For the next 60 days (starting June 22), any business in Oxford Township that submits an application to erect a temporary sign will NOT be required to pay the usual $125 fee for a zoning permit.
Carlisle/Wortman Associates, Inc., the township’s Ann Arbor-based planner, agreed to waive its normal fee to review and approve/deny applications for temporary signs.
“I asked Don Wortman to do this because local businesses are hurting right now and he agreed without hesitation,” said township Supervisor Bill Dunn. “I can always count on Carlisle/Wortman to do what’s right for Oxford Township. And what’s right for Oxford Township these days is helping businesses that are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the M-24 construction project. Mr. Wortman is a businessman. He understands the critical situation our businesses are facing and wants to help them survive during these difficult times. The township thanks him. I thank him.”
In order to receive a zoning permit for a temporary sign, township businesses must still comply with all zoning ordinance requirements (including size, location, how long a temporary sign is allowed to remain in place, etc.).
“Just to be clear, the fee is temporarily gone, but the rules are still in place,” Dunn said. “You still need to get your temporary sign approved by the township. You still need to get a permit.”

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Similarly, the village is waiving ($85) permit and ($15) application fees for temporary signs and banners until the end of the M-24 project in November. Back in March, Village Council enacted a moratorium on enforcing a 30-day time limit on temporary signs and banners in the village until the end of the M-24 project or November 15, whichever comes first.
In June, Village Council further eased signage restrictions by temporarily allowing signage options that are prohibited by the zoning ordinance, as long as they are safe. The village still requires a standard permit application to be filed.
The motion came at the recommendation of Village Manager Joe Madore, who recently received a permit application to display a temporary “feather flag” from a business that thought it was okay under the moratorium. In fact, a feather flag is one of 22 examples listed in the zoning ordinance as prohibited.
“Taking in account there are going to be numerous, ugly construction signs, many held up with sandbags, attached to steel posts etc. all over town, I wondered if we could allow some broad leeway for our local businesses to be creative in signage for their business during this extraordinary time,” Madore wrote in a June 3 memo.