ZoningVerdict

Lot size and width in Shelby Township, MI

What the Shelby Township zoning ordinance says about lot size and width, district by district. Section numbers link to the official ordinance.

R-1 — One-Family Residential (R-1)

A lot in R-1 needs at least 30,000 square feet of area and 120 feet of width (Section 3.2.D). No one-family lot may have a depth greater than four times its width (Section 3.28.B.6).

A new house needs at least 1,380 square feet for a 1-story or 1,500 square feet total for a 2-story with 1 to 2 bedrooms; 3-bedroom homes need 1,500 (1-story) to 1,800 (2-story total) square feet (Section 3.2.D).

R-1-A — One-Family Residential (R-1-A)

A lot in R-1-A needs at least 19,800 square feet and 110 feet of width (Section 3.3.D). Minimum house size matches R-1: 1,380 square feet for a 1-story with 1 to 2 bedrooms, up to 1,800 square feet total for a 3-bedroom 2-story (Section 3.3.D).

Lots recorded before Zoning Ordinance 212 was adopted, where public water and sewer serve the lot, conform at 13,000 square feet, 100 feet wide, 130 feet deep (Section 3.28.B.9.a).

R-1-B — One-Family Residential (R-1-B)

A lot in R-1-B needs at least 14,400 square feet and 90 feet of width (Section 3.4.D). A new house needs 1,120 square feet (1-story, 1 to 2 bedrooms) up to 1,600 square feet (3-bedroom 2-story total) (Section 3.4.D).

Lots recorded before Zoning Ordinance 212, with public water and sewer, conform at 10,400 square feet, 80 feet wide, 130 feet deep (Section 3.28.B.9.a).

R-1-C — One-Family Residential (R-1-C)

A lot in R-1-C needs at least 12,000 square feet and 80 feet of width (Section 3.5.D). A new house needs 960 square feet (1-story, 1 to 2 bedrooms) up to 1,500 square feet (3-bedroom 2-story total) (Section 3.5.D).

Lots recorded before Zoning Ordinance 212, with public water and sewer, conform at 9,100 square feet, 70 feet wide, 130 feet deep (Section 3.28.B.9.a).

R-2 — Two-Family Residential (R-2)

A lot in R-2 needs 14,000 square feet with public sewer and water or 17,500 square feet without, 100 feet of width, and 140 feet of depth with utilities (175 feet without) (Section 3.6.D). Minimum floor areas run from 960 square feet (1-story, 1 to 2 bedrooms) to 1,500 square feet (3-bedroom 2-story total) (Section 3.6.D).

R-3 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-3)

The R-3 to R-7 group shares one dimensional table: minimum lot area 24,000 square feet and 100 feet of frontage, with density the only difference between the five districts. R-3 allows 3 dwelling units per acre; R-4, R-5, R-6, and R-7 allow 4, 5, 6, and 7 units per acre respectively (Section 3.7.D). Apartment units themselves have floor minimums: 450 square feet for an efficiency, 600 for one bedroom, 800 for two bedrooms, plus 200 for each additional room (Section 3.31.A.7).

R-4 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-4)

R-4 uses the shared R-3 to R-7 standards: 24,000 square foot minimum lot, 100 feet of frontage, 50 foot perimeter side and rear setbacks, 2 stories and 35 feet maximum, with a density cap of 4 dwelling units per acre (Section 3.7.D). See the R-3 pages for the full group standards.

R-5 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-5)

R-5 uses the shared R-3 to R-7 standards: 24,000 square foot minimum lot, 100 feet of frontage, 50 foot perimeter side and rear setbacks, 2 stories and 35 feet maximum, with a density cap of 5 dwelling units per acre (Section 3.7.D). See the R-3 pages for the full group standards.

R-6 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-6)

R-6 uses the shared R-3 to R-7 standards: 24,000 square foot minimum lot, 100 feet of frontage, 50 foot perimeter side and rear setbacks, 2 stories and 35 feet maximum, with a density cap of 6 dwelling units per acre (Section 3.7.D). See the R-3 pages for the full group standards.

R-7 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-7)

R-7 uses the shared R-3 to R-7 standards: 24,000 square foot minimum lot, 100 feet of frontage, 50 foot perimeter side and rear setbacks, 2 stories and 35 feet maximum, with a density cap of 7 dwelling units per acre (Section 3.7.D). See the R-3 pages for the full group standards.

R-8 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-8)

The R-8 to R-12 group shares one dimensional table: minimum lot area 24,000 square feet and 100 feet of frontage. R-8 allows 8 dwelling units per acre; R-9 through R-12 allow 9 to 12 units per acre (Section 3.8.D). Unit floor minimums follow Section 3.31.A.7 (450 square feet efficiency, 600 one bedroom, 800 two bedrooms).

R-9 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-9)

R-9 uses the shared R-8 to R-12 standards: 24,000 square foot minimum lot, 100 feet of frontage, 50 foot perimeter setbacks, 3 stories and 40 feet maximum, with a density cap of 9 dwelling units per acre (Section 3.8.D). See the R-8 pages for the full group standards.

R-10 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-10)

R-10 uses the shared R-8 to R-12 standards: 24,000 square foot minimum lot, 100 feet of frontage, 50 foot perimeter setbacks, 3 stories and 40 feet maximum, with a density cap of 10 dwelling units per acre (Section 3.8.D). See the R-8 pages for the full group standards.

R-11 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-11)

R-11 uses the shared R-8 to R-12 standards: 24,000 square foot minimum lot, 100 feet of frontage, 50 foot perimeter setbacks, 3 stories and 40 feet maximum, with a density cap of 11 dwelling units per acre (Section 3.8.D). The township zoning map currently shows no R-11 areas.

R-12 — Multiple-Family Residential Low Rise (R-12)

R-12 uses the shared R-8 to R-12 standards: 24,000 square foot minimum lot, 100 feet of frontage, 50 foot perimeter setbacks, 3 stories and 40 feet maximum, with a density cap of 12 dwelling units per acre (Section 3.8.D). R-12 also supplies the development standards for low-rise buildings in the HMR district and spacing for multiple two-family buildings on one parcel (Section 3.10.B; Section 3.28.B.11).

MHP — Mobile Home Park

A mobile home park needs a site of at least 10 acres, with home sites averaging 5,500 square feet each (Section 3.9.D). An individual site may be reduced up to 20 percent (to 4,400 square feet minimum) if the reduction is matched with dedicated open space (Section 3.30.B). Each mobile home needs at least 800 square feet of floor area (Section 3.30.G).

HMR — High and Mid-Rise

HMR has no fixed minimum lot area or width. Intensity is controlled instead by a maximum floor area ratio of 0.5, with floor area counted at each level more than 20 feet from mean grade (Section 3.10.D; Section 3.32.B).

O-1 — Professional Office (O-1)

Minimum lot area is 12,000 square feet per building with 80 feet of width per building (Section 3.11.E).

O-2 — Service Office (O-2)

Minimum lot area is 15,000 square feet per building with 100 feet of width per building (Section 3.12.E).

C-1 — Local Retail Business (C-1)

Minimum lot area is 12,000 square feet per building with 80 feet of width per building (Section 3.13.E).

C-2 — Linear Retail Business (C-2)

Minimum lot area is 16,000 square feet per building with 80 feet of width per building (Section 3.14.E).

C-3 — Shopping Center Business (C-3)

Minimum lot area is 5 acres per building (subject to Section 3.33.G) with 300 feet of width (Section 3.15.E).

C-4 — General Business (C-4)

Minimum lot area is 40,000 square feet per building with 100 feet of width per building (Section 3.16.E).

C-5 — Multi-Use (C-5)

A C-5 project needs 80 acres with a width-to-depth ratio no greater than 1 to 4. Individual lots inside the project need 1 acre, 150 feet of road or service drive frontage, and 290 feet of depth (Section 3.17.E).

C-6 — Shelby Center (C-6)

C-6 sets its own residential standards: detached one-family homes on 6,000 square foot lots with 60 feet of width (Section 3.18.G); two-family dwellings on 11,000 square foot lots with 100 feet of width (Section 3.18.H); both capped at 6 dwelling units per acre. Multiple-family density runs from 7 to 12 units per acre for single-use buildings and 8.5 to 15 for mixed-use, depending on bedroom count (Section 3.18.I.1).

L-M — Light Manufacturing (L-M)

Minimum lot area is 20,000 square feet with 100 feet of width (Section 3.19.D).

H-M — Heavy Manufacturing (H-M)

Minimum lot area is 20,000 square feet with 100 feet of width (Section 3.20.D).

All districts

Three flexibility tools can change minimum lot sizes in the one-family districts. The open space preservation option lets eligible R-1, R-1-A, and R-1-B land build the same unit count on half the site while preserving 50 percent as permanent open space, with lots no smaller than R-1-C standards (Section 3.22). Lot averaging lets a subdivision vary lot sizes up to 10 percent below the district minimum if the average still complies and the lot count does not increase (Section 3.23). Cluster housing is a special land use alternative with its own standards (Section 3.36).

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