Royal Oak Township, MI Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Section 32-691(b)(2) of the Royal Oak Charter Township Code covers single-family residential districts. Off-street spaces consist of a parking strip, driveway, garage, or a combination, and sit on the premises they serve. Parking strips, driveways, garage floors and other vehicle maneuvering areas shall be hard-surfaced with concrete, plant-mixed bituminous material, brick or stone. The list does not include gravel or dirt. Parking on lawns or other unpaved areas is barred when it happens on a regular basis.

Drainage is part of the driveway rule. These areas shall be graded and drained to dispose of surface waters, and surface water shall not drain onto adjoining property unless in accordance with an approved drainage plan. Under § 32-691(b)(3) it is unlawful to park, store or offer for sale any motor vehicle or recreational vehicle on private property without the expressed or implied consent of the owner, holder, occupant, lessee, agent or trustee.

Vehicles on the driveway have their own limits in § 32-691(d). One commercial vehicle with a rated capacity not exceeding three-quarter-ton can be parked on a residential lot, but not a utility truck such as a wrecker or septic tank pumper, or a vehicle that carries flammable or toxic materials. Recreational vehicles not in a garage go entirely in the rear or side yard, not less than five feet from a side or rear property line that abuts a residential use, and not less than 20 feet from an adjoining street on a corner lot. A recreational vehicle designed for streets and highways can sit in a driveway if it is the sole means of transportation to and from work for a permanent resident. Storage of an inoperable or unlicensed vehicle is prohibited in residential districts, and repair that renders a vehicle inoperable for more than 72 hours must happen inside an enclosed garage on a vehicle registered to the property owner.

Chapter 26 adds a separate layer. Section 26-75 gives article IV precedence over the zoning ordinance on commercial vehicles in residential districts, and § 26-77(b) bars parking or storing a commercial vehicle, defined in § 26-76 as a motorized vehicle exceeding three-fourths-ton load capacity, on private residential property other than in an enclosed building.