Rochester Hills, MI Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Section 302.1.2 of the Property Maintenance Code, added under the city's 2023 adoption of the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code (Ordinance No. 648), spells out what residents may put in a backyard compost pile and how big it can be. Allowed material includes yard and garden waste such as weeds, bark, grass clippings, stalks, brush or vines, along with wood ashes, horse manure, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, citrus rinds, fruit peelings, and egg, peanut and nut shells. The section separately bans meats, dairy products, vegetable oils, cooked foods, and plastics, synthetics or other non-biodegradable materials from any pile.

Location and size limits apply on top of the material rules. A compost pile cannot sit within any drainage easement, and it cannot be located in a side yard or closer than five feet to a property line, which pushes most piles to a rear yard setback. Size is capped at four feet by eight feet, or six feet in diameter if round, and four feet in height; a resident may run two piles side by side, but their combined footprint cannot exceed those dimensions.

The section also carries a nuisance standard: a pile has to be kept in a way that prevents the escape of offensive odors onto a neighboring property, which gives the Building Department's code official a basis to act on odor complaints even where the size and setback rules are met.