Springfield, OR Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Springfield's on-site lighting article, adopted to reduce light pollution and glare after July 1, 2022, carves out a specific exemption for seasonal decorations. Section 4.5.105(C)(6) exempts low wattage lights used as decorations, such as holiday lights, from every requirement of the lighting standards article, but caps that exemption at no more than 60 days in a calendar year. The code defines what counts as low wattage in Section 4.5.105(E): 12-volt direct current lights or individual lamps rated under 0.25 watts each, strung together inside a translucent or transparent plastic cover, the typical construction of a string of holiday lights.

A display that runs longer than 60 days in a year, or that uses fixtures outside that low-wattage definition, loses the exemption and must instead meet the full cut-off and shielding standards of Section 4.5.110, the same rules that apply to parking lot and building lighting citywide. The exemption sits alongside similar carve-outs for U.S. flag lighting, temporary carnival and construction lighting, and up-lighting contained by architectural or landscaping elements, all listed in the same subsection (C).