Lenexa, KS Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Holiday lighting in Lenexa is addressed in two places, and both use the same 50 lumen figure.

Article 4-1-E of the Unified Development Code, the sign code, starts from a default ban: any sign or attention-attracting device not specifically permitted is prohibited. Section 4-1-E-3 lists prohibited items, and one entry covers attention-attracting devices in general. That entry carves out strings of lights used for decorative purposes during the holiday season, which the text fixes as Thanksgiving to January 6, as long as no light exceeds an output of 50 lumens. The result is a fixed calendar window and a fixed brightness cap. The sentence itself sets no separate permit step.

The exterior lighting standard in Section 4-1-C-4, subsection I, carries a parallel exemption. Temporary lighting used in connection with holidays and other celebrated traditions is exempt from that section, provided the output of any individual light source does not exceed 50 lumens. That section does not apply to one-family or two-family dwelling uses at all, while the sign code governs signs and attention-attracting devices in all zoning districts.

Two neighboring rules matter for holiday displays. Section 4-1-E-3 lists lights that flash, move, rotate, scintillate, blink, flicker or vary in intensity or color among signs posing traffic or pedestrian hazards, with exceptions for brief informational displays such as time and temperature. The exterior lighting standard likewise bars blinking, rotating, flashing or fluttering bulbs, and searchlights, unless the Section 4-1-B-25 special event process permits them.

Patio and outdoor dining strings are handled separately as accent lighting: each source at 50 lumens or less, no more than 5 footcandles of overall illumination, placed under awnings and canopies, and no higher than the eave line or 12 feet, whichever is less. A display outside the holiday window, or above 50 lumens per light, falls back to the default ban unless it is approved under the sign article or through Section 4-1-B-25.