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

City of South Fulton Zoning Ordinance § 303.02 lists tool sheds, woodsheds, workshops, storage sheds, detached garages, detached carports, gazebos, and play equipment as accessory structures customary to a single-family dwelling. Placement is governed by § 403.03(f), which requires that in agricultural and residential zoning districts accessory structures 'may be located in rear or side yards but shall not be located within a minimum yard,' meaning a shed cannot encroach into the front, side, or rear setback that applies to the principal building. Special variations apply district by district: on AG-1 lots of at least ten acres, a structure accessory to the agricultural use may sit in any yard so long as it stays outside the minimum yard; in the R-5A and NUP districts a detached garage may sit along the rear lot line at zero to seven feet if the owner grants a seven-foot encroachment and maintenance easement; and in the A, TR, A-L, MIX, C-1, C-2, M-1, and M-2 districts, accessory structures are barred from the minimum front yard outright.

Section 402.06 separately bars building a shed before the house it serves exists: accessory structures 'shall be constructed concurrently with or subsequent to a principal building.' Once built, § 3-6020 of the property maintenance code forbids constructing or repairing an accessory building 'in whole or in part with tarp, or any tarp-like material, vinyl, plastic, or PVC,' and requires it be 'maintained and kept in good repair and sound structural condition.' The code sets one explicit percentage size cap tied to an accessory use: a residential greenhouse under § 303.02(b) is limited to one-third of the principal dwelling's floor area; no equivalent blanket square-footage cap for ordinary storage sheds appears in the text, which instead controls shed size and location indirectly through the § 403.03(f) yard-placement rules.