Zoning Overlays & Bonuses in Michigan (2026)
20 rules on the books across Michigan, 14 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Density Bonus Law
California Density Bonus Law (Gov Code §65915) and local implementations granting up to 50% density bonuses for affordable-housing projects.
Troy
Significant RestrictionsTroy allows a discretionary density bonus for One-Family Cluster Option developments under Zoning Ordinance Section…
Read full rule →Wyoming
Significant RestrictionsIn Wyoming, Michigan's PUD-4 general planned district, City Council may award a residential density bonus above the…
Read full rule →Battle Creek
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Battle Creek, Michigan, a planned unit residential development can earn a density bonus under Section…
Read full rule →Grand Rapids
Some RestrictionsGrand Rapids lets multi-family developers in its TCC, TBA, TOD, and C zone districts shrink the minimum lot area per…
Read full rule →Royal Oak
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Royal Oak, multiple-family and senior housing in the Mixed Use 1 and Mixed Use 2 Zones can earn a…
Read full rule →Taylor
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Taylor, Michigan, the city council may grant a residential planned unit development up to a 10 percent…
Read full rule →Dearborn
Light RestrictionsIn the mapped 'Bonus Height Area' of Dearborn's West Downtown District, Zoning Ordinance § 27.03(A)(4) lets developers…
Read full rule →Pontiac
Few RestrictionsIn the City of Pontiac's SP Special Purpose District, developers who build LEED-certified green buildings can receive…
Read full rule →Downtown Design Guide
LA's Downtown Design Guide and Community Plan governing high-rise massing, ground-floor activation, and adaptive-reuse standards in DTLA.
Dearborn Heights
Significant RestrictionsThe Taylor Dearborn Heights Gateway Overlay District along Van Born Road imposes detailed design standards under City…
Read full rule →Kalamazoo
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Kalamazoo, every project in the DDA District or the Southtown Design Review District must follow the…
Read full rule →Royal Oak
Significant RestrictionsRoyal Oak's zoning code sets design standards specific to its Central Business District. City Code § 770-30E requires…
Read full rule →Taylor
Significant RestrictionsTaylor's Midtown zoning districts, MT-1 and MT-2 along Goddard Road, run on their own architectural design code…
Read full rule →Wyoming
Significant RestrictionsWyoming, Michigan regulates its three commercial corridors, 28th Street, Division Avenue and Burton Street, through a…
Read full rule →Battle Creek
Some RestrictionsBattle Creek, Michigan regulates the look of new downtown and neighborhood commercial buildings through form-based…
Read full rule →Dearborn
Some RestrictionsDearborn's West Downtown District follows Article 27.00, a form-based zoning code that sets build-to lines, height…
Read full rule →Grand Rapids
Some RestrictionsGrand Rapids requires new development in areas with an approved streetscape plan, including downtown, to follow the…
Read full rule →Lansing
Some RestrictionsLansing's Chapter 1246 Architectural Standards set citywide design rules for building frontage, materials, windows, and…
Read full rule →Livonia
Some RestrictionsLivonia regulates downtown-style building design through the Form-Based Development Option in its C-1, C-2, C-3, and…
Read full rule →Rochester Hills
Some RestrictionsRochester Hills has no separate downtown, but the BD Brooklands District zoning chapter imposes a full building-design…
Read full rule →Warren
Some RestrictionsWarren applies a formally adopted Urban Design Manual and Streetscape Design Guidelines to every project in the…
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