Farmington Hills, MI Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Farmington Hills does not have a dedicated garage-sale-sign section — the rules are the temporary-sign rules in Chapter 34 (Zoning), administered by the Planning Department / Zoning and Code Enforcement Division at 248-871-2540. Because the ordinance is content-neutral (Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 576 U.S. 155 (2015)), the City cannot single garage-sale signs out for stricter treatment — it regulates them through the same size, duration, and placement standards as other temporary signs. Practical implications: (1) A garage-sale sign on the seller's own front yard, attached to the house, or in the front-yard landscaping, is fine without a City sign permit. (2) Signs may not sit in the public right-of-way (the strip from the back of curb across the sidewalk to the right-of-way line) of City streets — that area is City-owned property and signs there may be removed by City staff. (3) Signs in the right-of-way of MDOT state trunklines (I-696, M-5 / Grand River Avenue, Northwestern Highway, MDOT-jurisdiction segments of Orchard Lake Road) are governed by the Michigan Highway Advertising Act of 1972 (MCL 252.301 et seq.) and may be removed by MDOT. (4) Signs may not be attached to utility poles, traffic-control signs, or trees in the public right-of-way. (5) Signs must remain clear of any sight-distance / clear-vision triangle at an intersection or driveway (Chapter 34 sight-distance rules). Practical takeaway: one or two signs on the seller's own lot are fine; staking dozens of directional signs along Drake Road, 12 Mile, 14 Mile, Halsted, Orchard Lake, or Middlebelt is a code violation and the signs may be removed without notice. HOAs in many Farmington Hills subdivisions also impose private CC&R rules on garage sales and yard-sale signs that the City does not enforce.