Hanging Out in Your Garage Is Not a Crime, Except When it Is

The Detroit Free Press reports this week on an odd local-ordinance dispute in the suburb of Dearborn, where several local families have taken to using their garages for something other than parking. They've moved in TVs and lawn chairs, laid down tile flooring and – this was apparently the last straw – installed sliding-glass doors where the mechanized garage entrance ought to be.

These families have created a living space – something in between outdoor patio and indoor den – out of what most people treat as a home for their cars. This seems like a clever idea if you have neither (or not enough) of those more traditional spaces, or if you simply don't want to turn over the equivalent of an entire room of your home to your station wagon.