Michigan licensing & zoning
How is the 1,000-foot school buffer measured in Michigan?
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The answer
Property line to property line. The CRA measures from the establishment's parcel boundary to the school's parcel boundary, not from door to door or building to building. That parcel-line rule can disqualify a building whose entrance sits well outside 1,000 feet if the underlying lot lines run closer than the storefront suggests.
Why this trips up otherwise-good sites
A broker or operator eyeballing a map, or even pacing a distance on foot, will routinely misjudge the buffer because they are measuring the wrong points. A large-lot school with frontage that wraps toward a subject parcel can pull the qualifying line hundreds of feet closer than the buildings themselves appear. Always verify with a surveyed parcel-line measurement, not a visual estimate.
Local ordinances can measure differently
MRTMA sets the parcel-line method as the state default, but a municipality's own zoning ordinance may impose an additional or differently measured local setback. Read the local text alongside the state rule; do not assume the two use identical measurement points.
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