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

Catoosa County's Unified Development Code folds shed and accessory-building rules into UDC Section 5.02.01, Accessory Uses and Structures, Generally. Every accessory use in every zoning district must sit a minimum of ten feet from any side and rear property line, unless a more specific UDC section sets a different number for that use. In the county's residential districts, that general 10-foot rule is paired with a location limit: accessory uses, including a storage shed, a detached garage or a child's playhouse, are permitted only in the rear yard, not the front or side yard.

In the Agricultural districts, the standard flips for accessory buildings that are ancillary to a residence and not used to house livestock or poultry: those structures must hold the same front and side yard lines as the main house and cannot project past the house's building line. The UDC's residential list of customary accessory uses also names family gardens, private swimming pools, children's play equipment and disaster shelters alongside a shed, so the same 10-foot side/rear setback and rear-yard-only placement governs all of them unless the specific use has its own additional standard elsewhere in the UDC.

Because a shed still counts as a structure under the UDC's building permit trigger in Section 9.04.01, an owner erecting one still needs to show the county the setback is met before starting construction, and a shed placed inside the setback or in a front or side yard is treated as a UDC violation once the Zoning Administrator finds it, carrying the misdemeanor penalty set out in Section 9.07.03.