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

Section 4.01.02 of the Unified Land Development Code measures front setbacks from the edge of the public right-of-way to the wall of the building or structure, and side and rear setbacks from the property line to the wall. Table 4.01.02(E) then sets the minimums for unincorporated Gordon County. RC-1, A-1, and RA-1 require 40 feet from the right-of-way, 20 feet on the sides, and 50 feet in the rear. R-1, R-2, and R-6 require 25 feet in front, 10 on the sides, and 30 in the rear. R-3 and R-5 require 20 feet in front and 10 on the sides, with 30 feet and 50 feet of rear yard. R-4 requires 20 feet in front, 10 feet on a non-common wall side, 8 feet for single-family detached, and 30 feet in the rear. O-I, C-C, and C-G require 25, 10, and 20 feet. C-H requires 35, 20, and 20, and I-1 and I-2 require 50, 20, and 20.

Two footnotes change the numbers. A side yard drops to eight (8) feet for lots with sixty (60) feet of road frontage. A rear yard grows to a minimum of fifty (50) feet where the lot abuts an A-1 district with active agricultural farming or processing operations.

Other subsections adjust the measurements. Eaves, cornices, gutters, sills, chimneys, steps, and fire escapes can project not more than three (3) feet past a setback line, and an unenclosed residential porch or stoop can extend three feet past the front setback. Service station canopies over a driveway cannot come closer than 15 feet to the street right-of-way and need 12 feet of vertical clearance. A lot fronting more than one street or road, public or private, meets the front setback of its district on every frontage, and the remaining lines count as side yards. Required yards cannot be reduced, and one building's yard cannot double as another's.