Eastpointe planning staff presented a package of zoning and map amendments at the Planning Commission meeting on Oct. 2 that officials said are intended to clarify long-standing ambiguities and bring local language into alignment with state standards.

Staff framed the changes as a mix of technical cleanups, modest policy shifts and restorations of previously omitted rules. "There's three things that we're trying to do. One is to clean up a couple errors and typos and omissions. The other is to change course a little bit... And then also there's a couple of things that we're just trying to keep current with what is happening right now," Planning staff member Paul Abele told the commission.

Abele said the packet before the commission shows each existing ordinance passage and a proposed replacement; deletions are struck through and additions are underlined. He said the proposal is not a major rewrite of land use policy but is intended to make the ordinance "more usable and enforceable right now." The commission will be asked to set the amendments for a public hearing in November before any final action.

Key proposed changes
- Event halls and related uses: Staff proposed removing two overlapping categories'"business incubator" and "experiential retail"'where they are being used to mask event-hall operations. Abele said the amendments would offer a more specific definition of "event hall" and keep event halls permitted only in the districts where they currently are allowed.
- Signs: The packet includes clarifications on how wall-sign area is calculated, a new limit tying side-wall signs to a percentage of the primary frontage (staff cited roughly a 75% cap on side-wall area relative to the front), and a distinction between murals and advertising. On pole (ground) signs, staff proposed clarifying that the pole should be 10 feet from the right-of-way; they also recommended exempting many existing poles from relocation requirements unless there is a safety or visibility issue.
- Accessory structures and nonconforming buildings: The draft restores a set of accessory-structure rules that were omitted in a prior rewrite, clarifying setbacks and lot-coverage calculations for sheds and garages. Abele explained the city's current nonconforming-structure rule: a nonconforming structure generally may not be expanded, and a structure destroyed by accident may not automatically be rebuilt in the same nonconforming footprint. He and other staff later clarified the department has permitted at least one recently burned structure to be rebuilt on its existing pad while the ordinance language is being restored.
- Temporary signs and special land uses: Staff would allow a temporary sign to be installed for up to 30 days at the location of an intended wall sign while a business obtains a certificate of occupancy. For special land uses (uses allowable only after review), staff suggested that a simple change of ownership or management for an operating business should not automatically trigger the special-land-use process if intensity and use remain the same; expansions or new uses would still require full review.
- Contractor offices, outdoor storage and commercial vehicles: The amendments propose clearer limits on where contractor operations with outdoor storage are allowed and restore the original intent that commercial vehicles are prohibited in residential districts (with some previously existing exceptions). Staff said they would review whether heavier vehicles such as semis need a tightened definition for enforcement.

Commission questions and clarifications
Commissioners asked whether alcohol service should be addressed in the event-hall definition. "We don't get that in the zoning ordinance," Abele replied, adding that alcohol service generally depends on state licensing.

On pole signs and existing installations, Abele said the objective is to avoid forcing businesses to move poles merely to comply with a technicality: "I think a better strategy might be to exempt any existing pole signs from this requirement unless there is a clear visibility problem or it is in a clear vision triangle or something that's causing a safety issue."

On accessory structures, staff acknowledged the ordinance language gap had already produced at least one practical permitting problem: "One has burned down in the last 3 months... we had to help permit them to put it back on the same pad that the one just burned down on," Abele said, and added the revised language would clarify how rebuilds and setbacks are handled going forward.

Next steps and public input
Abele told commissioners the edits will return for a public hearing in November and then to the city attorney and Council if the commission approves them. He asked commissioners to forward edits to staffers John and Kim (Kim Homan was referenced by name and email in public comments) rather than to the full commission to avoid Open Meetings Act concerns.

If approved, the amendments would change definitions and administrative practice across commercial and residential districts; staff said the intent is clearer enforcement and fewer routine permitting disputes.

Ending
The Planning Commission took no final action on the amendments Oct. 2; staff said a finalized draft will be provided to commissioners for November so the package can be set for public hearing and then forwarded to Council if recommended.