What does R4 zoning mean in Detroit?

R4 is Detroit's Thoroughfare Residential district, permitting multi-family housing along major streets at higher density than the R1-R3 residential districts, but below the medium- and high-density R5/R6 districts.

How do I find the zoning for an address in Detroit?

The Detroit City Planning Commission maintains an interactive online zoning map covering every parcel citywide; cross-reference the result against the Chapter 61 use and dimensional tables, and check whether the parcel is also subject to Detroit Land Bank Authority disposition terms if it's vacant or land-banked.

What is a PD district in Detroit zoning?

PD, or Planned Development, is a custom district negotiated for a specific project or master-planned site rather than governed by the standard R/B/M use tables — common for large-scale redevelopment sites where the standard districts don't fit the proposed program.

Detroit, Michigan · city zoning districts · 14 districts

Detroit, MI zoning map & districts

Detroit's zoning is codified as Chapter 61 of the Detroit City Code and was comprehensively rewritten in 2019, replacing a decades-old prior ordinance. The Detroit City Planning Commission oversees rezonings and master-plan consistency, the Buildings, Safety Engineering & Environmental Department (BSEED) administers permitting, and the Board of Zoning Appeals hears variances.

The code Detroit Zoning Ordinance

Detroit zoning map

The Detroit City Planning Commission publishes the zoning ordinance and an interactive zoning map; BSEED (Buildings, Safety Engineering & Environmental Department) administers permitting, and the Board of Zoning Appeals hears variance requests.

There is no link to the official map here yet — confirm current district boundaries directly with the Detroit planning or zoning department.

A published summary is never the authority. The adopted ordinance and the city's official zoning map govern, and both change — verify the district and every standard on your parcel before you rely on it.

How zoning works in Detroit

The ordinance uses a conventional Euclidean structure — numbered residential (R), business (B), and manufacturing (M) districts of increasing intensity — plus a Planned Development (PD) district for site-specific projects negotiated outside the standard use and dimensional tables. Given Detroit's large stock of vacant and land-banked parcels, many redevelopment sites also interact with the Detroit Land Bank Authority's disposition process alongside standard zoning review.

Detroit zoning districts by family

The 14 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in Detroit, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.

Key districts in the Detroit Zoning Ordinance — a curated reference, not the exhaustive list. Confirm against the current adopted code.
Code	District	What it is for
Residential 6 districts
R1	Single-Family Residential	Detached single-family homes; Detroit's largest-lot-standard residential district.
R2	Two-Family Residential	Duplexes and single-family homes.
R3	Low Density Residential	Low-rise multiple-family development such as small apartment and rowhouse buildings.
R4	Thoroughfare Residential	Multi-family housing along major thoroughfares, a density step above R3.
R5	Medium Density Residential	Mid-rise multifamily development.
R6	High Density Residential	Detroit's highest-density residential district, permitting high-rise multifamily.
Mixed-use 1 district
B1	Restricted Business	Small-scale neighborhood office and limited retail, typically buffering residential areas.
Commercial 3 districts
B2	Local Business	Neighborhood-serving retail and service uses.
B4	General Business	Broad commercial-use district widely mapped along Detroit's major avenues.
B6	General Services	Service- and repair-oriented commercial uses, including higher-impact retail formats.
Industrial 3 districts
M1	Limited Industrial	Light industrial uses with restrictions to limit impacts on nearby areas.
M2	Restricted Industrial	Moderate-intensity industrial uses.
M4	Intensive Industrial	Heavy industrial uses with minimal use restrictions.
Special purpose 1 district
PD	Planned Development	Custom, site-specific district negotiated for a particular project or master-planned area, used widely for large redevelopment sites.

Detroit zoning — common questions

What does R4 zoning mean in Detroit?: R4 is Detroit's Thoroughfare Residential district, permitting multi-family housing along major streets at higher density than the R1-R3 residential districts, but below the medium- and high-density R5/R6 districts.
How do I find the zoning for an address in Detroit?: The Detroit City Planning Commission maintains an interactive online zoning map covering every parcel citywide; cross-reference the result against the Chapter 61 use and dimensional tables, and check whether the parcel is also subject to Detroit Land Bank Authority disposition terms if it's vacant or land-banked.
What is a PD district in Detroit zoning?: PD, or Planned Development, is a custom district negotiated for a specific project or master-planned site rather than governed by the standard R/B/M use tables — common for large-scale redevelopment sites where the standard districts don't fit the proposed program.

Working in Michigan? Get on the list.

The parcel layer lands in the order demand does. Illinois went first because that's where the deals were; the next state is decided by who tells us what they're trying to underwrite. Tell us where you're building and what you wanted to run — you'll hear from us when Michigan opens, and sooner if we need a test parcel.

Keep reading

← Michigan zoning — who holds the zoning power in Michigan, under which enabling statute, and the reforms that override local rules.

Other Michigan cities

The zoning reference → — every state, plus city-level district guides like this one.

Detroit zoning summaries on this page are provided for information, not legal advice. Confirm every project against the current adopted code for the jurisdiction.