Colusa County, CA Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Colusa County's Zoning Code lists holiday decorations among the temporary signs a property owner in the unincorporated area can put up without an Administrative Permit. Section 44-3.50.040(B) sets the baseline for every sign on this no-permit list: no illumination, a five-foot height cap if freestanding, six feet if attached to a building, and no placement on public property or in the public right-of-way. Holiday decorations get one carve-out from that baseline: the code exempts them from the illumination ban, so string lights, spotlights, and lit inflatables are allowed without a permit as long as the display otherwise meets Section 44-3.50.040(B)(1)'s time limit.

That limit is two-part: a display cannot run longer than 45 consecutive calendar days at a stretch, and the same parcel cannot show holiday decorations for more than 60 calendar days total across the year, whether that time is used in one stretch or split between, say, a fall harvest display and a winter holiday display. The 45/60-day structure lets a resident cover Thanksgiving through New Year's Day in a single run while still leaving room for an Independence Day or Halloween display later in the same calendar year.

Once a display runs past either cap, it stops qualifying for the no-permit exemption and becomes subject to Section 44-3.50.050, which requires Zoning Administrator approval of an Administrative Permit for any sign not on the Section 44-3.50.040 list. The Community Development Department administers that permit process and, under Section 44-1.130.020, is responsible for enforcing the Zoning Code countywide.