DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Planning Commission meeting held last Monday at city hall included attendance from residents who were eager to speak with the nine-member body regarding zoning issues related to their garages.  

In the previous year, the city began handing out citations to homes with non-traditional garages that have been remodeled. In some cases, these garages included sliding glass doors, furniture, TV’s, or kitchen equipment. Citing safety hazard issues, the commission looked to ratify city ordinance 2.03-A, “Accessory buildings and structures,” which would forbid such features inside of garages.

The city’s main objective was that a garage should be suitable to park vehicles, or it would be breaking ordinance laws. It was also an effort to remove vehicles off of the streets, which has become an increasing problem in the city’s congested neighborhoods, especially on the east end. 

Some residents however were not too pleased with the direction the commission was taking with the ordinance. When the topic came up at the meeting, many residents were looking to have them reconsider. The city had spent nearly a year ratifying the ordinance in order to outlaw the modernized garages.

City officials are considering allowing sliding glass doors in resident garages, as long as the doors are not the main point of entry, and the garage is still suitable to park vehicles inside of. Sliding glass doors that have replaced overhead retractable doors (such as the garage in this picture on the left) are still being questioned however.

Some residents agreed with the commission regarding safety concerns, but did not understand the problem with their sliding glass doors, stating that it kept bugs out and also made their garages look more modernized. Others expressed that the city may be infringing on residents rights.

“We agree with the ordinances as far as no cooking being allowed, we understand laws when it comes to safety. But times have changed. Our families are big… we don’t have one or two children, we have five, six children. Most of these homes built in the 1960’s are small… so if we want to enjoy the garages every now and then and get a peace of mind, then there is nothing wrong with that,” Mitch Hazemeh, a Dearborn resident, told the commission at the meeting. 

Another family provided photographic evidence of how their sliding glass door doesn’t get in the way of parking their vehicles in the garage. Others pointed out that a garage isn’t only used universally to park vehicles, but its also used as storage space for gardening supplies, exercise equipments or other forms of hobbies. 

One residents said that the city is driving potential homeowners away from Dearborn, because they are making it difficult to live in their neighborhoods, which already have numerous restrictions. Some even fear that younger homeowners who are likely to invest longer interest in their city of choice, are staying clear from Dearborn for that reason. Commissioner Nancy Siwik was loud and clear over her stance on the issue. She believed the city would be stepping on boundaries if they were to direct residents over how they should be using their garage. 

“I fully understand what the city is trying to do in terms of not making it a livable space, or using it as a living room,  but I think we are really restricting the freedom that people should have to decorate, or to have their home look the way they want it to. We still have to allow people to have some form of individuality about their house,” Siwik said at the meeting. 

After close to an hour of discussions, the commission seemed to agree that sliding glass doors should be acceptable if they are not used in place of overhead retractable doors, which provides access to vehicles. Many residents have sliding glass doors as side entrances into their garages, while the overhead retractable door remains in place.

The commission agreed to table the issue until their June meeting. In the meantime, they will be re-examining the language of the ordinance and looking into what practices would be acceptable inside of a garage, and what would be considered a safety hazard.