§ 156.124. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

(A) Permitted exempt signs. A sign permit shall not be required for the following signs, which shall be permitted subject to applicable provisions herein:

(1) Address numbers with a numeral height no greater than six inches for residences and 18 inches for businesses;

(2) Nameplates identifying the occupants of the building, not to exceed two square feet;

(3) Memorial signs or tablets;

(4) Signs on a bus, truck, trailer or other vehicle while operated and used for transport in the normal course of a business; provided that, the primary use of the vehicle displaying the sign shall not be for the purpose of advertising a business on the premises where the vehicle is parked;

(5) Public signs, including the authorized signs of a government body or public utility, including traffic signs, legal notices, railroad crossing signs, warnings of a hazard and similar signs;

(6) Up to five flags per parcel bearing the official design of a nation, state, municipality, educational institution or noncommercial organization;

(Ord. rev. 2-3-1998)

(7) Incidental signs; provided that, the total of all such signs shall not exceed two square feet;

(8) Traffic control signs which conform to the requirements of the Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices;

(9) One private parking lot and driveway identification sign, not to exceed three square feet per sign and six feet in height;

(10) Permanent signs on vending machines, gas pumps or ice containers indicating only the contents of the devices; provided that, the sign area of each device shall not exceed four square feet;

(11) Real estate signs which advertise the rental, sale or lease of the property on which they are located, subject to the requirements in § 156.124(C);

(12) "Help wanted" signs soliciting employees for the place of business where posted; provided that, the maximum area for all such signs shall be four square feet;

(13) Any sign which is located completely within an enclosed building, and which is not visible from outside the building;

(14) Plaques or signs designating a building as a historic structure, and names of buildings and date of construction when cut into a masonry surface or when constructed of bronze or similar material;

(15) "No Trespassing", "No Hunting" and "No Dumping" signs;

(16) Signs used to direct vehicular or pedestrian traffic to parking areas, loading areas, or to certain buildings or locations on the site, subject to the following conditions.

(a) Directional signs shall not contain logos or other forms of advertising.

(b) Directional signs shall not exceed four square feet in area or four feet in height.

(c) Directional signs may be located in the front setback area.

(17) Temporary window signs, subject to the requirements in § 156.124(C); and

(18) Historical markers, including centennial farm signs.

(B) Prohibited signs. The following signs are prohibited in all districts:

(1) Any sign not expressly permitted;

(2) Signs which incorporate flashing or moving lights; however, time and temperature or stock market signs shall be permitted;

(3) Banners, pennants, festoons, spinners and streamers, unless specifically permitted elsewhere is this subchapter;

(4) String lights used for commercial purposes, other than holiday decorations, which shall be permitted for a period not to exceed 60 days;

(5) Moving signs, including any sign which has any visible moving parts, visible revolving parts, visible mechanical movement or other visible movement achieved by electrical electronic, or mechanical means, including intermittent electric pulsations or movement caused by normal wind current;

(6) Any sign or sign structure which:

(a) Is structurally unsafe;

(b) Constitutes a hazard to safety or health by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation or abandonment;

(c) Is capable of causing electric shock to person who come in contact with it; or

(d) Is not kept in good repair, such that it has broken parts, missing letters or non-operational lights.

(7) Any sign erected on a tree or utility pole, except signs of a government or utility, except for "No Trespassing", "No Hunting" or "No Dumping" signs;

(8) Obsolete signs, as specified in § 156.123(C);

(9) Portable signs, except where expressly permitted in this chapter;

(10) Signs affixed to a parked vehicle or truck trailer which is being used principally for advertising purposes, rather than for transportation purposes;

(11) Any sign which obstructs free access to or egress from a required door, window, fire or other required exit;

(12) Any sign which by reason of its size, location, content, coloring or manner of illumination, constitutes in the opinion of the Ingham County Sheriff a traffic hazard or a detriment to traffic safety by obstructing the vision of drivers, by distracting drivers, or by obstructing, or detracting from the visibility of any traffic sign or control devices on public streets and roads;

(13) Any sign which makes use of the words "Stop", "Look" or "Danger", or any other words, phrases, symbol or characters, in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic;

(14) Any sign containing obscene, indecent or immoral matter;

(15) Any sign unlawfully installed, erected, enlarged, altered or maintained;

(16) Roof signs;

(17) Projecting signs;

(18) Sandwich signs (except when used to advertise seasonal agricultural commodities);

(19) Signs on street furniture, including, but not limited to, signs on benches and trash receptacles; and

(20) Real estate signs no longer valid due to the sale, rental or lease of the property.

(C) Temporary signs. Temporary signs shall be permitted as specified in the table as follows.

(Ord. rev. 3-6-2001)

Temporary Sign Standards
Type of Sign	District Permitted	Type of Sign Permitted	Maximum Size	Maximum Height	Maximum Number	Permit Required	Required Setback	Permitted Duration

Construction sign	All	Ground or wall	32 sq. ft.	10 ft.	1	Yes	[a]	From: issuance of bldg. permit
	To: issuance of C. of O.
Real estate - sale or lease of individual home or residential lot	Residential, Agricultural	Portable ground	6 sq. ft.	6 ft.	1[b]	No	[d]	Remove within 30 days of sale or lease
Real estate - sale or lease of individual business or vacant lot	Office, Commercial, Industrial	Portable ground or wall	6 sq. ft.	6 ft.	1[b]	No	[d]	Remove within 30 days of sale or lease
Real estate - sale or lease of unplatted vacant land	All	Portable ground	32 sq. ft.	10 ft.	1[b]	Yes	[d]	Remove within 30 days of sale or lease
Real estate development sign	Al	Portable ground	32 sq. ft.	10 ft.	[c]	Yes	[d]	Remove within 30 days after all units lots are sold or leased
Grand opening sign	Commercial	Ground or wall	16 sq. ft.	10 ft.	1	No	[a]	30 days
Garage sale sign	All	Ground or wall	2 sq. ft.	5 ft.	2	No	[d]	4 consecutive days
Community special event sign	All	Ground or wall [e]	32 sq. ft. [e]	10 ft. [e]	2[e]	Yes	[a]	Duration of the event
Political sign	All	Ground or wall	16 sq. ft.	10 ft.	1 per candidate or issue per lot or parcel	No	[d]	Must be removed within 10 days after election [h]
Temporary window sign	Commercial and Office	Paper, plastic or fabric	[f]	[f]	[f]	No	--	Maximum display period: 30 days [g]
Seasonal signs advertising agricultural commodities	All	Portable ground	16 sq. ft.	10 ft.	1 per parcel	No	[d]	During the seasonal selling period
Notes to Table
[a] The temporary sign shall comply with the setback requirements for the district in which it is located.
[b] On a corner parcel two signs, one facing each street, shall be permitted.
[c] One sign shall be permitted for each frontage on a secondary or major thoroughfare.
[d] The temporary sign may be located in the required setback area, but shall not be located within the road right-of-way.
[e] Community special event signs may include ground or wall signs, subject to obtaining a permit from the Building Official. Banners, pennants or similar displays may be permitted subject to Building Official approval.
(Ord. rev. 12-1-1998)
[f] The total of all window signs, temporary and permanent, shall not exceed one-third of the total window area and shall not exceed two square feet in office district. The area of permanent window signs shall also be counted in determining compliance with standards for total area of wall signs.
[g] Temporary window signs that are faded, yellowed, ripped or otherwise damaged shall be removed immediately.
[h] Any costs incurred by the township in removing political signs shall be assessed against the candidate, the committee designated pursuant to § 24 of Public Act 388 of 1976, as amended, M.C.L.A. § 169.224, and such other person or entity responsible for erecting the sign. In any prosecution for violation of the requirements concerning political signs, proof that a sign contains a message advocating the election of a candidate shall be deemed prima facie evidence that the candidate is responsible for the erection and maintenance of the sign. In addition, where a sign is located on private property, proof that a person or entity is the owner or is in control of such property shall be deemed prima facie evidence that the person or entity is responsible for the erection and maintenance of the sign.

(D) Off-premises advertising signs. Freestanding off-premises advertising signs shall be permitted only in the I-1, Light Industrial District subject to the following requirements.

(1) Maximum size. No off-premises advertising sign shall exceed 72 square feet in area per sign face.

(Ord. rev. 10-7-1997)

(2) Maximum height. The maximum height for such signs shall be 25 feet.

(3) Setbacks.

(a) Off-premises advertising signs shall comply with the setback requirements for the district in which they are located.

(b) No part of any such sign shall be located closer than 300 feet to any park, school church, hospital cemetery or government building.

(4) Distance from other signs.

(a) There shall be a minimum of 1,000 feet between off-premise advertising signs along any public road or highway.

(b) There shall be a minimum of 100 feet between any off-premises advertising sign and any other on-premise sign.

(5) Location. Off-premises advertising signs shall not be located on or over the roofs of buildings.

(6) Special land use review. Off-premise advertising signs shall be subject to special land use review (§ 156.477).

(Ord., § 7.05, passed - -)