# Sign Regulations in Fenton, Michigan

Sign permit rules, size and height limits, setbacks, and ordinance citations for Fenton, Michigan, compiled by PermitPal from the jurisdiction's published municipal code.

- **Jurisdiction:** Fenton, Michigan (MI)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/michigan/fenton
- **Data last verified:** 2025-05-08
- **Source:** [municode municipal code](https://library.municode.com/MI/Fenton/codes/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH27SI)

## At a glance

Fenton, Michigan regulates 24 sign types across 4 zoning districts. Ground Signs in the RDR, LDR, LMR, MDR zoning district are capped at 6 feet tall and 24 square feet, with a Minimum 10 feet from right-of-way; at least 15 feet for entranceway sign per 36-22.07.d setback (Sec. Sec. 36-22.06 Table, Footnote (b); Sec. 36-22.05; Sec. 36-22.10). Most commercial signs in Fenton require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (4 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RDR, LDR, LMR, MDR | 5 | 6 feet | 24 square feet | — |
| MHR, HDR, MHD, NBD, GBD, PUD (commercial uses), OSD, OPD, PUD (office uses), CBD, IND | 9 | 42 inches | 72 square feet | — |
| Single-Family Residential Zoning Districts | 4 | 4 feet | 6 sq ft per sign; total 14 sq ft per parcel | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 15 | — | 10 sq ft | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 4 zones)

### RDR, LDR, LMR, MDR

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | — | 10% of front facade | — | — | One per business; up to two on corner lots; third possible with planning approval. | Parallel to wall, not projecting more than 12 inches. Cannot extend above roofline or parapet by more than one foot. | — | Sec. 36-22.06 Table, Footnote (a); Sec. 36-22.05; Sec. 36-22.10 |
| Ground Sign | 6 feet | 24 square feet | — | Minimum 10 feet from right-of-way; at least 15 feet for entranceway sign per 36-22.07.d | 1 (possible 2 with qualifying frontages) | Setback a minimum 10 feet from any public or private street right-of-way or access drive (Sec. 36-22.05.a.1) | — | Sec. 36-22.06 Table, Footnote (b); Sec. 36-22.05; Sec. 36-22.10 |
| Temporary Sign | 4 feet | 6 square feet per sign; total area per parcel 14 square feet | — | Minimum 20 feet from roadway edge, outside public right-of-way. | — | Not within public right-of-way; not attached to utility poles; at least 20 feet from edge of roadway. | — | Sec. 36-22.06 Table and footnote (d); Sec. 36-22.07.e; Sec. 36-22.04.d |
| Entranceway Sign | — | — | — | 15 feet from property line/right-of-way. | 1 per vehicular entrance | At vehicular entrance to a development. Minimum setback 15 feet from property line/right-of-way. | — | Sec. 36-22.04.b; Sec. 36-22.07.d |
| Directional Sign | 4 feet | 4 square feet | — | — | 1 per driveway | For each approved driveway. | — | Sec. 36-22.07.a |

### MHR, HDR, MHD, NBD, GBD, PUD (commercial uses), OSD, OPD, PUD (office uses), CBD, IND

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | — | 10% of front facade or 100 sq ft (max); OR 150/200 sq ft for long frontages (see footnote (a)) | — | — | 1 per business; up to 2 corner lots; up to 3 with approval | Parallel to building wall; not above first floor in CBD except with sign plan approval. | — | Sec. 36-22.06 Table & footnote (a), (e); Sec. 36-22.05; Sec. 36-22.10 |
| Ground Sign | 6 feet | 72 square feet | — | Minimum 10 feet from right-of-way. At least 15 ft for entranceway per 36-22.07.d. | 1, or up to 2 per site with qualifying frontage | Setback minimum 10 feet from right-of-way. | — | Sec. 36-22.06 Table, footnote (b); Sec. 36-22.05 |
| Temporary Sign | 6 feet | 24 sq ft per sign; total 48 sq ft per parcel | — | Min 20 ft from edge of road; outside right-of-way. | — | Not within public right-of-way; not attached to utility poles; at least 20 ft from road edge. | — | Sec. 36-22.06 Table, footnote (d); Sec. 36-22.07.e; Sec. 36-22.04.d |
| Entranceway Sign | — | — | — | 15 feet from property line/right-of-way. | 1 per vehicular entrance | At vehicular entrance to a development. Setback min. 15 ft from property/right-of-way. | — | Sec. 36-22.04.b; Sec. 36-22.07.d |
| Directional Sign | 4 feet | 4 square feet | — | — | 1 per driveway | For each approved driveway | — | Sec. 36-22.07.a |
| Projecting Sign | — | 32 square feet | — | 4 ft from ROW (non-CBD); 2 ft (CBD); see Sec. 36-22.07.c. | — | Alternative to wall signs; min 10 ft clearance (non-CBD); min 8 ft clearance (CBD); set back at least 4 ft (non-CBD) or 2 ft (CBD) from curb/right-of-way. | — | Sec. 36-22.07.c |
| Poster Panel Sign (Sandwich Board/Sandwich Board Sign) | 42 inches | — | 24 inches | — | 1 per entrance | At public building entrances to businesses, only during business hours. | — | Sec. 36-22.07.f |
| Digital Fuel Pricing Sign | — | 1/3 of ground sign | — | — | 1 per gasoline station | On ground sign at gasoline station | — | Sec. 36-22.06 Table, footnote (c) |

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Address Sign | — | 6 sq ft in non-residential, 2 sq ft in single-family residential | — | — | — | Outside public right-of-way | — | Sec. 36-22.04.a |
| Construction Sign (Temporary) | — | Subject to standards for temporary signs | — | — | — | On active construction site, outside right-of-way | — | Sec. 36-22.04.c |
| Device Sign | — | 3 sq ft per device | — | — | 1 per device | Affixed to device (vending machine, gas pump, etc.) | — | Sec. 36-22.04.e |
| Directory Sign | — | 10 sq ft | — | — | 1 per building | At entryway of building with multiple occupants | — | Sec. 36-22.04.f |
| Flag | — | 4 ft x 6 ft | — | — | 3 per lot | On conforming flagpole(s); outside public right-of-way | — | Sec. 36-22.04.h |
| Incidental Sign | — | 2 sq ft per sign, 2 signs per business | — | — | 2 per business | Attached to permitted sign, exterior wall, building entrance, or window | — | Sec. 36-22.04.j |
| Memorial Sign or Tablet | — | 4 sq ft | — | — | — | Integral part of structure | — | Sec. 36-22.04.l |
| Warning Sign | — | 2 sq ft | — | — | — | As required for safety (e.g. no trespassing, hazard). | — | Sec. 36-22.04.r |

## Prohibited signs in Fenton

- Signs which obstruct free access or egress from any building, including those that obstruct any fire escape, required exit way, window, or door opening or that prevent free access to the roof by firefighters.
- Moving signs and signs having moving members or parts.
- Animated or flashing signs.
- Illegal signs.
- Inflatable signs.
- Signs using high intensity or flashing lights, festoons, spinners or other devices.
- Temporary decorative exterior string lights erected in any NBD, CBD, GBD, OSD, OPD, or IND zoning district for more than a total of 70 days within a 365-day period. Any nonresidential zoning district, except for string lights which are strung no more than 60 days before the holiday and removed within ten days following the holiday for which they were erected.
- Signs which in any way simulate or could be confused with the lighting of emergency vehicles or traffic signals; there shall be no flashing, oscillating or intermittent, or red, yellow, or green illumination on any sign located in the same line of vision as a traffic control system, nor interference with vision clearance along any highway, street, or road or at any intersection of two or more streets.
- Signs which obstruct or impair the vision of motorists or nonmotorized travelers at any intersection, driveway, within a parking lot or loading area.
- Snipe signs.
- Signs, other than regulatory signs, placed in any public right-of-way; attached to a utility pole; or affixed to a tree, street furniture, or waste receptacles.
- Off-premises signs erected for the purpose of advertising a business, person, activity, goods, products, or services not located on the site where the sign is installed advertising a product, event, person, or subject, unless otherwise provided for in this article or covered under the State Highway Act.
- Roof signs unless specifically permitted elsewhere in this article.
- Portable signs, as defined, not provided for in this article.
- Pylon or pole signs not provided for in this article.
- Any sign or sign structure which is structurally unsafe.
- Any sign or sign structure which constitutes a hazard to safety or health by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, or abandonment.
- Any sign or sign structure which is capable of causing electric shock to persons who come in contact with it.
- Any sign or sign structure which is not kept in good repair, such that it has broken parts, missing letters, or nonoperational lights.
- Signs with exposed, unshielded lights including neon and LED.
- Building-mounted box signs.
- Feather signs.
- Changeable message signs, not including digital fuel pricing signs.
- Neon signs in the CBD District.
- Transported signs.
- Any sign not expressly permitted.

## Signs exempt from permit in Fenton

- Address signs (in all single-family residential zoning districts not to exceed two square feet in area; in all other zoning districts not to exceed six square feet in area).
- Entranceway signs.
- Construction signs meeting the size requirements for temporary signs under section 36-22.06.
- Temporary signs meeting the requirements of section 36-22.06.
- Device signs with a sign area not to exceed three square feet and limit of one sign per device.
- Directory signs (building with business occupants on upper floors or interior space of first floor; not to exceed ten square feet at street entryway).
- Essential service signs denoting utility lines, hazards and precautions or other similar information.
- Flags (not to exceed three per zoning lot located on flagpoles, and not to exceed four feet by six feet).
- Historic markers.
- Incidental signs attached to a permitted sign, exterior wall, building entrance, or window, not to exceed a total of two square feet or a total of two signs per business.
- Interior signs including any sign which is located completely within an enclosed building and not visible from outside or primarily directed at persons within the premises.
- Memorial signs or tablets not exceeding four square feet in area.
- Murals painted on the exterior surfaces of a building or structure, provided they do not have raised borders, letters, characters, decorations, or lighting appliances.
- Nameplates.
- Regulatory signs and street identification signs.
- Public signs.
- Vehicle signs.
- Warning signs that are publicly authorized, such as no trespassing or warning signs, not exceeding two square feet in area.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- No sign shall be erected or altered until approved by the building official/zoning administrator and until a sign permit has been issued pursuant to chapter 27 of the City of Fenton Code of Ordinances.
- In the CBD District, no signs shall be permitted to be placed above the first floor of a structure without the planning commission approving a sign plan for the same.
- Additional wall signs (up to three) for businesses located on buildings with multiple frontages may be permitted by the planning commission.
- Signs for which the board of appeals has granted a variance are exempt from being considered as nonconforming.
- Application for a sign permit and requirements are contained in the City Code of Ordinances, chapter 27.

## Full detail

This page publishes an overview of every zoning district plus a sample of 3 districts in full. Complete zone-by-zone requirements for all 4 zoning districts in Fenton — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Fenton+MI&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-fenton

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