Bloomfield Hills homeowners could face new limits on how much of their lots they can pave over, as the Planning Commission holds two public hearings Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The commission meets at 4 p.m. at City Hall, 45 E. Long Lake Road. The main agenda item is a proposed amendment to the city's Landscape Open Space ordinance, which governs how much green space residential lots must maintain. A companion zoning ordinance amendment affecting commercial properties is also on the agenda, along with a homeowner's request to build a sports court at 757 Kennebec.
Why the ordinance is changing
The review began after the City Commission voted 5-0 on March 10 to send the ordinance to the Planning Commission. City Engineer Jamie Burton told the City Commission that the city's stormwater system, built in the 1940s through 1970s, is being strained by larger homes with more impervious surfaces, according to the City Commission's March 10 meeting minutes. City Manager David Hendrickson said the current ordinance's numerous exceptions may undermine its effectiveness.
Burton has pushed for a simpler approach. At the Planning Commission's May 12 meeting, he said the current system of exceptions "creates complexity and opportunities for workarounds," and recommended a straightforward percentage-based system, according to the Sept. 8 agenda packet.
Chairman Walter Cueter has raised a counterpoint. He presented a comparison of lot coverage standards in surrounding cities at the same May 12 meeting and warned that Bloomfield Hills' lot-coverage limit is already stricter than standards in surrounding cities. Eliminating all exceptions without adjusting the underlying percentage could push many existing homes into non-conformity, Cueter cautioned.
Six months and counting
The commission voted 5-2 on June 9, with Buckley and Hendrickson opposed, to form an advisory subcommittee before taking any formal vote on changes. That move drew pushback. Commissioner Alice Buckley, who is also mayor pro tem, said she had made the original City Commission motion referring the matter and intended the full commission to handle the review.
Mayor Susan McCarthy set a deadline at that June 9 meeting: "This matter has to be done within six months and not languish for years," she said, according to the July 14 agenda packet.
The specific draft ordinance language and proposed percentage thresholds have not been made public in available meeting documents.
Commercial zoning and a sports court
The second public hearing covers proposed amendments to the city's commercial zoning ordinance. The changes grew out of a moratorium on commercial zoning adopted in February 2026. Planning consultant Jill Bahm of Giffels Webster has been drafting the revisions across multiple meetings. One proposed change would calculate required parking based on usable floor area instead of gross floor area, reducing parking requirements for restaurants and customer-facing businesses. Another would replace the wall-or-berm requirement between similar commercial uses with a landscape strip.
At the Aug. 11 meeting, no formal action was taken. Bahm said she would return with a revised draft.
The commission will also consider a request from the property owner at 757 Kennebec to place a sports court in a non-required front yard. Under city rules, that placement requires Planning Commission approval.
Residents who want to weigh in can attend the hearing or contact City Hall.
