Title 24, Part 3) for outdoor use.
Chico Municipal Code Chapter 19.74 (Signs) does not enumerate holiday lights or seasonal yard decorations as regulated 'signs' on residential property. There is no Chico ordinance setting a calendar window (e.g., 'remove by January 15') for residential holiday displays — enforcement, if any, is via general property maintenance and nuisance provisions when a display creates light glare into adjacent dwellings, blocks sight-distance triangles, encroaches on the public right-of-way, or generates noise exceeding limits in CMC Chapter 9.38 (Noise). For commercial properties, animated, flashing, or moving illuminated displays may be regulated as signs under CMC §19.74.120 (Standards for specific types of signs). Inflatable decorations and rooftop displays must not encroach on the public ROW or block sight distance at intersections/driveways under CMC §19.74.110. All electrical work, GFCI protection for outdoor outlets, and weather-rated cords follow Title 24, Part 3 (California Electrical Code, based on NEC). Private HOAs may set their own seasonal-decoration windows; those are contractual and independent of the city code.
Decorations that block public sidewalks or public ROW; light trespass / glare into neighboring dwellings creating a nuisance; amplified holiday music violating CMC Ch. 9.38 noise limits; commercial flashing/animated displays installed without sign approval; non–weather-rated wiring or missing GFCI on outdoor circuits (CEC). Enforcement is typically complaint-driven via Code Enforcement.
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