Troy, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

21) sorts every use into four categories: P for permitted as of right, S for special approval, A for accessory, and NP for not permitted. Vehicle repair stations carry the NP mark across every residential district in the table, including the R-1A through R-1E single-family districts, RT attached-residential, MF multiple-family, and UR urban-residential. The same table lets a real repair station operate by special approval (S) in the Community Business and General Business districts and by right (P) in the Integrated Industrial Business district, underscoring that the city treats vehicle repair strictly as a commercial, non-residential use.

10, Home Occupations. The section allows a home business only if it stays clearly secondary to the dwelling's residential purpose and creates no external evidence of commercial activity. Three provisions specifically foreclose a garage repair shop: subsection E bars any employee other than immediate family living in the unit, subsection G limits vehicular traffic to what a single-family home would normally generate, no customer cars coming and going, and subsection J prohibits any exterior storage of the tools, parts, or equipment a repair job needs. A home occupation also cannot create noise, fumes, or unsightly conditions under subsection C, conditions ordinary auto repair work routinely produces.