Permitted uses in Shelby Township, MI

Permitted by right: one-family dwellings, farms on at least 3 acres (Section 4.1), existing cemeteries, township buildings, accessory buildings, state licensed residential facilities, family child care homes, and home occupations (Section 3.2.B).

Same permitted-use list as R-1: one-family dwellings, farms (3 acre minimum, Section 4.1), existing cemeteries, township buildings, accessory buildings, state licensed residential facilities, family child care homes, and home occupations (Section 3.3.B).

Same permitted-use list as R-1: one-family dwellings, farms (3 acre minimum, Section 4.1), existing cemeteries, township buildings, accessory buildings, state licensed residential facilities, family child care homes, and home occupations (Section 3.4.B).

Same permitted-use list as R-1: one-family dwellings, farms (3 acre minimum, Section 4.1), existing cemeteries, township buildings, accessory buildings, state licensed residential facilities, family child care homes, and home occupations (Section 3.5.B).

Permitted by right: two-family buildings, one-family dwellings, farms (Section 4.1), existing cemeteries, township buildings, state licensed residential facilities, family child care homes, home occupations, and accessory buildings and uses (Section 3.6.B). Only one principal building is allowed per lot of record (Section 3.29.A).

Permitted by right: apartments, multiplexes, townhouses, two-family use (as regulated in Section 3.6), everything permitted in the immediately abutting one-family district, state licensed residential facilities, family child care homes, and accessory buildings (Section 3.7.B). Site plan approval by the Planning Commission is required before building permits (Section 3.31.A).

Permitted by right: apartments, multiplexes, townhouses, two-family use, everything permitted in the immediately abutting one-family district, state licensed residential facilities, family child care homes, and accessory buildings (Section 3.8.B).

Permitted by right: mobile home parks (regulated by Section 3.30 and Public Act 96 of 1987), accessory commercial uses serving park residents (Section 4.13.A), signs, and uses permitted in the abutting one-family district. Two-family, apartment, multiplex, and townhouse uses are also permitted subject to R-3 to R-6 development standards (Section 3.9.B). Park fences are capped at 36 inches and barbed wire is prohibited (Section 3.30.J).

High and mid-rise buildings may contain apartments, business and professional offices, hotels and motels, and their accessory uses (no outside storage). Buildings of 3 stories or less follow the R-12 standards and may contain the full low-rise residential use list (Section 3.10.B).

Permitted by right: professional office buildings (Section 4.19), banks and credit unions, accessory uses within the building (Section 4.13.B prohibits separate accessory buildings and separate customer entrances), and uses permitted in the immediately abutting R-1-A, R-1-B, R-1-C, or R-2 district (Section 3.11.B). Propane sales and massage therapy are listed accessory land uses (Section 3.11.D).

Permitted by right: professional office buildings, real estate offices, banks and credit unions, public utility buildings without outside storage, retail businesses (Section 4.23), and accessory uses customary and incidental to a principal use (Section 3.12.B). Propane sales and massage therapy are listed accessory land uses (Section 3.12.D).

C-1 permits neighborhood retail and services with explicit floor-area caps per use (Section 3.13.B, subject to Section 4.24): convenience stores up to 3,000 square feet, restaurants including liquor service up to 5,000 square feet (Section 4.26), fast-food or carry-out up to 1,500 square feet (Section 4.27), hardware up to 10,000, drug and grocery stores up to 12,000, barber and beauty salons up to 2,400, video stores up to 7,500, banks, professional offices, churches, temporary buildings, and accessory buildings. Public utility buildings may not have service or storage yards (Section 3.13.B).

C-2 permits general retail without the C-1 size caps: convenience stores, restaurants with liquor service (Section 4.26), fast-food and carry-out (drive-throughs need special approval when abutting single-family property), general merchandise and department stores, hardware, grocery, funeral parlors, pet shops, used vehicle display lots (Section 4.44), auto and motorcycle services (Section 4.36), veterinary clinics and dog day care (Section 4.30), health clubs, hookah lounges with a license (Section 4.67), amusement device centers (Section 4.31), churches, banks, and professional offices (Section 3.14.B).

C-3 permits planned shopping center uses: general merchandise and department stores, grocery stores and supermarkets, general retail, eating and drinking establishments including fast food and coffee shops with drive-through windows, motion picture theaters (not drive-ins), pet shops, photographic studios, art galleries, health and athletic clubs, hookah lounges with a license, amusement device centers, churches, professional offices, and uses permitted in the abutting R-1-A through R-2 districts (Section 3.15.B).

C-4 has the township's broadest by-right commercial list: general retail, department stores, building material and garden supply stores, automotive dealers and gasoline service stations, hotels and motels, motion picture theaters, veterinary clinics and dog day care, health clubs, outdoor display of merchandise (Section 4.40), adult entertainment (Section 4.37), hookah lounges with a license, amusement device centers, churches, funeral parlors, banks, and professional offices. Fast-food and carry-out is permitted only without a drive-through (Section 3.16.B).

C-5 mixes uses under an approved project development plan: professional offices, general merchandise stores, restaurants and fast-food with drive-through windows, grocery stores and supermarkets, general retail, theaters and concert halls, hotels and motels, two-family dwellings, apartments, multiplexes, townhouses, indoor recreation, libraries and museums, business and technical schools, amusement device centers, and common open space (Section 3.17.B).

C-6 permits a town-center mix by right: one- and two-family dwellings, apartments, multiplexes, townhomes, offices, medical and dental offices, banks without drive-throughs, bakeries, grocery and hardware stores, personal services, drug stores without drive-through service, movie and art theaters, restaurants without drive-through service, and outdoor merchandise display (Section 3.18.B).

Uses considered inconsistent and not permitted: drive-through-oriented uses, gasoline and auto service stations, car washes, automotive repair, and outdoor storage (Section 3.18.E).

Permitted by right (subject to Section 4.46): research and testing facilities, corporate and professional offices, prototype production, pilot plants (Section 4.45), light product manufacturing, warehousing and wholesale, mini warehouses, compounding and packaging, contractor offices with equipment garages, indoor recreation and instructional businesses, automobile repair, service and sales, car washes and gas stations (Section 4.47), restaurants and other retail as determined by the planning director, self-service storage (Section 4.39), showrooms, adult entertainment (Section 4.37), churches, existing single-family dwellings, agricultural uses, and accessory outside storage (Section 4.13.C; Section 3.19.B).

H-M permits the full L-M use list plus manufacturing, processing, and compounding of semi-finished or finished products from raw materials, oil and gas well drilling as a permitted use (Section 4.48), temporary buildings, showrooms, adult entertainment, and churches (Section 3.20.B).

Permitted by right: public parks, playgrounds, swimming areas and open space, public or private golf courses, township, county, state and federal buildings, accessory commercial uses tied to the recreation use (Section 4.59), and similar uses as determined by the Planning Commission (Section 3.21.B).

PND areas on the township zoning map are residential projects approved as planned neighborhood developments under the subdivision and land regulation process referenced in Section 6.3.E. The current Zoning Ordinance does not publish a standard district table for PND, so lot, setback, and use standards come from each development's recorded approval. Confirm any rule for a PND parcel with the Planning and Zoning Department at 586-726-7243 before relying on it.

Township-wide use rules worth knowing. Animals: no livestock or poultry on any lot except household pets; five or more dogs makes a kennel; horses need 3 acres plus 1 more acre per additional horse (Section 4.60). Farms, permitted in the one-family districts, need at least 3 acres (Section 4.1). Beekeeping is allowed with hive placement rules: apiaries at least 10 feet from property lines, 20 feet from neighboring structures, and a 6 foot flyway barrier when hives sit within 16 feet of a lot line (Section 5.32.D).

Marihuana: residents may grow for personal or registered-patient use inside the home on residentially zoned parcels in an enclosed locked facility, capped at 100 square feet of the dwelling; caregiver cultivation is restricted to the L-M and H-M districts (Section 4.66.C, D). Commercially, the township allows only marihuana grow businesses by township permit in the industrial zoning district; retail marihuana establishments are prohibited (Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-652, Ord. No. 304, adopted March 4, 2025).