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

04 of the Zoning Ordinance sets the area, height and bulk table that governs every one-family residential district in the city: R-100, R-90, R-80, R-70 and R-60. Item 8 of that table states plainly that the maximum lot coverage by all buildings is 30 percent, and the same figure repeats across all five columns, so the limit does not loosen as lot sizes shrink from R-100's 14,000-square-foot minimum down to R-60's 7,200-square-foot minimum. 01 defines LOT COVERAGE as that part or percentage of lot occupied by principal and accessory buildings, meaning the house, attached garage, detached garage, shed, and any other roofed structure on the parcel all count toward the 30 percent cap; driveways, patios and other unroofed hardscape are not building coverage under that definition, though they can trigger separate impervious-surface and stormwater review elsewhere in the code.

The same table also fixes minimum lot width (60 to 100 feet depending on district), minimum lot size (7,200 to 14,000 square feet), and minimum floor area per dwelling unit (1,000 to 2,000 square feet), so a homeowner sizing an addition, detached garage or accessory building has to check all of those numbers together, not lot coverage alone. 8, and the Building Department checks proposed footprints against this figure at permit review before construction begins.