Battle Creek, MI Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Section 1260.01 of the Battle Creek Codified Ordinances governs sheds, garages and every other accessory building. Subsection (a)(1) defines the term broadly: pool houses, storage buildings, patio covers, garages, carports, workshops, greenhouses, gazebos, tree-houses, play structures, and permanent or temporary tent structures. Subsection (b)(1) applies the residential standards to accessory buildings for one and two-family dwellings in the AG and R Districts, while accessory buildings for other uses follow the regulations for main buildings in their districts.

Three threshold rules come first. A main building has to be constructed on the lot before any accessory building. An accessory building can be served by water, gas, electric and sanitary sewer but cannot contain kitchen facilities or be used for dwelling purposes. A non-habitable portion of the house used for storage or parking, such as an attached garage, counts as part of the main residential building when it shares a common roof and is integrated with it.

Size is limited two ways. All accessory buildings together cannot exceed 10% of the lot area, excluding public road rights-of-way and private access easements, and together they cannot occupy more than 50% of a rear yard or break the building coverage requirements of Chapter 1241. Floor area is measured using exterior wall dimensions, and height is capped at sixteen feet.

Location rules follow. No accessory building goes in the front yard unless the section provides otherwise. In a secondary front yard of a through lot the building is set back 25 feet from the rear lot line, and on a corner lot 25 feet from the lot line abutting a street. Side and rear lot lines get three feet including roof overhang, ten feet separates the building from the main building or another accessory building unless building code provisions allow otherwise, pools and hot tubs sit six feet from side or rear lot lines, and nothing goes in a dedicated easement right-of-way. The section prints no square footage threshold for a permit.