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

The City of Decatur's Unified Development Ordinance treats a garden shed as an accessory building, one of eleven accessory uses the code lists as automatically permitted alongside a principal residence (UDO Sec. 4). D caps the number of accessory buildings at two per lot, though any structure under 100 square feet, a small tool shed, for instance, doesn't count toward that cap. E sets the size and height ceiling: no accessory building, inclusive of an accessory dwelling unit, garage or other enclosed storage, may exceed 1,000 square feet of total floor area, 25 feet in height, or two stories.

Dimensional standards such as setbacks from property lines aren't set citywide; they run with the principal structure standards for each zoning district under Article 3 (Residential Districts) and Article 4 (Mixed Use and Commercial Districts), so a shed's required setback depends on whether the lot sits in, for example, an R-85 or an RM-18 district. C bars combining a full bathroom with a kitchen in the same structure, a step meant to stop an unpermitted shed from quietly becoming a second dwelling. A, which comes with its own owner-occupancy and floor-area rules.

Building permits for accessory structures go through the Zoning Administrator's office in DeKalb County's City of Decatur, and a shed built past these caps, or one plumbed and wired for living space without ADU approval, is treated as a zoning violation subject to the City's code enforcement process.