Taylor, MI Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Article 18 of the Taylor Zoning Ordinance regulates all signs citywide, and Sec. 18.02 makes it unlawful to erect, alter, relocate or maintain any sign except in conformance with the article and subject to a permit, except as otherwise provided herein. Sec. 18.04 lists the exceptions, the specific categories of signs a property owner may put up without applying for a sign permit at all, and subsection (h), Nameplate, is the one that covers a home-based business: signs identifying the occupants of the building and/or their professional or home occupation qualify, but only if the sign does not exceed two square feet in area and is physically attached to an exterior building wall, not staked in the yard or otherwise freestanding.

That two-square-foot limit is far smaller than the allowances Table 18.06.A sets for permitted commercial signage, such as the 25- to 50-square-foot ceilings for freestanding signs in nonresidential districts, underscoring that the nameplate category is meant for identification, not advertising. Even though no permit is required for a compliant nameplate sign, Sec. 18.05's general provisions for permitted signs, covering setbacks, illumination and structural safety, apply across the article to every sign in the city, including nameplate signs, so a home occupation sign still has to sit clear of rights-of-way and utility clearances even at two square feet.