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

Section 21B.35 of the Zoning Ordinance's Downtown Center article governs sidewalk use in all three Downtown Center zones: City Square, Urban Neighborhood and Gateway Neighborhood. Subsection 3 sets the baseline: sidewalks must maintain a minimum six-foot clear zone for pedestrian travel, and 'no permanent or temporary structure is allowed in the clear zone area.' Subsection 4 then addresses sidewalk cafes directly: a business can place sidewalk cafe seating or other street furniture on the public sidewalk, but 'it shall not interfere with or encroach into the minimum six-foot clear zone.' The same subsection separately bars using the sidewalk to store shopping carts, baskets, or other property, aimed at keeping storefronts from turning sidewalk frontage into outdoor storage.

For comparison, subsection 5 permits temporary movable sales racks tied to a permanent business, but only between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and only if the racks stay out of the six-foot clear zone and do not exceed 150 square feet or 20 linear feet of frontage; no such hourly or size cap is written into the cafe-seating rule itself, which is governed solely by the clear-zone standard. Subsection 6 places snow and ice removal duty on the occupant or owner of the adjacent premises, which matters for cafe operators because an obstructed or icy clear zone during winter months would violate the same clear-zone requirement that governs their outdoor seating. Sidewalk width and paving materials for these areas are separately controlled by sections 21B.68 and 21B.69, cross-referenced directly in subsections 1 and 2 of this same section.