Southfield, MI Parking Rules: Snow Removal Parking Rules (2026)

Under Southfield City Code § 4.45, the director of the department of public works may declare a snow-emergency parking prohibition on part or all of the city's streets whenever falling snow, sleet or freezing rain, or a U.S. Weather Bureau forecast of the same, makes it necessary to clear parked cars for plowing. Separately from any declaration, an automatic ban attaches to any part of a city street where snow or ice piles up to four inches or more between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.: the prohibition on that stretch takes effect one hour after the four-inch threshold is reached, with no announcement required.

Once in effect, a prohibition stays live until the director announces it is over, except that any block that becomes clear curb-to-curb along its entire length is automatically excluded even before a citywide lift. A driver whose vehicle becomes disabled on a street under a ban must have it towed or pushed off the roadway immediately; abandoning a car in the roadway during the emergency, other than to go get help, is itself a violation. The Southfield Police Department may tow and impound any vehicle parked in violation, engaging a private tow operator when its own resources run short, and removals follow the procedures of Michigan's vehicle-removal statute, MCL 257.252, including MCL 257.252(d).

Owners are responsible for the towing and storage fees that statute allows. The director publicizes each declaration through broadcast, cable or newspaper announcements describing when the ban starts and which streets or areas it covers, and a snow-emergency prohibition overrides any conflicting ordinance provision while it remains in force.