Rochester Hills, MI Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Section 138-4.424 covers outdoor dining and table service, including patios and sidewalk cafes. The sales and service of food outdoors must be incidental to, and adjacent to, a similar principal indoor use; free-standing or manufactured food service providers don't qualify as outdoor dining at all. Outdoor dining cannot block a building entrance or sidewalk, and where it sits on a sidewalk in front of a building, a minimum five-foot clear pedestrian travelway must remain. Any barrier or installed landscaping is capped at three feet six inches in height, and any barrier placed in the public right-of-way must be entirely portable.

Signage in the outside table service area is barred except for a single menu sign, though business names may appear on awning or umbrella valances. Encroaching on the right-of-way to display merchandise is not permitted, and all outside table service must be accessible to people with disabilities. Operators need approval of a right-of-way use permit from the agency with jurisdiction, and the Planning Department can temporarily suspend the use, without prior notice or a hearing, whenever it interferes with public safety efforts, a special event, street improvements, construction, or cleaning activities.