The R-T Townhouse Residential District is intended to provide sites for single-family attached or townhouse residential structures, along with other residentially-related uses. R-T districts are generally located to serve as a buffer or zone of transition between major thoroughfares, multiple family, or nonresidential uses and single-family residential neighborhoods. Townhouse residential development is differentiated from other types of multiple family residential development because it is designed to be compatible with single-family residential neighborhoods in building design, materials and site layout.

(a)

Two-family townhouse residential dwellings.

(1)

Townhouses shall be designed with individual entrances which face onto the public right-of-way. Corner units shall be designed with an entrance facing at least one (1) public right-of-way.

(2)

Buildings shall front towards the street. Blank walls may not face a street and buildings must have windows and architectural features on all walls facing a public or private street. The front facade shall contain a minimum of twenty (20) percent windows. In addition, buildings shall consist of a pitched roof or other similar styled roof which is compatible with existing single-family buildings in the surrounding neighborhood.

(3)

No more than seven (7) units may be located in any single building.

(4)

Townhouses shall be constructed of one hundred (100) percent brick, Portland cement stucco, painted wood siding, or stained wood shingles for walls. Painted wood 5/4 board for wood trim (for wood and stucco walls), concrete or limestone trim for other. Vinyl and exterior insulation finish systems (EIFS) are not allowable.

(5)

For sites which are corner lots or have frontage on more than one (1) street, only one (1) front yard setback is required along the principal street.

(6)

The distance between townhouse buildings shall be a minimum of ten (10) feet.

(7)

Balconies, open porches, stoops, covered walkways, bay windows, and raised dooryards shall be permitted to encroach a maximum of ten (10) feet into the required front yard setback.

(8)

Parking shall be located at the rear of the site, with access provided on a side street, if possible.

(9)

A minimum of two (2) parking spaces shall be provided for each dwelling unit. The spaces shall be supplied in an attached or detached garage. Additional surface parking may be provided in the rear yard, provided it is screened from the public right-of-way and adjacent residential areas. Parking shall not be permitted in the front yard. The Planning Commission may require additional on-site visitor parking.

(10)

A six-foot-high decorative masonry screen wall constructed of materials which match the buildings shall be required between parking lots and streets and between parking lots and adjacent residential properties.

(11)

A paved pedestrian connection shall be provided between the public sidewalk and the entrance of individual units. With the exception of these paved sidewalks, the remainder of the front yard shall be landscaped.

(12)

The vehicular maneuvering aisle located at the rear of the site shall be a minimum of eighteen (18) feet wide. A minimum thirty-foot garage approach is required, which may be a combination of building setback and available easement or street right-of-way.

(13)

All unpaved areas shall be landscaped. Foundation plantings consisting of a minimum of eight (8) shrubs per townhouse unit are required to be planted on the site.

(14)

For sites developed as condominiums, a master deed, by-laws, and open space/maintenance agreement must be provided for review by the City. The condominium documents shall be agreed upon by the City and the applicant and filed with the Oakland County Register of Deeds prior to issuance of a building permit for any construction in accordance with site plans.

(15)

As a condition of approval of the site plan by the City Council, the applicant may be required to provide a performance guarantee for improvements to the site.

(b)

Schools. Public, parochial and other private elementary, intermediate and/or high schools offering courses in general education, subject to the following condition: No building shall be closer than fifty (50) feet to any property line when said property line abuts or is adjacent to land zoned for residential purposes. Within the Village Overlay District, no building shall be closer than ten (10) feet to any property line when said property line abuts or is adjacent to land zoned for residential purposes.

(c)

Places of worship.

(1)

Buildings of greater than the maximum height allowed in this district may be permitted provided front, side, and rear yards are increased above the minimum required yards by one (1) foot for each foot of building height that exceeds the maximum height allowed.

(d)

Bed and breakfast/tourist home.

(1)

Bed-n-Breakfast inns and/or tourist homes not to exceed a height of three (3) stories, subject to the following requirements:

(2)

Bed-n-Breakfast inns and tourist homes shall remain as single-family homes in appearance, and shall have no internal or external structural alterations. An example would be enlarging the kitchen for volume food service.

(3)

Off-street parking shall be provided for the households and guests as follows: Two (2) parking spaces plus one (1) additional space per room to be rented.

(4)

There shall be ample open space other than that required to accommodate the required off-street parking. Natural screening by use of plant materials or other screening may be required to screen parking areas from adjoining residential properties. Off-street parking in front yard areas shall not be permitted.

(5)

Food may only be served in an inn to those persons renting an inn room only during their stay at the inn.

(6)

A residential structure shall not have or be converted to more rental rooms than the number of bedrooms which exist at the time of enactment of this Ordinance.

(7)

One (1) wall sign not to exceed a total area of eight (8) square feet shall be permitted for identification purposes only.

(e)

Attached wireless communications facilities subject to the following requirements and the requirements specified in Article XV.

(1)

No attached wireless communications facilities, with the exception of television antennas, may be erected on a residential structure or associated accessory structure.

(2)

Where an attached wireless communications facility is proposed on the roof of a building, the switching equipment module must be adequately screened or architecturally compatible with the design of the building. The switching equipment module may be located within the principal building or may be an accessory building, provided that an accessory building conforms with all district requirements for principal buildings, including yard setbacks and building height.

(3)

The attached wireless communications facility shall be erected on a building in a manner that is not prominently visible from the ground, injurious to the character of the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public safety and welfare. The attached wireless communications facility shall be located and designed to be harmonious with the surrounding area, and to be aesthetically and architecturally compatible with the natural environment, as well as the environment as altered by development.

(f)

Wireless communications support structures on public or quasi-public/institutional sites subject to the requirements specified in Article XVI.

(g)

Retail/restaurant/office. Retail, restaurants, and/or office, with a size limit of twenty (20) percent of the total building area not to exceed one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet maximum.

(Ord. No. 2023-02, § 1.02(Exh. A), 3-16-2023; Ord. No. 2023-04, pt. 4, 11-16-2023; Ord. No. 2024-06, pt. 4, 7-17-2024)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2024-06, pt. 4, adopted July 17, 2024, repealed § 4A.02, which pertained to principal uses permitted subject to special conditions and derived from Ord. No. 2023-02, § 1.02(Exh. A), adopted March 16, 2023.

Accessory buildings and uses, including attached or detached garages (not carports), tool houses, home occupations (See Section 15.13, Accessory buildings) subject to the provisions of Section 15.29, Home occupations, and off-street parking shall be permitted. The storage or parking of recreational vehicles shall be subject to Section 4A.04. In addition, any other use customarily incidental to the principal uses enumerated in Sections 4A.01 and 4A.02 are permitted.

(Ord. 377, 11/15/2001)

Not more than one (1) recreational vehicle, as defined in Section 2.00, may be parked or stored by the owner and/or occupant per unit in townhouse residential districts subject to the following conditions:

(a)

The site must be able to accommodate the storage of recreational vehicles without encroachment into vehicle maneuvering aisles or without creating a shortage of required and/or additional visitor parking on the site, as determined by the Planning Commission. All areas for storage of recreational vehicles must be paved and screened from adjacent residential districts and the public right-of-way with a masonry screen wall or landscape screen.

(b)

The recreational vehicle(s) must be currently registered and licensed in the name of a current owner and/or occupant of the dwelling unit.

(c)

Boats stored out of water shall not exceed twenty-two (22) feet in length, provided pontoon boats may be allowed up to thirty-five (35) feet in length and twelve (12) feet in height.

(d)

A recreational vehicle parked or stored shall not be connected to electricity, water, gas, or sanitary sewer facilities.

(e)

A recreational vehicle shall not be used for living, lodging or housekeeping purposes.

(f)

A recreational vehicle must be stored in the rear yard of the lot, provided the vehicle does not encroach into the vehicle maneuvering lane. No recreational vehicle shall be stored on a public street right-of-way.

(g)

Notwithstanding the above provisions concerning "location", a recreational vehicle may be parked elsewhere on the premises prior to or after a trip for loading or unloading purposes for a period of not more than forty-eight (48) hours prior to and forty-eight (48) hours after use of the vehicle within a seven-day period.

(h)

The parked or stored recreational vehicle must be kept in good repair. The vehicle must be capable of being moved from place to place.

(i)

For the purposes of this section, two (2) personal watercraft, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or motorcycles stored on a single trailer shall be counted as one (1) recreational vehicle.

Notes to Development Standards:

(1)

Properties abutting water shall also comply with Section 15.15, Waterfront land setbacks.

(2)

Front yard setbacks are measured from the edge of the existing and/or planned right-of-way, said planned right-of-way as shown on the officially adopted Master Plan. For sites which are corner lots or have frontage on more than one (1) street, only one (1) front yard setback is required along the principal street.

(3)

Townhouses must have a minimum floor area of 1,200 square feet per unit.

(Ord. 340, 4/16/1998; Ord. No. 2023-02, § 1.02(Exh. A), 3-16-2023)