Dearborn Heights, MI: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

The city's zoning ordinance defines home occupations under Sec. 36-143 as businesses that are clearly incidental and secondary to a dwelling's use as a residence. Subsection (c) lists eight categories that can never qualify, and automobile-oriented uses sit second on that list, alongside kennels, animal shelters, veterinary clinics, medical or dental clinics, mortuaries, and general restaurants. Even a home business that fits within the fifteen percent floor-area cap in subsection (a)(1) is disqualified if it functions as vehicle repair, detailing, oil changes, tire work, or similar automotive service, because the use itself is excluded rather than merely oversized.

Home occupations that do qualify still face tight limits: no more than ten customer or client visits per day and thirty per week, with no more than two customers present at once (subsection (a)(2)); deliveries restricted to automobiles, passenger vehicles, mail carriers, and express package carriers (subsection (a)(3)); and all customer visits and deliveries barred between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. (subsection (a)(4)). Subsection (d) separately bars outdoor storage or display of materials, goods, or equipment tied to a home occupation, which would catch a driveway full of vehicles awaiting repair even if the business were not already banned outright.

The building official enforces these standards through the zoning compliance certificate required for any home occupation, and subsection (e) makes both noncompliance and refusal to allow a zoning inspection separate violations of the chapter.