Roanoke, VA Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

City Code Sec. 30-109 requires anyone erecting a flag, pole-mounted banner, banner or holiday decoration on a city-owned light standard, pole, other public right-of-way facility, or city-owned tree to first get a revocable permit from the city manager, at the permittee's sole expense. Sec. 30-111(a) requires the permit application be filed on the city's form at least 30 calendar days before the proposed installation date, and no permit may be issued more than six months ahead. Under Sec. 30-111(b), a holiday decoration generally comes down after a maximum two-week run.

The three big-ticket holidays get a longer window: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's decorations may stay up from November 1 through January 15, but the lights themselves may only be energized from Thanksgiving Eve through January 5, so the display can remain mounted longer than it can stay lit. Sec. 1, and cannot itself qualify as a banner. Sec. 30-109(e) bars any religious or sectarian holiday decoration from city-owned poles, standards, facilities or trees. Sec. 30-111(g) forbids permanently reserving dates for holiday decorations, unlike the limited carve-out Roanoke allows for American flags around federal holidays.

Sec. 30-113(e) lets the city manager inspect condition and appearance before issuing a permit and order removal of anything tattered, frayed, faded or unsightly, or that threatens public safety or damages city property.