Royal Oak panel directs engineer to design parking options, offer license agreements for Rochester Road resurfacing

The Royal Oak City Commission on Monday directed the city engineer to move forward with designing compliant parking options and to negotiate license agreements with adjacent property owners as the city prepares to resurface Rochester Road between 13 and 14 Mile.

The decision followed a lengthy public-comment period in which small-business owners — including Green Lantern Pizza, PKSA Karate and Bravo Intimates — and nearby residents urged the commission to preserve front-door parking used by customers. City Engineer Holly Donahue told the commission the project (scheduled for 2026) will convert the corridor from four lanes to three, rebuild curbs and includes water-main improvements; staff found several properties that currently have angled parking or pull-off pads in the public right-of-way that do not meet current standards.

"We noted that there's several properties along the corridor that currently have parking in the right of way and to our knowledge without any license agreements documenting that," Donahue said. She described three commercial locations where spaces are short or drive aisles are narrow and five residential pull-off pads; staff estimated some configurations would yield fewer spaces if rebuilt to standards and said construction and design costs would be borne by property owners who opt for license agreements.

Donahue said the city favors installing green infrastructure — rain gardens, trees and grass where feasible — to reduce stormwater entering the sewer system, but that ability to add such features depends on available width and the trade-off with parking. "We look for areas that would be a great place for green infrastructure," she said, noting some locations may be able to support a narrow rain garden while others might be limited to paving for parking.

Commissioners asked for clarity about safety and travel impacts. Donahue said the lane conversion study reviewed crash history along the corridor and forecasted that travel time for the entire segment would increase by approximately a minute in the worst-case PM peak, while predicting a reduction in crash rates. Residents and local business owners countered that loss of front parking would push vehicles into side streets and make delivery and maneuvering more difficult.

After questions and discussion, Commissioner Colo moved to adopt the resolution directing staff to develop parking designs where feasible, notify property owners about the licensing option, estimate costs and return to the commission with draft license agreements. Commissioner Douglas seconded and the motion passed by voice vote.

The practical outcome is a two-track approach: properties that wish to retain customer parking can apply for formal license agreements and pay the costs to bring pads and curb conditions to standard; properties that do not pursue agreements will have the right-of-way returned to green space or other city-standard treatments as part of the resurfacing work. Donahue said the city will send application letters and a standard license-application fee to affected property owners and then work through design iterations and cost estimates before returning for final approval.

The commission’s action does not automatically preserve any existing parking; it authorizes staff to negotiate designs and agreements and to present those proposals to the commission for approval.