Royal Oak, MI Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Section 770-110, Off-street loading requirements, applies to every building or part of a building used for receiving or distributing trucks, delivery vehicles, materials, or merchandise, unless the Plan Commission finds the public alley provides sufficient loading and unloading space instead. Each required loading space must measure 12 feet by 50 feet with 14 feet of vertical clearance, and the number of spaces scales with the building's gross floor area: none for the first 2,000 square feet, one space from 2,000 to 20,000 square feet, one plus one additional space per 20,000 square feet above that up to 100,000 square feet, five plus one per 40,000 square feet above that up to 500,000 square feet, and 15 plus one per 80,000 square feet above 500,000 square feet.

Subsection B bars off-street loading from a front yard or a side yard facing and visible from a street unless the Plan Commission finds a location exception justified by the building's placement or existing traffic patterns, and requires loading areas to sit as far as possible from adjacent residential zones, screened per § 770-90 where they abut residentially zoned property. Loading space cannot double as required off-street parking or conflict with parking maneuvering lanes under subsection C, and the Zoning Administrator may waive the minimum loading requirement under subsection D if an applicant shows it is excessive for the specific use, though that waiver applies only to the current use and does not carry over to a future occupant.