Key takeaways
- The Macomb County Department of Roads does not maintain private roads; a public road agency cannot spend public dollars on private infrastructure.
- In a condominium, a private road is a common element, and no co-owner escapes the cost by not using it (MCL 559.169).
- Elsewhere, a recorded road maintenance agreement decides who pays; Lenox Township requires one before it issues building permits on its private roads.
- Where a road is a fire access road, the International Fire Code requires 20 feet of unobstructed width and a 3-foot clear space around hydrants.
On this page
- Who plows a private road in Macomb County?
- How can you tell if your road is private?
- Who pays to plow a condominium road?
- Who pays on a private road that is not a condominium?
- What does fire and emergency access require?
- What belongs in a private road snow contract?
- What about mailboxes, signs and stakes?
Who plows a private road in Macomb County?
The owners. The Macomb County Department of Roads (MCDR) says it directly: it does not maintain or have jurisdiction over private roads. Its money comes from state gas taxes and vehicle registration fees under Public Act 51, and as a public road agency it is not allowed to spend public dollars on privately owned infrastructure.
Townships say the same. Washington Township tells residents that private roads are maintained at the expense of the private individuals who requested the road, and Lenox Township's private road ordinance says neither the township nor MCDR has any responsibility or legal authority to maintain one. That covers condominium and site-condominium roads, private subdivisions and shared lanes alike. For public roads, see who plows which roads in Macomb County.
How can you tell if your road is private?
- The street sign. Washington Township says a blue street sign marks a private road, and a green one a public road under county jurisdiction.
- Your documents. A condominium's master deed and subdivision plan show the roads, and a deed may reference a road easement or a recorded maintenance agreement.
- Ask. Call MCDR at 586-463-8671 about a road in a township, or your city's public works department.
Some townships now limit new private roads: Lenox Township prohibits developing new ones.
Who pays to plow a condominium road?
The association, with money from every co-owner. Under the Michigan Condominium Act, the common elements are every part of the project that is not a unit (MCL 559.103), so a private road that is not part of a unit is one. The project is run under bylaws recorded with the master deed (MCL 559.153). Common expenses are assessed by each unit's percentage of value, or by another formula in the master deed, and no co-owner avoids paying by not using a common element (MCL 559.169).
One exception matters on short drives: if the master deed makes a drive a limited common element serving only some units, its upkeep is charged to those units unless the documents say otherwise. Read the master deed and bylaws for what the association clears: the road only, or driveways and walks too.
Who pays on a private road that is not a condominium?
Whoever the recorded documents name. Outside a condominium, look for a road maintenance agreement recorded with the deeds. Lenox Township's ordinance shows what a strong one does: it is recorded with every parcel's deed or land contract, binds all the owners, sets up a way to pay for regular maintenance, and includes each owner's written approval for a special assessment district if the owners stop maintaining the road. The township will not issue a building permit on one of its private roads until the road meets its standards and it has an executed agreement.
If nothing was ever recorded, the households have to agree, the way neighbors on a shared driveway do: a written split, one contact for the plow company and a rule for parked cars. This is general information, not legal advice; if the dispute is about the easement itself, see a real estate attorney.
What does fire and emergency access require?
A lane wide enough for a car is not always wide enough for a fire engine. Lenox Township sets its private road standards because fire, police and emergency services need access year-round, and it notes that roads not kept to minimum standards often become impassable. Its minimum traveled width is 24 feet, or 26 feet on roads longer than 500 feet, a standard it ties to the International Fire Code as the township adopted it.
That code is specific. Fire apparatus access roads must keep at least 20 feet of unobstructed width and may not be obstructed in any manner, including by parked vehicles (Sections 503.2.1 and 503.4 of the 2015 International Fire Code). Fire hydrants need a 3-foot clear space around them (Section 507.5.5).
Snowbanks count. A road plowed a little narrower each storm, with cars parked along the banks, can be well under 20 feet by February. Whether your road is a fire apparatus access road is the fire code official's call, so ask your fire department, and have the banks pushed back. Snow emergency parking bans can apply on private roads too; snow emergency parking in Macomb County lists the rules by community.
What belongs in a private road snow contract?
| Clause | What to settle | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | The depth that sends the plow, and who measures it | Traffic packs road snow into ruts |
| Scope | Road, cul-de-sacs, entrance, walks, mailbox areas; driveways or not | Each household knows what it still clears |
| The entrance | Who clears the ridge the public road's plow leaves across the mouth of the road | It comes back every time the public road is plowed |
| Width and banks | Push banks back; keep snow off hydrants and drains | Fire access, sight lines, room for the next storm |
| Ice control | Whether salt is included, where it goes, what is used in deep cold | Salt can be priced separately |
| Insurance | A certificate of insurance before work starts | Damage the contractor causes is a claim against its policy |
| Billing | The association, one household or each household | Unpaid shares stall the service |
Check the certificate the way snow contractor insurance explains, and have the association or the owners named on it.
What about mailboxes, signs and stakes?
Before the ground freezes, stake everything a blade can hit: road edges, curbs and islands, culverts, hydrants, sign posts and mailbox posts or cluster boxes (driveway markers covers spacing and height). Agree where snow may be stacked, and keep piles off hydrants, storm drains and the corners at the entrance, where a tall bank hides oncoming traffic. Clear the approach to the mailboxes so the carrier can reach them. On storm nights, cars belong in garages and driveways, not along the road, where they narrow the lane and leave strips the plow cannot reach.
Sources
- Macomb County Department of Roads: frequently asked questions — MCDR does not maintain or have jurisdiction over private roads
- Washington Township: roads and sidewalks — blue street signs mark private roads
- Lenox Township Code of Ordinances, Chapter 702: private roads — maintenance agreements, road widths and emergency access
- Michigan Condominium Act, MCL 559.101 et seq., Michigan Legislature — sections 559.103, 559.153 and 559.169
- International Code Council: 2015 International Fire Code, Chapter 5, fire service features — sections 503.2.1, 503.4 and 507.5.5
Written by the Macomb Lawn & Snow Solutions team in Macomb Township, Michigan. We plow and salt homes and businesses across all 26 Macomb County communities, November 15 to April 15. Published October 5, 2026. About us · How we research these guides · How our dispatch works