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.