The holiday glow in St. Augustine could get permanently shorter. The City Commission is set to weigh a resolution that would lock in a trimmed schedule for Nights of Lights, the downtown display that pulls in thousands of visitors each winter. Resolution 2026-07, introduced this week, would formalize a shorter season and attach a hard 30-day deadline for taking lights down after the finale. The proposal is slated for the commission’s March 23 agenda.
What the resolution would change
Under Resolution 2026-07, the city’s official Nights of Lights season would run from the second Saturday before Thanksgiving through the second Sunday of January each year, and those dates would become permanent instead of being revisited annually, according to News4JAX. The resolution would also require that lights be removed or switched off within 30 days after the display ends and would allow code-enforcement action if property owners ignore the deadline. City staff told the station the language is meant to create predictable planning windows after years of storms, the pandemic and steadily rising tourism throwing the calendar off.
How that stacks up against current rules
The proposal would tighten what is allowed under current rules. Right now, the sign code lets seasonal or holiday lights within historic zones stay up from the third Saturday of November through January 31 and already says they must be removed within 30 days of the season’s close, per the City of St. Augustine sign code. The code also gives the City Commission discretion to extend the final display date to the Sunday following January 31 in any given year. In practice, Resolution 2026-07 would trade that flexibility for a fixed calendar that repeats every year.
Shortened season and pushback last year
This debate is not starting from scratch. City leaders already voted to shorten the Nights of Lights season in 2025 after residents complained about gridlocked streets and delayed emergency responses. The commission cut the run from roughly 65 days to 57, a compromise that reshuffled the 2025–26 schedule and led to heated public testimony from business owners and neighbors, according to the Jax Daily Record. Supporters argued at the time that a shorter run would improve safety and day-to-day operations downtown, while critics warned of lost revenue for small shops and hospitality businesses.
City review and process
City staff have been formally dissecting how the 2025–26 season went. They compiled an after-action report and presented a document titled "Nights of Lights Season Review" to commissioners in February, according to the City Commission agenda. Those staff findings and recommendations fed into the paperwork that placed Resolution 2026-07 on the March 23 docket. When the item comes up, commissioners will be able to amend the language, defer the decision or adopt the measure as written. The agenda materials frame the resolution as one piece of a larger strategy to manage crowds, vendors and public safety on the busiest nights.
Reaction from businesses and residents
Local businesses are still wary of shaving days off the calendar. Owners have argued that the final stretch of Nights of Lights is a critical sales window for hotels, restaurants and shops. A St. Augustine business coalition told News4JAX in December that cutting dates could mean layoffs and reduced hours for hundreds of workers. On the flip side, residents who raised alarms about packed streets and bumper-to-bumper traffic last year say a fixed, shorter season would make enforcement and planning more realistic for a small city shouldering big-city crowds.
What to watch at the March 23 meeting
The commission is scheduled to take up Resolution 2026-07 at its March 23 meeting, which is listed on the city’s online calendar on the City of St. Augustine website, where any finalized agenda packet will also be posted. If commissioners adopt the resolution, it would cement a shorter on-season every year and give code officers a clearer timetable for enforcement and light removal. Watch for possible tweaks from the dais and new wording that tries to thread the needle between public safety, historic preservation and the economic lifeline that Nights of Lights provides to downtown merchants.
