# Sign Regulations in Lowell, Michigan

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Lowell, Michigan (MI)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/michigan/lowell
- **Data last verified:** 2025-05-08
- **Source:** [municode municipal code](https://library.municode.com/MI/Lowell/codes/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_APXAZO_CH20SI)

## At a glance

Lowell, Michigan regulates 13 sign types across 6 zoning districts. Ground Signs in the C-3 zoning district are capped at 6 feet tall and 48 square feet (or 32 sq ft if lot frontage is 66 ft or less); collective sign up to 72 sq ft, with a See general rules (not closer than 2 ft to right of way). setback (Sec. Sec. 20.08.D). Most commercial signs in Lowell require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (6 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 8 | 6 feet | 50% of permitted sign area | — |
| SR, R-1, R-2, R-3, MHP, RE | 2 | 6 feet | 20 square feet | — |
| C-1, PF | 2 | 6 feet | 32 square feet | — |
| C-2 Central Business District, MU Mixed Use District | 3 | 4 feet | 20 square feet | — |
| C-3 | 3 | 20 feet | 48 square feet (or 32 sq ft if lot frontage is 66 ft or less); collective sign up to 72 sq ft | — |
| I, I-L | 3 | 6 feet | 32 square feet | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 6 zones)

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | — | — | — | No sign shall be located closer than 2 feet to a public road right-of-way or property line, unless a lesser setback is approved. | — | Attached directly to or painted upon a building wall. | — | Sec. 20.05.A.4, 20.05.B, 20.02.B, 20.05.A.2 |
| Ground Sign | — | — | — | No closer than 2 feet to right-of-way; must comply with clear vision (§4.06). | — | Supported by a foundation/base at least half as wide as the sign; not attached to any building. | — | Sec. 20.03.D; Sec. 20.05.B |
| Freestanding Sign | — | — | — | 2 feet from right-of-way/property line unless otherwise approved. | — | Supported by uprights, poles, or braces placed in or upon ground and not attached to any building. | — | Sec. 20.03.B; 20.05.B |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | — | Projects from and supported by the wall of a building. | — | Sec. 20.03.N, 20.05.A.4 |
| Marquee Sign | — | — | — | — | — | Attached to marquee/canopy/awning projecting from and supported by building. | — | Sec. 20.03.I, 20.05.A.4 |
| Temporary Sign (Non-residential Lots) | — | 32 square feet | — | — | 1 per separate establishment | On nonresidential lots only. | — | Sec. 20.07.A.1 |
| Temporary Sign (Residential Lots) | 6 feet | 6 square feet per side | — | — | Up to 4 per street frontage | On lots used as single-, two-family, or owner-occupied multifamily dwellings. | — | Sec. 20.07.A.2 |
| Changeable Copy Sign (Nonresidential) | — | 50% of permitted sign area | — | — | Per main sign type | Permitted on ground or freestanding sign (not on residential lots except government signs). | — | Sec. 20.07.C |

### C-2 Central Business District, MU Mixed Use District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Projecting Sign | — | 20 square feet | — | — | 1 per building wall facing a parking lot or public street | Building wall facing parking lot or public street. | — | Sec. 20.08.C |
| Wall or Marquee Sign | — | 20% of wall surface or 30% of marquee face, or 50 sq ft, whichever is less. | — | — | 1 per building wall facing a parking lot or public street | Building wall facing parking lot or public street. | — | Sec. 20.08.C |
| Sandwich Board Sign | 4 feet | 12 square feet per side | 3 feet | — | 1 per business or establishment | In front of the facade of the building front of the business/establishment during open hours; placed in alignment with city light poles and tree grates and not to block neighboring sandwich board signs or interfere with pedestrian traffic. | — | Sec. 20.06.A.10 |

### C-3

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ground Sign | 6 feet | 48 square feet (or 32 sq ft if lot frontage is 66 ft or less); collective sign up to 72 sq ft | — | See general rules (not closer than 2 ft to right of way). | 1 per street frontage (double-frontage lot only one freestanding sign). Collective sign: 1 | On property. (Ground sign) | — | Sec. 20.08.D |
| Freestanding Sign | 20 feet | 48 square feet (32 sq ft if lot has 66 ft or less frontage); collective sign 72 sq ft | — | Not closer than 2 feet to right-of-way. | 1 per street frontage (double-frontage: only 1 freestanding sign); 1 collective sign per multi-tenant dev. | On property; per street frontage. | — | Sec. 20.08.D |
| Wall or Marquee Sign | — | 20% of wall surface or 30% of marquee face, or 50 sq ft, whichever is less. | — | — | 1 per building wall facing parking lot or public street | Building wall facing parking lot or public street. | — | Sec. 20.08.D |

## Prohibited signs in Lowell

- Abandoned signs, or signs in disrepair.
- Air-filled or gas-filled balloon signs.
- Signs with moving parts, audible signs, and/or flashing signs (except traffic control devices).
- Roof signs.
- Signs or illumination imitating or resembling official traffic or government signs or signals.
- Vehicle signs.
- Off-premise signs or billboards.
- Other signs not expressly permitted or which do not conform to the provisions of this chapter.
- No sign shall be located or erected in such a manner as to interfere with traffic visibility.
- No sign shall be placed within the clear vision area as defined in section 4.06.
- No light pole, utility pole, or other supporting member shall be used for the placement of any sign unless specifically designed and approved for such use.
- Illumination shall not be flashing, blinking, intermittent, oscillating, or an on-and-off type of lighting. No sign may utilize a revolving beacon light.
- No illumination or sign shall be so placed or designed to be confused with, or appear similar to, a highway sign or traffic safety device.
- Temporary signs, portable signs, or signs made of cloth, fabric, lightweight plastic, or other easily combustible material, or which are produced or originally constructed to flutter in the wind, as determined by the zoning enforcement officer, shall not be placed or left as permanent signs.

## Signs exempt from permit in Lowell

- Government signs.
- Signs erected by essential public services establishments such as those denoting utility lines, railroad lines, hazards, and precautions, including portable flashing signs.
- Signs not larger than twelve (12) square feet in area which are either 1) cut into the face of a masonry surface; or 2) constructed of bronze or other incombustible material when located flat on the face of a building.
- Holiday lights, murals, works of art, and decorations with no commercial message.
- Placards not exceeding two (2) square feet in area.
- Internal signs up to six (6) square feet in area and four (4) feet in height that, by the nature of their design and location, are not intended to be viewed from the street right-of-way.
- One two (2) square foot wall sign located on a parcel containing a permitted home occupation.
- Window signs, provided that window signs shall not cover more than fifty (50) percent of the windows on any building wall.
- Flags no larger than five (5) feet by eight (8) feet; provided that no more than one (1) such flag shall be permitted on each lot or parcel of land for every twenty (20) linear feet of street frontage. The maximum sign height of flagpoles shall be thirty-five (35) feet.
- Sandwich boards, but only in the C-2 Central Business or MU Mixed Use Districts, with specified size, placement, and duration limitations.
- One (1) human sign is permitted per lot at any given time, provided that the human sign does not block the sidewalk or unreasonably interfere with pedestrian, bicycle, or vehicular movement or circulation.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- When a site plan is required pursuant to chapter 18 of the Zoning Ordinance, proposed signage shall be illustrated on the site plan showing the sign area, sign height, clearance between the ground and the bottom of the sign, sign illumination, sign location and setbacks from property lines, and other applicable information to enable the city to determine compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
- When a site plan is not required, a scaled drawing clearly depicting this information shall accompany the building permit application.
- The zoning enforcement officer may require that additional information be illustrated on a plan or drawing to determine compliance with this chapter.

## 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 6 zoning districts in Lowell — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Lowell+MI&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-lowell

---

PermitPal — AI sign code research. Full HTML page: https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/michigan/lowell