MARIJUANA BUSINESS
The City of Cedar Springs has recently passed two ordinances that prohibit the opening of any commercial marijuana businesses in the City. This action was taken to ensure that the City acts in line with what the State of Michigan will allow when it issues its regulations for marijuana businesses and is in step with the overwhelming majority of other municipalities in the State of Michigan. The recently voted Proposal 1 which legalized the use and sale of marijuana in the State has given the State until December, 2019 to develop rules and regulations to enable the licensing of marijuana businesses. The City of Cedar Springs plans to wait until those regulations are issued before deciding whether to allow marijuana businesses at that time.
Business Information
The City of Cedar Springs is eager to work with businesses that already exist in the City and also those businesses thinking about coming into the City. In this section you can find information related to the requirements and process involved with opening a business in Cedar Springs and information related to other common interactions between businesses and the city government.
The Cedar Springs Area Chamber of Commerce is a private organization that is comprised of various businesses in the Cedar Springs area who work to promote the commercial, industrial, agricultural, civic, educational and the general interest of Cedar Springs and surrounding area. They also have a Facebook Page.
The Downtown Development Authority is a government body made up of local business owners and private citizens that live in the downtown core of the City. They are tasked with the correcting and preventing deterioration in business districts; encouraging historic preservation, and to promote the economic growth of the district. The Downtown Development Authority’s Plan can be read here.
New Business
If you are interested in starting a new business or bringing your existing business to Cedar Springs you may wish to contact a local realtor who can help you identify a good place to open up shop. The common methods of starting a business in the City and the requirements of each are outlined in this letter. A zoning permit or site plan (additional documents) is required of most businesses looking to begin operations in the City.
Signs
The City’s sign ordinance can be read here and the sign permit application can be found here. Generally speaking, temporary signs under six (6) feet tall and six (6) square feet area in residential districts and under six (6) feet tall and twenty-four (24) square feet area in commercial or industrial districts are exempt from permitting. Signage which is located on the inside of a business window is exempt so long as it does not have flashing or strobe type lights or is distracting to drivers. Signs that are not exempt under the ordinance, which includes most permanent signage, require an approved permit which can be found here.
Sheds/Garages
If you are interested in placing an accessory building structure as part of your business you can read that ordinance here. Accessory buildings cannot be placed in a front yard and cannot be fabric or other temporary material. If the accessory building is to be larger than 65 square feet of floor space, taller than 9 feet at the peak or with a floor more than 30 inches above grade it requires a permit which can be found here.
Fences
All walls and fences, unless approved of as part of a site or sketch plan require a permit. The wall and fence ordinance can be read here. The permit application can be found here.
Sandwich Board Signs/Outdoor Seating/Outdoor Display
The City allows businesses to utilize sandwich board signs, outdoor seating or outdoor displays with certain restrictions. All businesses wishing to place a sandwich board sign, outdoor seating, and/or outdoor displays on the public sidewalk must submit a permit application and also a public liability insurance certificate with a minimum combined single limit of personal injury and property damage of $1,000,000.00. That insurance certificate must name the City of Cedar Springs as an additional insured.
