No county or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty rarely regulate seasonal decorations, and any rule that touches them must stay content-neutral. A homeowner needs no permit to put up a display.
Holiday displays sit almost entirely outside government regulation here. Neither Johnson County nor Iowa has a statute on holiday lights or yard decorations. A city's zoning code can address structures and signs on neutral grounds, and a general nuisance rule might reach extreme light trespass or noise, but neither targets the holiday content of a display. In practice the cities leave lights, menorahs, and inflatables to the homeowner. Common-sense limits still apply: displays should not block a sidewalk or an intersection sight line, electrical work must use outdoor-rated equipment against Iowa winters, and inflatables should be secured against wind. A deed restriction or HOA, not the city, is the usual source of any real limit.
There is no county or state penalty for a holiday display. A city acts only through a neutral nuisance rule for extreme light or noise or an obstruction, and an HOA enforces its own covenants on timing and size.
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