Rochester Hills, MI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Table 6 in Section 138-5.100, the Schedule of Regulations, sets a maximum lot coverage percentage for every residential district, covering all buildings on the lot combined. The RE, R-1 and R-2 districts are capped at 25 percent; the R-3 and R-4 districts, which allow smaller lots, are capped at 30 percent. Section 138-5.205.B, the Standard Methods of Measurement section, clarifies that attached and detached accessory garages and other structures, including open and enclosed porches, count as part of the main building for this calculation, so a homeowner cannot exclude a garage or porch from the lot-coverage math.

A separate, narrower rule applies to subdivisions built under the City's Subdivision Open Space Plan Option in Section 138-5.201: subsection F caps total building coverage in the RE, R-1, R-2, R-3-OS and R-4-OS districts at 25 percent, matching the RE/R-1/R-2 baseline even where the open-space option has reduced individual lot sizes. The Building Department checks proposed lot coverage against Table 6 at the building-permit stage, and site plans that would exceed the applicable percentage are not approved without Planning Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals relief.