What the Sterling Heights zoning ordinance says about parking, district by district. Section numbers link to the official ordinance.
Multiple family projects need 2 spaces per 1-bedroom unit plus one-half space per additional bedroom (Section 23.02.A.2). Parking is not allowed in the project front yard or within 25 feet of any living area, and tandem parking is prohibited except in driveway approaches to individual garages (Section 6.05.E). In RM-1, one required space per unit must be in an attached enclosed garage, except for elderly housing (Section 6.05.F).
Parking is not permitted in the required front yard setback (Section 8.04.D.1). Ratios: 1 space per 200 square feet for general offices, 1 per 100 for doctors and dentists, 1 per 150 for banks plus 5 stacking spaces per drive-through lane, and 1 per employee plus 1 per 75 square feet for medical clinics (Section 23.02.D).
Article 23 ratios govern, but parking may occupy part of the required front yard behind a landscaped setback measured from the road centerline (local 65 feet, major 95, regional 110 or 137) (Section 14.05). Mixed-use C-4 developments over 50,000 square feet can seek a shared-parking reduction of up to 10 percent with a traffic engineer's study and a recorded reserve-parking agreement (Section 23.01.E).
Manufacturing needs 1 space per 500 square feet of manufacturing floor area; warehouses need 1 per 1,500 square feet; office portions are computed at the office ratio (Section 23.02.F). Parking areas must be asphalt or concrete, but contractor storage yards in M-1 and M-2 need not be paved if they meet engineering standards (Section 23.03.F).
Single and two family homes need 2 off-street spaces per dwelling unit, on paved areas only; parking on lawns is not allowed, and front yard paved parking is allowed only as part of a driveway, a side-entrance garage approach, or a horseshoe driveway (Section 23.02.A.1; Section 23.01.J). Multiple family: 2 spaces per 1-bedroom unit plus one-half space per extra bedroom (Section 23.02.A.2).
Common nonresidential ratios: offices 1 per 200 square feet, medical offices 1 per 100, retail 1 per 200 (relaxing to 1 per 225 over 75,000 square feet and 1 per 250 over 200,000), restaurants 1 per 90, fast food 1 per 75 plus 10 stacking spaces per drive-through lane, manufacturing 1 per 500, warehouses 1 per 1,500 (Section 23.02.D-F). Lots must be paved, curbed, and striped, with 20 foot maneuvering lanes and no backing into streets (Section 23.03).
Recreational vehicles, boats, and trailers on residential lots are governed by Chapter 37: storage belongs in a garage, rear yard, or side yard on a paved surface, limited to two units, owned by the occupants, never lived in, and allowed on the driveway only when no other space is available, at least 8 feet back from the sidewalk (Chapter 37, 37-24).
Enter an address. We identify the zoning district and assemble what the ordinance says about it: permitted uses, dimensional rules, accessory structures, and the approval process.
District identification is free. The full brief is $79.