Brookhaven, GA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

The Maximum Building Height rows of Table 2-3 print 40 feet for the Principal Building in RS-100, RS-85, RS-75, RS-60 and RS-50, and 20 feet for the Accessory Building, each with footnote 6. Footnote 6 reads "Or height of principal building, whichever is less," so a shed or garage can never stand taller than the house it serves. Table 2-4 in section 27-68 prints the same 40 feet for a principal building and 20 feet for an accessory building in the R3 and RSA column and the RM column.

Detached accessory dwelling units have their own row. Table 2-9 in section 27-135 prints Maximum Building Height as 24 feet or two stories in RS, R3, RSA and RM districts, with a footnote limiting it to the height and number of stories of the principal building, whichever is less. Maximum floor area for a DADU is 50 percent of the floor area of the principal residential structure.

Fencing interacts with accessory height. Footnote 7 of Table 2-3 lets an accessory structure sit behind the front wall plane of the principal dwelling when enclosed by an opaque fence at least six feet tall, and an opaque fence screening an accessory building in a non-rear yard must exceed the building's height by at least six inches, up to a maximum fencing height of eight feet.

Rooftop and tower equipment has separate caps. Solar energy systems on a building cannot extend more than three feet above the applicable maximum building height limit or more than four feet above the highest point of the roof line, whichever is less (27-704(b)(4)). Ground-mounted satellite dishes cannot exceed 20 feet including the platform (27-703(c)(2)), and amateur radio antennas cannot exceed a combined height of 70 feet in RS and RSA districts without a special land use permit (27-697(a)). The community development director enforces these limits under section 27-1220.