Sanford, FL Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Schedule F, Section 9.0.D.1 of the Sanford Land Development Regulations lists reasonable holiday lighting during the period from October 15 to February 15 among the exemptions from the City's outdoor lighting standards, so long as the lighting does not create a hazard or nuisance from glare or luminance as determined by the City. Outside that roughly four-month window, seasonal lighting installed on a building or lot loses the exemption and must meet the general lighting standards in Section 9.0, including the fully cutoff and fully shielded fixture rules, the 25-foot maximum fixture height, and the ban on light trespass across property lines.

Separately, Schedule K, Section 6.0.G of the Sign Code exempts holiday lights and decorations that carry no commercial message and are displayed during the appropriate time of year from the Sign Code's permit and size requirements entirely, distinguishing a purely decorative display from a lighted sign advertising a business. A temporary lighting display tied to a festival or public celebration, rather than a holiday, instead falls under the separate 30-day annual exemption in Section 9.0.D.4, which is subject to the same no-hazard, no-nuisance condition as holiday lighting.