Effingham County, GA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Zoning Ordinance § 5.5.3, the 'Lot and building requirements' table for the R-1-A Single-Family Residential District (Alternative), sets a 100-foot building line and requires a minimum front yard of 35 feet, a minimum rear yard of 25 feet, a minimum interior side yard of 15 feet, and a minimum side yard of 25 feet where the lot fronts a street. R-1-A is written as an alternative version of the standard R-1 district: § 5.5.1 carries over every use permitted in R-1 and adds single-family manufactured homes that meet specific foundation, siding, roofing and driveway standards, while § 5.5.3 sets its own dimensional standards rather than reusing the R-1 table.

The section also requires a minimum lot area of 12,000 square feet where both public water and sewer serve the parcel, rising to 21,780 square feet with public water only and 43,560 square feet, one full acre, where the lot relies on private water and septic; a building permit issued under the smaller lot sizes carries a 90-day deadline to connect once public service reaches the property. Development Services reviews setback compliance at the building-permit stage, and any principal structure placed inside the required yards without an approved variance from the county's board of zoning appeals is a zoning violation.

Because R-1-A shares its underlying single-family purpose with standard R-1 but applies these separate numbers, a buyer or builder should confirm with Development Services which of the two districts actually covers a given parcel before using either table.