DEARBORN — Last Tuesday, Mayor Jack O’Reilly, along with seven planning commissioners and City Hall staff members, met with residents for a study session to discuss possible alternatives for a planned revision on a garage ordinance that can affect many local families.

Garage use became an issue with the City in 2012, when City inspectors handed out citations to several households that had converted, or partly converted, their garage into a living room space, or added a sliding glass door for easier accessibility. The City believes that garage use should be limited to storage and parking vehicles, citing fire hazards for families who may have set up televisions, couches, refrigerators and ovens in the space instead.

During one incident last year, a residential garage had caught fire, as the owner was cooking on a stove situated inside of her garage. The City cautions residents to not cook, or use too much electricity in garages, because they are not wired as efficiently as a house. 

Many residents, and even some City officials, had been confused about specific details of the zoning ordinance, labeled “Accessory Buildings, and Structures,” and found in Article 2, Section 2.03. The ordinance was first written and passed in 1960 and did not clarify whether, or not a sliding glass door would violate any City laws. Additionally, the ordinance had stated that garages attached to homes are considered part of the home, which led many residents to believe that they were able to put couches and TV’s in such spaces.

The City’s biggest concern, as expressed by the Mayor during the study session, was that garage use of this nature would limit space to park vehicles. The City had previously addressed concerns of overcrowding, due to parked vehicles on the streets of the City’s residential neighborhoods. Last winter, over 500 tickets were issued by the Dearborn Police Department, because residents had failed to move their vehicles off of the streets during a snow emergency, when plowing trucks needed to make their way through neighborhoods. 

City officials debate whether sliding glass doors in garages should be banned.

A decision was made by the City Planning Commission to revise the original ordinance to include outlawing sliding glass doors, along with televisions, refrigerators and ovens. 

That approach was met with heavy resistance at a previous City Planning Commission meeting in April, when residents argued that sliding glass doors should not be outlawed, and that they should have the freedom to include a sliding glass door in their garage, because it looks more “modern,” can keep bugs out, and causes no harm to others.

Some residents have spent thousands of dollars to incorporate a sliding glass door into their garage, and removing it would be costly. The commissioners seemed to agree then that a sliding glass door wouldn’t be an issue if the traditional overhead garage door was still intact for vehicles to enter and exit the garage.

However, sentiments seemed to change at the study session on Tuesday, according to one resident who was in attendance. Nancy Siwik, vice chairperson of the commission, was against the idea of having sliding glass doors all together, stating that houses should all appear the same when driving through Dearborn’s neighborhoods. 

In addition to bringing up the parking issue, Mayor O’Reilly also said that a sliding glass door would allow onlookers to invade someone’s privacy. He cited an example of a house, located off of Ford Road that has a sliding glass door, and indicated that anyone who drives by that specific house is able to see family members inside of the garage. 

At the end of the study session, a decision was made to further review the new draft of the ordinance, although it is not yet clear what position the City will take on sliding glass doors. Once the draft is completed, it will be voted on at a City Planning Commission meeting, and if that vote passes, it will move forward to City Council, who will then, in turn, either pass, or reject the new version of the ordinance. 

The City of Dearborn Planning Commission is a nine-member body, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. Their duties are to determine final action for all special land use and site plan proposals. It also hears proposals for zoning changes, zoning ordinance language amendments, subdivision plats, and alley/street vacations, and then makes recommendations to City Council, who then determine whether they will be passed.  

Residents who have further concerns or questions about this issue should attend the next City Planning Commission Meeting on Monday, June 10 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall, in the Council Chambers room.