Southfield updates zoning to clarify flagpole height exceptions and fall-zone engineering option

The Southfield City Council on July 21 approved a text amendment to Title 5 (Zoning and Planning) that clarifies height exceptions for accessory structures specifically addressing flagpoles.

Staff said the change was prompted by a developer request to install a 200-foot flagpole and by an ambiguity in the current code that treated tall flagpoles the same as monopoles for fall-zone calculations. Under the revision, applicants may submit a structural-engineering report certifying a self-collapsing design; the building official may, after review, allow a smaller fall zone than the ordinance’s 150% requirement and eliminate the need for a zoning-board-of-appeals waiver in those cases.

Pamela Gerald spoke during the public hearing to ask whether the amendment would be based on existing pole heights in the city and how the city would measure compliance. Planning staff reiterated that the amendment clarifies the calculation method and the process for requesting a fall-zone reduction with engineering documentation.

Councilwoman Hogue moved approval of the text amendment (PTZA25-03); Councilwoman Haines supported the motion. The council voted to approve the amendment and then introduced Ordinance 18-16 to enact the change formally.

The amendment applies to zoning districts where accessory-structure height limits previously referenced monopole fall-zone rules; it does not itself authorize the installation of any specific pole. Any applicant that proposes a pole taller than district height limits will still need to follow the amended procedure, provide engineering certification where requested, and obtain the building permits required by the city.