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Ease of Doing Business

Our Novi community continues to host major investments and be a desirable location for businesses and residents to locate. Our great location, high-quality education choices, powerful retail magnet presence, excellent public safety and dynamic high-tech office opportunity are just some of the qualities Novi offers. In 2005, Novi had the highest amount of significant and new investment activity in the State of Michigan. We are working hard as a staff to be the best place for continued quality investment. The purpose of this correspondence is to provide you with an update on several significant streamlining and modernization initiatives to continue being a great place to do business.

Site Plan and Development Manual
Development Review Process - Review and Recommendations
Sign Ordinance
Office Service Technology Zoning District - Increased Height Allowance in Appropriate Areas
Streamlining Review of Outdoor Seating at Restaurants
Streamlining Review of Temporary Uses
Retail Parking Standards
Property Tax Abatement Policy
High-Tech MEGA Projects Guidelines and Policy - Adopted by Novi City Council on July 28, 2008

Site Plan and Development Manual

The City Council recently adopted an updated City of Novi Site Plan and Development Manual. This document is written for and provided to the development community to provide an overview of Novi’s development review standards, provide requirements for site plan and application submittals, and answer frequently asked questions. Planning Staff prepared the manual to provide easy electronic reference to the City’s Site Plan Review procedures and to reduce the number of paper copies that are currently distributed. The new electronic version will allow for reduced costs in duplicating paper copies (since many times the entire document is not needed), and will reduce the impact of unneeded papers being added to the waste stream.

Among the updates to the manual include hyperlinks to allow applicants to directly link to required forms or relevant information provided elsewhere on the webpage. Other changes include details of the Planned Rezoning Overlay Review process; combined sections for similar topics (i.e. Woodland and Wetland Permit requirements are discussed in a Natural Features Chapter); updated standards for Traffic Impact Studies to reflect the most current trip generation manual; and updated and refreshed application forms.
Site Plan and Development Manual

Development Review Process
Review and Recommendations

We are committed to process improvement within our City of Novi organization. The building permit and site plan review process has many steps and participants which lends itself to a review. Recently, we recommended, and the City Council supported, using outside expertise to assist a City staff team to review current processes and make recommendations. We retained the Sikich Group for this work. The recommendations will be focused on saving time from unnecessary work so that businesses and the City can focus on items that are truly important and continue to deliver quality projects which mean standards and ordinances. The final Sikich report has been accepted and is being implemented.
Site Plan Approval Process & Estimated Timeline

Sign Ordinance

A major initiative is updating our sign ordinance to modernize, clarify, and open, in certain circumstances, to better serve the community. For several months, City Council’s Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) deliberated over the sign regulations. The ORC spent considerable time reviewing the ordinance. The new ordinance represents a balance of meeting economic needs of business while maintaining high standards and safety. Responding to the needs of office uses, which represent a substantial amount of investment and are a major presence in Novi, the ordinance now allows both a wall sign and a ground sign in the OS zoning districts for buildings more than 40,000 square feet. Other uses, such as restaurant uses, are given additional signage as well.
Sign Ordinance (June 2009 with January 2010 amendments appended)

Office Service Technology Zoning District
Increased Height Allowance in Appropriate Areas

Our OST Zoning District continues to attract high-value and desirable job creators. To keep this momentum, the Novi City Council requested, the Planning Commission recommended, a change to the OST Planned Office Service Technology District regarding building height requirements for land border freeways north of Grand River Avenue. The change does not alter our predominantly low-rise suburban character, but does give flexibility for the future. The contemplated change to a 115’ maximum building height under limited circumstances is modeled on the height maximum that Providence Hospital is now using.
Zoning Map (Mapping Portal)

Streamlining Review of Outdoor Seating at Restaurants

Currently, the Zoning Ordinance expressly authorizes outdoor seating in only the TC and TC-1 zoning districts. Users in all other commercial districts must go to the Zoning Board of Appeals for approval. This is a fairly onerous process for businesses to go through in light of the fact that the request is often for two or three tables on the sidewalk. The new ordinance allows for outdoor seating for existing restaurants.
Restaurant Outdoor Seating Ordinance Update
For more information, visit the City of Novi's website.

Streamlining Review of Temporary Uses

Temporary uses include items such as construction trailers, sales trailers, concrete batch plants, tent sales, sidewalk sales, etc. The notification process is being changed from a Public Hearing to an administrative review of temporary uses with an option for public advertising, under limited circumstances as warranted.
Temporary Special Land Use Ordinance - Effective 5/27/08

Retail Parking Standards

A concern was raised that the City of Novi Zoning Ordinance does not effectively account for difference in demand generated by many types of retail activity, and the overall standards may be higher than the City would desire. The Planning Department has formulated a number of recommendations to bring shopping center parking standards more in line with current findings contained within respected research studies and in order to address perceived concerns about excessive parking for certain types of retail uses. By allowing minimum parking standards closer to the number of spaces needed for the majority of situations, the City would be promoting the redevelopment possibility of some of the established shopping centers and other retail uses in our city.
Retail Parking Standards Update

Property Tax Abatement Policy

Property tax abatement is an incentive provided primarily to build new plants in Michigan or renovate and expand aging assembly and manufacturing, and research plants. The incentive comes in the form of abated property taxes. The value of the project added will produce 50% of the taxes for a set period of time and then resume to the full tax value at the end of the abatement period.  Read the City of Novi's Tax Abatement Policy by clicking on the link below.
Property Tax Abatement Policy

For more information on any of these initiatives, please contact  Ara Topouzian, Economic Development Director at 248-347-0583 or via email.