Detroit, MI zoning districts
30 districts, 30 with a written citation. Each row says what the district permits by primary use.
AUTHORED 2026-08-17 (FEAT-184) — 30 districts, covering all 29 codes the live layer publishes. Zoning in Detroit is governed by CHAPTER 50 of the Detroit City Code (the Zoning Ordinance), administered by the City Planning Commission. Permissions are read from each district's own by-right / conditional use sections in the City's first-party consolidated text; see citation_sources for the numbering caveat (the base PDF uses the pre-recodification 61-x scheme) and for the amendments this table is NOT yet reconciled against. The city's mandatory accuracy disclaimer is NOT part of this table — it rides the zoning payload unconditionally via schema._CITY_ZONING_ACCURACY_NOTICES.
How to read the permissions
By right — allowed without discretionary approval. Conditional use — allowed only with a specific approval. Not permitted — not allowed as a primary use. Not resolved — the ordinance does not settle it in a way we would state as fact.
These describe the district. A specific parcel can also be affected by overlays, corridors, flood zones and site conditions.
| District | Residential | Commercial | Industrial |
|---|---|---|---|
|
B1
B1 Restricted Business District
commercial neighborhood
|
By right | By right | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. IX, Div. 2 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
B2
B2 Local Business And Residential District
commercial neighborhood
|
By right | By right | Conditional use |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. IX, Div. 3 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
B3
B3 Shopping District
commercial mixed
|
By right | By right | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. IX, Div. 4 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
B4
B4 General Business District
commercial mixed
|
By right | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. IX, Div. 5 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
B5
B5 Major Business District
commercial core
|
By right | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. IX, Div. 6 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
B6
B6 General Services District
commercial mixed
|
By right | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. IX, Div. 7 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
M1
M1 Limited Industrial District
industrial light
|
Conditional use | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. X, Div. 2 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
M2
M2 Restricted Industrial District
industrial light
|
Conditional use | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. X, Div. 3 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
M3
M3 General Industrial District
industrial
|
Conditional use | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. X, Div. 4 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
M4
M4 Intensive Industrial District
industrial heavy
|
Conditional use | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. X, Div. 5 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
M5
M5 Special Industrial District
industrial heavy
|
Not permitted | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. X, Div. 6 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
MKT
MKT Market District
special
Lower confidence — verify against the ordinance before relying on it.
|
Not resolved | Not resolved | Not resolved |
| not yet sourced — MKT postdates the 07-Aug-2019 base text | |||
|
P1
P1 Open Parking District
special
|
Not permitted | Not permitted | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 3 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
PC
PC Public Center District
special
|
Not permitted | By right | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 4 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
PCA
PCA Public Center Adjacent District
commercial core
|
By right | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 5 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
PD
PD Planned Development District
planned development
Lower confidence — verify against the ordinance before relying on it.
|
Conditional use | Conditional use | Conditional use |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 2 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
PR
PR Parks and Recreation
special
|
Not permitted | By right | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 7 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
R1
R1 Single-Family Residential District
residential low
|
By right | Conditional use | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. VIII, Div. 2 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
R2
R2 Two-Family Residential District
residential low
|
By right | Conditional use | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. VIII, Div. 3 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
R3
R3 Low Density Residential District
residential low
|
By right | Conditional use | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. VIII, Div. 4 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
R4
R4 Thoroughfare Residential District
residential medium
|
By right | By right | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. VIII, Div. 5 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
R5
R5 Medium Density Residential District
residential medium
|
By right | By right | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. VIII, Div. 6 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
R6
R6 High Density Residential District
residential high
|
By right | By right | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. VIII, Div. 7 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
SD1
SD1 Special Development District
mixed use
|
By right | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 9 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
SD2
SD2 Special Development District, Mixed-Use
mixed use
|
By right | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 10 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
SD3
SD3 Special Development District
office
Lower confidence — verify against the ordinance before relying on it.
|
Not resolved | Not resolved | Not resolved |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 11 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
SD4
SD4 Special Development District
mixed use
|
By right | By right | Conditional use |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 12 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
SD5
SD5 Special Development District, Casinos
special
|
Not permitted | Not permitted | Not permitted |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 13 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
TM
TM Transitional-Industrial District
industrial light
|
By right | By right | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 6 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
|
W1
W1 Waterfront-Industrial District
industrial heavy
|
Not permitted | Not permitted | By right |
| Detroit City Code Ch. 50, Art. XI, Div. 8 — by-right and conditional use sections | |||
Sources
- City of Detroit Zoning Ordinance, 07 August 2019 consolidated text, published first-party by the City at https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/2019-09/ZONING%20ORD%208-7-19.pdf
- The base PDF numbers sections 61-x-y, the PRE-RECODIFICATION scheme. Detroit recodified the Zoning Ordinance to CHAPTER 50; Ord. No. 2021-9 is titled 'CHAPTER 50 ARTICLES II, III, IX, X, XI, XII, XIV, XVI' and contains zero 61- references. Citations here therefore use Ch. 50 with the article/division structure preserved (Art. XII = 50-12-x, verified against Ord. 2021-9).
- Permissions are read from each district's OWN by-right / conditional use sections (e.g. 'By-right residential uses', 'Conditional manufacturing and industrial uses'), not by parsing the Art. XII Div. 1 use-table columns. The ordinance states its own legend: R = permitted by right, C = conditional (Conditional Use Permit, Art. III Div. 7), blank = not allowed.
- NOT reconciled against amendments after the 07-Aug-2019 base: Ord. 2021-9, Ord. 2025-29 (screening), Ord. 2025-32 (adaptive reuse), the Oct-2025 'Let's Build More Housing' text amendment, and a 2022 cleanup amendment. A permission changed by one of those would still read as its 2019 value here.
Table verified against the sources above on 2026-08-17. Ordinances change, so check the current code before relying on any row for a decision.
Which district applies to your parcel?
This table describes the districts. To find out which one covers a specific address, and what else affects that site, run the address on the home page.