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Design-build in West Bloomfield, Michigan
West Bloomfield Homes, Built Around the Water
Designed, sourced & built under one roof.
Twenty-four lakes and roughly twelve percent of the township under water. West Bloomfield enforces a twenty-five foot environmental features setback from every wetland edge and watercourse, and on a lakefront lot that setback often decides the project before the design does.
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On a lake lot, the setback line is the first line drawn.
West Bloomfield is a township of about twenty-four lakes (Cass, Pine, Union, Walnut, Orchard, Middle and Upper Straits among the all-sports waters) with a median house from 1978 on a median lot of roughly 14,800 square feet. Split-level ranches, colonials and newer traditional houses make up most of the stock, running from modest quarter-acre homes to custom waterfront.
Note that Orchard Lake Village, Keego Harbor and Sylvan Lake are separate municipalities embedded within or adjacent to the township, with their own rules. A West Bloomfield mailing address does not always mean township jurisdiction.
What genuinely defines building here is Chapter 26, the environmental features setback ordinance. It is more prescriptive than anything comparable in our service area.
What We Build in West Bloomfield
Services
01 - Kitchens
Custom cabinetry and layout work in lake homes and township colonials.
$95,000 – $240,000+
02 - Bathrooms
Primary suites and guest baths, with waterproofing and a flood-tested pan on every shower.
$58,000 – $150,000+
03 - Additions
Additions on lake lots, planned around the 25-foot environmental features setback.
$200,000 – $650,000+
04 - Whole-home
Full renovations of waterfront and near-waterfront homes.
$400,000 – $1,300,000+
Ranges shown are typical for West Bloomfield. Full tier-by-tier pricing is on each cost guide.
Building in West Bloomfield
What Building Here Actually Involves
01
The environmental features setback is twenty-five feet, and it is prescriptive
Chapter 26 applies a 25-foot setback from the boundary of a wetland and from the ordinary high water mark of a watercourse. Within it, the ordinance prohibits removal, deposition or assembly of materials or structures, and removal of soils, minerals or vegetation. Regulated activities explicitly include seawalls, driveways, beach sanding, tree trimming and impervious surfaces, with impervious cover capped at 25 percent of the setback area. Trees inside it may be trimmed only to twelve feet for viewshed.
02
Small jobs go administrative; anything meaningful goes to a board
Minor single-family work can be approved administratively by the Environmental Department director. Administrative permits cannot cover new home construction, work affecting more than 25 percent of the setback area, or anything with net loss of resource function. Larger work goes to the Wetlands Review Board with a ninety-day decision window, or to the Planning Commission with a public hearing. Materials are due a minimum of four weeks before the meeting.
03
The fees escalate sharply, and after-the-fact costs more
Administrative permits run $261, single-family $500, and acreage $2,250. After-the-fact single family is $800 and after-the-fact acreage $2,750. Submittals require three folded scaled plot plans and, for any removal, deposit or grading, a certified topographic map at one inch to thirty feet prepared by a registered professional.
04
Soil erosion applies within 500 feet of any lake or stream
Michigan’s Part 91 requires a soil erosion permit for any earth change within 500 feet of a lake or stream regardless of size. In a township that is twelve percent water, that captures a very large share of projects. Oakland County’s threshold for work in that zone is anything over 225 square feet.
05
Both well and septic exist here, and a bedroom changes the permit
The township’s permit application asks the applicant to declare public water versus well, and public sewer versus septic. On a septic property, adding a bedroom or increasing sewage flow requires a new system application through Oakland County rather than a repair permit, which on a constrained lakefront lot can mean an entirely new field.
Requirements change. Confirm current specifics with West Bloomfield Planning and Development Services, the Building Division, or Oakland County Environmental Health before relying on any of the above. Seawall, dock and shoreline work also requires state permitting through EGLE.
where we work
Where We Work in West Bloomfield
We build throughout the township and the surrounding communities: Bloomfield Hills, Franklin, Farmington Hills and Novi.
Cass Lake
Pine Lake
Union Lake
Walnut Lake
Upper Straits
Middle Straits
Pine Lake Estates
Fox Run Green
Foxpointe
Maple Creek
Hunter Heights
Bloomfield Glens
straight answer
On a lake lot, ask about the setback first.
Twenty-five feet from a wetland edge or the ordinary high water mark, with impervious cover inside that band capped at a quarter of its area, and prohibitions on removing soil or vegetation. On many West Bloomfield lakefront lots, that line sits exactly where people want to build.
It is knowable on day one from the survey, and it determines whether a project is administrative, goes to the Wetlands Review Board on a ninety-day clock, or is not possible in the form you had in mind. After-the-fact permits cost substantially more, so this is not a line to discover during construction.
We don't reface cabinets and we don't paint them. We're the right fit when a lake house deserves new cabinetry, real millwork, and a builder who reads Chapter 26 before the elevations.
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2014
Founded in Metro Detroit
Old Woodward
Our office, in Birmingham
100%
In-house design, source & build
Good to know
West Bloomfield FAQ
How close to the water can I build?
The environmental features setback is 25 feet from a wetland boundary or the ordinary high water mark of a watercourse, and the ordinance restricts what can happen inside it, including impervious surfaces, vegetation removal, and even tree trimming above twelve feet. We establish that line from the survey before design.
Will I need to go before a board?
It depends on scope. Minor single-family work can be approved administratively. Anything affecting more than a quarter of the setback area, or involving net loss of resource function, goes to the Wetlands Review Board with a ninety-day window or to the Planning Commission with a public hearing, and materials are due four weeks ahead.
Do I need a soil erosion permit?
Almost certainly, if the work is within 500 feet of a lake or stream, Michigan requires one regardless of project size in that zone. In a township that is twelve percent water, most projects qualify.
I am on septic. Does that limit an addition?
It can. Adding a bedroom or increasing sewage flow triggers a new system application through Oakland County rather than a repair permit, and on a tight lakefront lot the space for a new field may not exist. We look into this before design.
Am I actually in West Bloomfield Township?
Worth confirming. Orchard Lake Village, Keego Harbor and Sylvan Lake are separate municipalities embedded in or adjacent to the township, with their own building departments and rules, and mailing addresses do not always make the distinction clear.
Are you licensed and insured in Michigan?
Yes, licensed Michigan residential builder, Lic. 2102213502, fully insured, with our office on Old Woodward in Birmingham.
Planning a renovation in West Bloomfield?