Leominster, MA Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Leominster's sign ordinance, Article XIII of Chapter 22, lists ten categories of signs allowed by right without the necessity of a permit in Sec. 1, and holiday decorations sit at position nine: Sec. ' That is the entire operative text: no square-footage cap, no bulb-count limit, and no fixed calendar window, unlike the two-month cap the code sets for temporary campaign and event signs in Sec. 2, which defines 'temporary' as a period not exceeding two consecutive months. The phrase 'in season' is not separately defined in the ordinance, which leaves the director of inspections room to judge whether a display erected well outside a recognized holiday period still qualifies for the exemption.

Everything that does not fit one of the ten by-right categories in Sec. 1, including a decorative display that stretches past what a reasonable holiday season covers, falls under Sec. 2, which requires a permit from the director of inspections before it may be erected. All signs, whether permitted or by-right, remain subject to the general maintenance duty in Sec. 22-77 and the removal order in Sec. 22-78, which gives an owner twenty-four hours to take a sign down once the director issues a notice of violation.