Southampton Village, NY Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Holiday lighting has its own definition and its own exception in the Village of Southampton outdoor lighting law, § 116-13.1. The definition is short: holiday lighting means temporary strings of small individual lamps. The exception sits in § 116-13.1E(2)(c): holiday lighting installed and lit between November 15 and January 15 of the following year is excused from the rule that all exterior lighting use fully shielded fixtures with the light source directed downward.

The exception has two conditions in one sentence, installed and lit. It is written around that fixed window, and the paragraph does not exempt holiday lamps installed or lit outside it.

Related limits sit in the same subsection. Paragraph (g) prohibits neon lights, searchlights, pulse and laser lights, and it prohibits blinking, tracing or flashing lights. A string that blinks, traces or flashes is outside what the Code allows on an exterior display whatever the date.

Building outlines are covered in the sign regulations. Section 116-13F(2) prohibits the outlining by direct illumination of all or part of a building, such as a gable, roof, wall, side or corner, except during the Christmas season. That paragraph names the Christmas season rather than the November 15 to January 15 dates used in § 116-13.1.

The general lighting duties still reach a holiday display. Residential lighting must conform to the light trespass and glare provisions (§ 116-13.1D(3)(e)), and light trespass is light projected onto the property of another or into the public right-of-way when it is not required or permitted to do so. The Code Enforcement Officer enforces the section, and § 116-13.1I(2) sets a fine not exceeding $250 for any offense, with each day a violation continues counting as a separate offense.