Dearborn Heights, MI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Section 36-106(b) sets citywide "general notes" that apply on top of the dimensional standards table for every zoning district. Note (3) caps impervious coverage: 25 percent of total site area, 40 percent of the front yard, and 25 percent of the rear yard, unless a district's own supplemental standards section says otherwise. Nonconforming lots regulated under Section 36-614 instead get a 25 percent total site cap but a wider 50 percent front-yard allowance. No concrete, pavers, or other impervious surface may be installed over a utility easement or within two feet of a property line, and any remaining front yard must be sodded or seeded grass, though organized ornamental flowerbeds are allowed; a front yard that is 75 percent or more unmaintained wildflowers or overgrown perennials is prohibited outright.

Two carve-outs matter for homeowners: solar collectors are never counted toward lot coverage at all, and solar greenhouses or similar heat-trapping habitable additions count at only one-third of their actual footprint, provided at least 20 percent of their thermal mass stays exposed to sunlight. Beyond the citywide impervious cap, several districts carry their own building-coverage ceiling in their supplemental standards: the O, MX, M1, and M2 districts cap building and structure coverage at 40 percent of the lot, while CX, C1, C2, and C3 lots inside a flood hazard zone (Section 36-317) cap all impervious surfaces, including parking, driveways, sidewalks, patios and buildings, at 75 percent.

Homeowners planning a patio, extended driveway, or paver walkway should run the math against the 25/40/25 rule before pouring, since the Building and Engineering Department checks coverage at permit review, not just after complaints.