Barrow County, GA Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Barrow County's Unified Development Code splits accessory building setbacks into two tiers under section 89-407(a)(3), and the dividing line is a 144-square-foot floor area. A shed, tool room or similar small accessory building at 144 square feet or less needs only a five-foot setback from any property line and must be located to the rear of the principal building on the lot. 1 rather than the shed's five-foot minimum. Larger accessory buildings also generally cannot sit in the front yard, with one exception: on a lot of five acres or more, a larger accessory building may be placed between the minimum front principal-building setback line and the principal building itself.

Two other rules in the same accessory-structures division bear on sheds: section 89-217(c)(2) caps any accessory structure at two stories, and section 89-217(c)(3) limits an accessory structure to no more than 30 percent of the rear yard. Section 89-217(a)(3) also requires that no accessory structure be built until construction of the principal building on the lot has commenced, and section 89-217(c)(1) sets a general five-foot minimum from side or rear lot lines for accessory structures generally. Metal accessory structures larger than 500 square feet require special use approval under section 89-218(c)(3).