Escondido, CA Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Section 33-714(d) of the Escondido Municipal Code, part of Article 35's list of exemptions, provides that temporary uses and holiday lighting not exceeding 45 consecutive days during any one-year period as determined by the director of community development are exempt from the requirements of this article. curfew rules in Section 33-713, as long as the display comes down within the 45-day window and the director agrees the use is genuinely temporary. The other exemptions in the same section, for pre-1987 fixtures, sub-4,050-lumen lamps, fossil-fuel lamps and government-owned facilities, are separate categories and do not extend the holiday allowance.

If a homeowner or business leaves holiday lighting up past 45 days, it reverts to being an ordinary outdoor light fixture subject to Article 35's shielding and CCT requirements on commercial, industrial, or larger multifamily property, or to the general glare-and-trespass minimization standard in Section 33-713(e) on a house. Article 35's conflicts clause in Section 33-715 applies the most restrictive law where state or federal rules overlap, and Section 33-716 makes a willful violation an infraction citable under Section 1-17 of Chapter 1.