Special Joint Meeting on Zoning Ordinance Update - February 11, 2026

This was a special joint meeting of the Sterling Heights City Council, Planning Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) convened to receive a Zoning 101 presentation from consultants Giffels Webster and to discuss the upcoming comprehensive rewrite of the city's zoning ordinance. The meeting included a presentation on zoning history, current practices, and proposed changes, followed by extensive discussion among members and a public comment period.

Consent Calendar

• The agenda was approved unanimously by all three bodies.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Joe Romano (resident and real estate broker) spoke against short-term rentals. He argued that short-term rentals cause exterior maintenance issues, noise, parking problems, and strain police resources. He urged the city to require one-year minimum rentals and noted the existence of seven hotels within 15 minutes that can accommodate visitors. He emphasized that Sterling Heights is a bedroom community for living, working, and raising families, not a resort.

Discussion Items

• Zoning 101 Presentation (Jill Baeme and Ava Miller, Giffels Webster): The presentation covered the history of zoning, property rights vs. societal needs, the Euclid v. Ambler case, the components of zoning (master plan, zoning text, zoning map), development review processes (rezoning, site plan, special land use, PUD), and emerging trends (mixed-use, form-based codes, housing, environmental sustainability, data centers). They also reviewed a 2025 zoning audit and preliminary community survey results (120 respondents), which indicated the ordinance is seen as not user-friendly and in need of clearer language, digital formatting improvements, and consolidation of districts and uses.
• City Manager Vanderpool asked about plans to streamline the zoning ordinance. Dr. Parcel responded that the new ordinance will use a proprietary format (Clear Zoning) with embedded hyperlinks, graphics, and plain language, and will shift many approvals (e.g., outdoor patios, nuisance mitigation plans) from board review to administrative review.
• Councilmember Yanis questioned the current PUD process, noting frequent conflict between planning commission and city council. The consultants acknowledged that PUDs should not be used as a variance workaround and that clearer standards will be developed.
• Commissioner Rowe asked about the “zoning plan” (the matrix in the master plan linking future land use categories to zoning districts). The consultants explained it helps identify where new districts need to be created.
• Commissioner Inks advocated for building more flexibility into the ordinance so that property owners do not need to seek variances or use PUDs by right. He also questioned the designation of many uses as special land uses when little discretionary review occurs, and he recommended moving to a comprehensive table of uses and incentivizing shared open space in mixed-use districts.
• Councilmember Radke criticized the large number of special land uses (nuisance mitigation plans, storage containers) that are routinely approved without public opposition, wasting staff and board time. He urged consolidating zoning districts (e.g., merging C1-C4, office with commercial), simplifying nomenclature (e.g., using “I” instead of “M”), and adopting form-based codes along corridors like Van Dyke to create cohesive districts rather than one-off projects. He also noted that restrictive codes drive developers to other communities.
• Commissioner Rowe added that the city should capitalize on the opportunity to address adaptive reuse of office space due to changing work patterns.
• Planning Commission Chair (unnamed) echoed the need to reduce reliance on PUDs and special land uses, and to align the ordinance with the recently adopted master plan.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes or decisions were taken; the meeting was informational and educational.
• The city will hold supplemental planning commission meetings on the fourth Wednesdays of February, March, May, July, and August to continue the zoning rewrite process. Council and ZBA members were invited to attend.
• The zoning audit and survey results will be presented at the next planning commission meeting.
• The meeting adjourned after public comments.