Rochester Hills, MI Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Rochester Hills treats electric vehicle charging equipment as an accessory use wherever it serves a principal or conditional use already approved on the site, so property owners installing a charger for their own building don't trigger the fueling-station standards in Zoning Ordinance Section 138-4.404 at all. Those standards only kick in when EV charging is the primary use of a site, and they're detailed: the property must sit at the intersection of two arterials or freeways with at least a 120-foot right-of-way, carry a minimum one-acre lot with 100 feet of frontage, and provide a 2,000-square-foot indoor retail component.

Chargers, pumps and their ancillary equipment must be set back at least 20 feet from every street right-of-way line, and fueling positions have to be laid out so no cord or hose crosses a sidewalk. Entrances and exits must sit at least 35 feet from any right-of-way line and 50 feet from a residential district. If chargers are visible from a nearby residential district, the Planning Commission can require a Type C landscape buffer under Section 138-12.300, and all ground-mounted transformers and chargers along parking-area edges must be fully screened.

Before a primarily EV-charging site plan is approved, the applicant must submit DTE's preliminary review confirming the City's electrical grid has capacity for the load, and the layout must dedicate space for vehicles waiting to charge. Fueling positions, including charging spots, count toward the site's required off-street parking total, and the Fire Department reviews every application for its ability to respond to an on-site emergency.