Dearborn Heights, MI Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Sec. 36-234 treats an outdoor solar collector as a zoning structure, so no one may install one anywhere in Dearborn Heights without a permit issued by the building and engineering department first. Subsection (b) requires the permit application to include a site plan showing the collector's size and location, a picture or sketch of everything that would be visible from adjacent properties, building dimensions, lot lines, and the setback lines that apply under the zoning ordinance. Subsection (c) then sets the design standards: only one solar collector is permitted per lot; ground- or pole-mounted units cannot exceed four feet by eight feet, though flush-mounted wall or roof collectors are exempt from that size cap; height must stay within the zoning district's normal height limit unless the unit is flush-mounted; a ground-mounted collector can only sit in the rear yard, between the rear lot line and the rear building line, and never in a required side yard; roof-mounted units are allowed only if they and their supports cannot be seen from the public street right-of-way at a six-foot eye level, and landscaping or fencing should screen ground units from neighboring properties as much as possible.

Subsection (d) requires the building and engineering director to certify in writing, before the system may be energized, that both the plans and the finished construction meet this section, the building code, and wind-safety requirements. Subsection (e) routes every application through administrative review under subsection 36-493(b), after which the building official issues the construction permit.