Royal Oak Township, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Royal Oak Charter Township handles secondhand stores through its zoning chapter. The Chapter 32 definition of a secondhand store is any building, structure, premises or part thereof used solely or partially for the sale of used or secondhand clothing, furniture, books or household goods, or used solely or primarily for the sale of used or secondhand household appliances or business equipment. The code text read for this page contains no separate secondhand dealer license or permit section, so the controlling rules are the location and approval standards below.

Section 32-768 lists secondhand stores among 18 regulated uses, alongside pawn shops, bars, arcades, hotels and motels and adult businesses. The stated purpose in § 32-768(a) is preventing a concentration of these uses: not more than two such regulated uses within 1,000 feet of each other, regardless of community boundaries. Under § 32-768(b), establishing a secondhand store is prohibited if it would be the third regulated use within a 1,000-foot radius.

Application goes to the building official and is processed under the Chapter 32 special land use requirements (§ 32-768(c)). If two or more regulated uses already exist within 1,000 feet of the outermost boundaries of the parcel, the building official denies the application and it is not processed until the applicant receives a waiver of the location provisions. Under § 32-768(d)(1), a regulated use is allowed as a special land use only in the zoning districts stated in the schedule of regulations in section 32-599. The M-1 Industrial Park District list in § 32-523(b) includes secondhand stores among its special land uses, under regulated uses subject to § 32-768.

Section 32-768(d)(2) sets two absolute buffers that no waiver can lift: no regulated use within 200 feet of any property zoned for residential use, and none within 500 feet of any public or private school, day care center, nursery, or church, synagogue or similar place of worship. Other requirements cover site layout and traffic safety, no expected public nuisance, no expected drop in nearby property values, and a 90 calendar day discontinuance rule, after which a new grant of approval from the Township is required.

A denied applicant can ask the board of zoning appeals for a waiver of the location provisions under § 32-768(e). The board must find compliance with the chapter, no enlargement of a skid row or strip of regulated uses, consistency with redevelopment programs, and compliance with township, state and federal law. The township clerk publishes notice at least 15 days before the waiver request is considered.