Royal Oak, MI Parking Rules: Preferential Parking Districts (2026)

Chapter 497, adopted September 12, 2005 (Ord. No. 2005-10) and rewritten in full October 15, 2012 (Ord. No. 2012-12), lets the City Commission create a residential parking permit district for any area or areas of the City by resolution rather than a separate ordinance for each street. Section 497-1 states the purpose: reducing hazardous conditions from nonresident street parking, protecting residential districts from pollution, noise, and trash brought in by outside vehicles, easing residents' access to their own homes, preserving the residential character and property values of those districts, and protecting pedestrian and traffic safety.

Under §497-2, the designating resolution must specify the hours the restriction applies, and the City Commission can, at its discretion, extend eligibility beyond residents and their guests to occupants, including employees, of commercial buildings that do not meet the Zoning Ordinance's off-street parking requirements. The Commission sets permit fees for both residential permits and visitor permits and establishes the criteria a neighborhood must meet to be approved as a district, including a demonstrated hazardous condition or hardship and a required percentage of properties in favor, per the criteria attached to the chapter as Exhibit A.

Signs posted in the district give public notice of the restricted hours. Section 497-2C bars six specific acts: parking without a permit during restricted hours, letting someone else use your permit, falsifying information to get a permit, refusing to surrender a misused permit to the Chief of Police on demand, duplicating a permit, or otherwise violating the district's regulations.