March 21, 2007
Dear City of Novi Business Owner,
The City of Novi is pleased to announce a recent update to the
Zoning Ordinance pertaining to outdoor seating for restaurants. As a
part of the Community Development Department’s efforts to streamline
and clarify ordinance requirements for outdoor seating, Section 2524
was added to the Zoning Ordinance. This new ordinance now provides
businesses the opportunity for administrative approval of seasonal
outdoor seating, subject to certain standards. The modifications
eliminate the need to appear periodically in front of the Zoning
Board of Appeals for consideration. Please see the attached copy of
the ordinance for reference.
If you are interested in receiving review and approval for
seasonal outside dining associated with a new or existing
restaurant, you will be asked to submit an application form along
with 8 copies of a site plan with the seating arrangement to the
Plan Review Center, along with a one-time fee of $400.00. After the
plans are reviewed and approved by the Plan Review Center, and the
seating is installed, you will need to request a special inspection
to insure that the seating and other amenities are installed
according to plan. The special inspection requires submittal of a
$70.00 fee to allow for the inspection to determine compliance with
the approved site plan.
If all conditions of the ordinance and approved site plan are
met, approval for outdoor seating will be given from April 15th
through November 30th. Restaurants will have the opportunity to
request an annual special inspection for the required fee to renew
their outdoor seating arrangement. There will be no further site
plan review fees charged, provided the seating arrangement remains
consistent with the original approved site plan submittal.
For further information about approval for outside seating
associated with restaurants, please contact Planner Kristen
Kapelanski in the Community Development Department at 248-347-0586.