Asphalt Sealcoating in Northville, MI
Northville, MI is two separate governments. The City of Northville, settled in 1825 and a city since 1955, had 6,119 residents in the 2020 Census and straddles Eight Mile Road, the Wayne-Oakland county line, with a little over half its residents on the Oakland side. The Charter Township of Northville, next door in Wayne County, had 31,758 residents in 2020, up from 28,497 in 2010. This page covers both and says which rules belong to which, since the township's code does not apply inside the city.
The city is the historic core. Its National Register historic district, listed in 1972 and bounded roughly by Cady, Rogers and Randolph streets, is mostly Gothic Revival houses built between 1860 and 1880. In the township, the former psychiatric hospital property, most of which residents voted to buy in 2009, was demolished between 2018 and 2023. For weather, the Detroit Metro normals give both about 74 days a year crossing freezing and 42.5 inches of snow.
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Hills, sand, and the Middle Rouge headwaters
Near downtown, the USDA soil survey for Wayne County maps Morley loam on 6 to 18 percent slopes, a moderately well drained soil of loess over clay loam till with a perched water table 2 to 3.5 feet down from January through April. Beside it are well drained Boyer loamy sand over sand and gravel outwash and floodplain ground mapped as Cohoctah fine sandy loam, frequently flooded. Farther into the township the survey maps the same mix, Morley loam beside Boyer and Spinks loamy sands. Northville is also where the Middle Rouge begins, at the meeting of the Walled Lake branch and Johnson Drain, before it runs south through the township toward Plymouth.
In the township, the code caps a residential driveway at a 7 percent grade, allows up to 12 percent if the owner files a signed acknowledgment with the Building Department, and permits steeper drives only in special cases approved by the Building Official and Township Engineer. Driveway approaches are held to a 2 percent grade, and any approach built or rebuilt in a county or state right-of-way needs that agency's permit. On a sloped Northville drive, runoff and plow damage concentrate where the slope meets the flat approach, so crack filling and patching should start there before any sealer goes down.
See Northville, MI on Google Maps — we cover the whole area from Livonia.
Asphalt Sealcoating Services Available in Northville
Every service we offer in Livonia is available to Northville homeowners and businesses at the same pricing:
See the full pricing guide for typical ranges.
Northville FAQs
Are roads and approaches handled the same way in the City of Northville and the township?
No. Michigan townships get no gas-tax road revenue and rely on their county for nearly all road work, which in Northville Township means Wayne County, and the township code sends anyone rebuilding an approach in a county or state right-of-way to that agency for a permit. The City of Northville is an incorporated city with its own streets and ordinances, and its part north of Eight Mile Road lies in Oakland County. City owners should ask City Hall before changing an approach. Sealing the driveway itself is private-property work.
Is coal-tar sealer banned anywhere in Northville?
No ban has turned up. A search of the Charter Township of Northville's code mentions coal tar only as a coating for water system pipes and fittings, not as a pavement rule, and neither the city nor the township is on the Huron River Watershed Council's list of Michigan communities banning high-PAH sealers. Statewide, Senate Bill 710 would ban them but has not moved past committee since its November 2025 introduction. With the Middle Rouge beginning in Northville, asphalt emulsion is the conservative pick.
Why do some Northville driveways crumble at the edges while others heave?
Different ground underneath. Boyer and Spinks loamy sands are well drained, so water leaves quickly, but loose sand gives a driveway edge little support and the shoulders break down first. Morley loam is moderately well drained over dense till, with a perched water table 2 to 3.5 feet down from January through April, so water that gets under the pavement can freeze and lift it. Sandy-ground driveways need edge repair; Morley-ground driveways need cracks closed before winter and water routed away.
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