Mebane, NC Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Mebane exempts holiday displays from two different parts of the UDO. On the sign side, Section 6-7.4(I) lists 'holiday lights and decorations' among the signs exempt from permitting: lights and decorations with no commercial message, temporarily displayed on a traditionally adopted civic, patriotic or religious holiday, need no sign permit and no fee, though an illuminated exempt sign still needs an electrical permit under the general exempt-sign rule. On the outdoor-lighting side, Section 6-6(B) prohibits flashing, revolving or intermittent exterior lighting visible from any lot line or street, and separately bars high-intensity LED or neon fixtures mounted around a window, door or architectural feature, but both prohibitions carry an express carve-out for temporary lighting associated with holiday decorations.

The sign code's string-lighting ban works the same way: Section 6-7.3(K) prohibits strings of light bulbs used for commercial purposes at a business other than traditional holiday decorations, while still letting restaurants, event venues and similar uses display non-flashing string lights year-round. None of these exemptions attaches a fixed removal date: unlike the code's election-sign rule, which forces removal ten days after the vote, or its for-sale-sign rule, which forces removal within 72 hours of closing, the holiday exemption is tied only to the display being temporary and to an actual civic, patriotic or religious holiday, so it lasts only as long as the holiday season it accompanies.