Farmington Hills, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Section 23-46 makes it unlawful to engage in the business of dealing in junk, or to maintain, operate, or manage a junkyard or any place for dismantling, wrecking, or disposing of automobile junk or refuse, without first obtaining a license. The license process under § 23-47 requires a detailed application to the city clerk covering the applicant's identity, the business type, a description of the premises and surrounding property use for a half-mile in each direction, distances to the nearest intersecting street, whether the operation will involve pounding or objectionable noise, flammable materials on site, and any past criminal convictions, along with the license fee set under § 8-23, refundable if the license is denied.

Under § 23-48, the city council itself reviews every application at its next regular meeting, with the applicant entitled to appear and present additional information, and under § 23-49 no license can issue without certification from both the police chief and the building inspector. Section 23-50 adds siting restrictions barring a junk operation within 500 feet of a church, school, library, hospital, or private residence other than the licensee's own, and within 300 feet of an intersecting street, while also requiring that at least half of the road frontage nearby already be used for business.

A licensed site must be fully enclosed within 30 days by a tight board fence at least eight feet high and painted white under § 23-51, kept in repair and painted. m. m. on any other day, and § 23-28 requires a permanent record of every vehicle bought, sold, or dismantled, open to police inspection.