Barrow County, GA Ordinances (2026)

Unincorporated Barrow County levies a five percent excise tax on every guestroom rental in the county's special hotel district, and the definition of 'hotel' expressly reaches…

Unincorporated Barrow County requires a temporary event permit for public gatherings like carnivals, fairs and festivals held on private property, with a three-acre minimum site, a…

Reserving a county recreation area in unincorporated Barrow County runs through the Parks and Recreation Board, which Barrow County Code § 62-46 empowers to set, revise, and collect…

Barrow County requires a temporary event permit for any street fair, festival, carnival or similar gathering held on unincorporated land. Sites must be at least three acres, events run…

Unincorporated Barrow County requires every motor vehicle's exhaust to run through a muffler built for that engine and unaltered, and separately bans operating any vehicle, including…

In unincorporated Barrow County, running any noise-creating blower or power fan, including a gas leaf blower, is unlawful unless it is fitted with a muffler built for that engine and…

Unincorporated Barrow County confines building construction, demolition and repair noise to 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on weekdays under Code section 58-4(b)(6). Work outside that window…

Outdoor commercial recreation and entertainment uses in unincorporated Barrow County, such as drive-in theaters, amusement parks and go-cart tracks, must keep property-line sound under…

Unincorporated Barrow County bans using a loudspeaker or sound amplifier to cast advertising or attention-getting sound onto the public streets under Code section 58-4(b)(3). Any radio…

Unincorporated Barrow County presumes yelling, shouting or singing loud enough to carry 50 feet is a noise violation between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under Code section 58-4(b)(4). The…

Unincorporated Barrow County treats a dog or other animal that keeps disturbing a neighbor's peace as a noise violation under Code section 58-4(b)(5), but only after the animal's…

In unincorporated Barrow County, anyone developing land inside the Airport Hazard Overlay District around Barrow County Airport must sign an agreement waiving the right to complain…

In unincorporated Barrow County it is unlawful to keep an inoperative motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer outdoors unless it is fully enclosed or screened from public view. County…

Unincorporated Barrow County outlaws parking wreckers, dump trucks, flat-bed trucks, tow trucks, mechanical earthmoving equipment, and other commercial vehicles in any residential…

Unincorporated Barrow County limits where travel trailers, RVs, campers, boats, personal watercraft, ATVs and trailers can sit on a residential lot. Code Sec. 89-726(b) bans them from…

Barrow County requires every parking spot in the unincorporated area to sit on a treated, hardened surface built for the vehicle using it. Code Sec. 89-732(a)(2) further bans parking…

Barrow County requires every business, industrial, hospital, institutional or hotel building to provide adequate off-street loading and unloading space under Code Sec. 89-733. Loading…

Unincorporated Barrow County's Unified Development Code sets site standards for day care facilities: group homes cap at 18 people with a six-foot play-area fence, while day care…

Unincorporated Barrow County requires every permitted short-term rental to have a working carbon monoxide detector outside each bedroom offered for rent, built and placed to the…

In unincorporated Barrow County, the building official inspects construction at set stages under Barrow County Code § 22-98: foundation, slab, frame and final for building work, plus…

In unincorporated Barrow County, anyone who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or install a covered…

Barrow County has no separate "green building" ordinance. Instead it adopts the Georgia State Energy Code for Buildings as one of its technical codes (§ 22-31(a)(8)), and § 22-34(a)(9)…

Unincorporated Barrow County enforces the National Electrical Code as one of its technical codes (§ 22-31(a)(5)), applying it to "the installation of electrical systems, including…

Barrow County enforces the Standard Plumbing Code as one of its technical codes (§ 22-31(a)(4)), applying it to "every plumbing installation, including alterations, repairs…

Unincorporated Barrow County caps a residential yard sale at three calendar days per event, and running more than three such sales in any rolling 12-month period turns the property…

Renting, operating, or advertising a short-term rental in unincorporated Barrow County requires an annual permit from Planning and Community Development. Owners apply with property…

Barrow County caps overnight occupancy in a short-term rental at two guests per bedroom (plus two more if on sewer), never exceeding 12 people overnight, applied between 11 p.m. and 7…

Unincorporated Barrow County runs its short-term rental permits on a three-strike system: magistrate-court fines and permit consequences escalate from a $250 warning on the first…

Beyond the $250 permit fee, a Barrow County short-term rental owner must keep paying occupation tax under the business license article, stay current on property taxes for the rental…

In unincorporated Barrow County, every short-term rental permit requires a posted notice stating the exact quiet hours under the county's noise ordinance, and the owner or local…

In unincorporated Barrow County, a short-term rental permit caps parked vehicles at one per bedroom, bans parking on the county right-of-way, and confines every vehicle to a…

In unincorporated Barrow County, a code complaint about an unfit, drug-nuisance, or unsafe building goes to the county marshal, who can be triggered by a public authority or at least…

Under the Barrow County Nuisance Abatement Ordinance, a property becomes an actionable public nuisance when it is unfit for human habitation or business use and out of code compliance…

To report a suspected nuisance property in unincorporated Barrow County, a public authority or a group of at least five residents of the unincorporated area must file a written request…

Unincorporated Barrow County defines a door-to-door peddler as anyone who goes place to place selling wares directly to consumers, distinct from a repeat-route salesperson. Because…

Unincorporated Barrow County classifies its occupation tax by employee count, with a $35 base tax for a one-person business rising to $215 plus $10 per employee past ten workers…

Barrow County's short-term rental ordinance explicitly says the county will not enforce private restrictive covenants or HOA agreements against a homeowner. If a subdivision's HOA bans…

Any unincorporated Barrow County subdivision with common open space must set up a homeowners' association, and section 89-470(a) fixes how it has to be governed: membership is…

Barrow County's Unified Development Code does not set a dues cap for homeowners' associations in unincorporated developments, but it does dictate what the HOA's governing documents…

Barrow County bans smoking, indoors and outdoors, on every property the county itself owns or operates. Sec. 2-4 declares all such areas nonsmoking places, covering county buildings…

It is unlawful in unincorporated Barrow County to possess an open alcohol container on public streets, sidewalks, rights-of-way, or in any public or semipublic parking lot, per Sec…

Unincorporated Barrow County makes loitering or prowling a chargeable offense under Code section 58-2 when a person is in a place, at a time or in a manner unusual for law-abiding…

Every permitted short-term rental in unincorporated Barrow County must have a working smoke detector in each bedroom, right outside each bedroom, and on every story, installed to the…

In unincorporated Barrow County, no one may start a controlled burn without first getting approval from the forestry department and securing a permit from the fire department, under an…

Barrow County bans fireworks at any permitted temporary event, such as a festival or fair, except on New Year's Eve, July 4th and Memorial Day. Even on those three dates, organizers…

Unincorporated Barrow County requires every permitted short-term rental to keep a working emergency escape window or door in each bedroom, a charged fire extinguisher on every floor…

Cats get lighter treatment than other pets in unincorporated Barrow County. Sec. 14-38 exempts felines from the at-large ban that binds dogs, and Sec. 14-39's duty-to-restrain rule…

Get your dog or cat back from the Barrow County shelter and you leave with more than you brought in: Sec. 14-92(e) requires every domesticated animal that is impounded and reclaimed to…

In unincorporated Barrow County it is unlawful for the owner of any dog, or any domesticated animal other than a cat, to let it run at-large, per Sec. 14-38. Sec. 14-39 layers on a…

Barrow County does not require every pet to be fixed, but it does for any cat that leaves home. Sec. 14-40(9) makes it a public nuisance offense for an unspayed or unneutered feline to…

Barrow County does not ban dogs by breed. Instead Sec. 14-111 classifies a dog as "dangerous" or "vicious" by what it actually does: a bite that breaks skin without serious injury, an…

Animal hospitals and veterinary clinics in unincorporated Barrow County must sit at least 200 feet from any residential property or structure and provide enough sound- and…

Unincorporated Barrow County ties livestock and poultry keeping to lot size rather than banning it outright. Keeping cattle, poultry or other non-domestic animals requires at least…

Any private swimming pool in unincorporated Barrow County counts as an accessory use to a dwelling and must be enclosed by a fence or wall at least four feet high with a self-locking…

In unincorporated Barrow County, a residential swimming pool is regulated under the Standard Swimming Pool Code, adopted by reference alongside the county's other technical codes…

Barrow County limits how a home-based professional practice can draw customers to a residential lot. Under Barrow County Code § 89-219, a 'home business' such as an artist's studio or…

A family day care home is allowed as a home occupation in unincorporated Barrow County, capped at five paid children or elderly adults, or six if the home meets institutional building…

Barrow County treats a home business, home office or family day care as a 'home occupation' under Barrow County Code § 89-219, a low-intensity commercial use confined to a small part…

Barrow County allows one detached guest house per lot as an accessory dwelling for relatives, domestic employees or temporary guests, capped at 50 percent of the main home's living…

In unincorporated Barrow County, a homeowner may add a second cooking facility for relatives inside a single-family house only if the property owner lives there too. County Code…

In unincorporated Barrow County, a small shed of 144 square feet or less only needs to sit five feet from any property line and stay to the rear of the house. Once an accessory…

Barrow County's home business zoning category, at Barrow County Code § 89-219(a), does not allow repair or maintenance work on merchandise received at the home, which rules out running…

Barrow County requires a sexually oriented establishment permit before anyone opens an adult bookstore, cabaret, dancing establishment, arcade, video store, escort bureau or similar…

In unincorporated Barrow County, every tenant, lessee or occupant of a residence or establishment must provide enough garbage containers to hold waste between collections under Barrow…

Unincorporated Barrow County makes the property owner responsible for arranging and paying for removal of discarded furniture, appliances, machinery and other oversized trash under…

Barrow County Code § 78-38(c) bars putting unsorted trash into any container marked for recycling in unincorporated Barrow County. Materials can go into a recycling container only if…

Unincorporated Barrow County does not run its own trash trucks or set a fixed pickup day by ordinance. Barrow County Code § 78-41(g) says the county has only arranged for private…

Dumping litter, hazardous waste or any other refuse on public or private property anywhere in unincorporated Barrow County is banned outright under Barrow County Code § 78-38(a) unless…

Barrow County Code § 78-41 sets the operating standards for anyone collecting and hauling litter or refuse in unincorporated Barrow County. Collection vehicles must have a watertight…

Commercial dumpsters and roll-off receptacles in unincorporated Barrow County must sit on a concrete pad, be screened on every side with an opaque enclosure and gate that matches the…

In unincorporated Barrow County, anyone who owns, occupies or controls real property must keep grass and weeds under 12 inches year-round under Barrow County Code § 78-37(c). The limit…

Unincorporated Barrow County only allows outdoor watering of lawns, trees, shrubs and other landscape plants between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. Barrow County Code § 90-87 exempts drip…

In unincorporated Barrow County, clear-cutting a residential subdivision lot is illegal. Grading may strip only the land needed for the home, driveway, utilities, septic system, road…

Every owner of private or public property in unincorporated Barrow County, developed or vacant, must keep it free and clear of litter and other refuse that threatens public safety…

The Barrow County Nuisance Abatement Ordinance (chapter 22, article III) lets the county marshal bring an in rem case in magistrate court against any dwelling, building or structure in…

In unincorporated Barrow County, fence height caps depend on zoning district and yard. AG and AR lots allow a 5-foot front fence and an 8-foot side or rear fence; R-1 and R-2 lots cap…

Unincorporated Barrow County protects existing farms from new residential neighbors rather than the other way around. When a new home is built near an agricultural operation that…

Unincorporated Barrow County treats music blasting from a bar or nightclub as a criminal noise violation under Code section 58-4. Any radio, jukebox, live band or sound system played…

Unincorporated Barrow County bans sounding a car horn or any other vehicle signaling device, including an alarm, for longer than needed to warn of danger. Code section 58-4(b)(1) makes…

Before breaking ground on any land-disturbing activity in unincorporated Barrow County, from grading a subdivision to clearing a commercial pad, the operator must get a…

Where FEMA has set a base flood elevation, unincorporated Barrow County requires new construction and substantial improvements to sit at least one foot above it, the county's freeboard…

Every owner and developer of developed commercial land in unincorporated Barrow County's stormwater service area must build and maintain an on-site stormwater system able to collect…

Barrow County's flood damage prevention ordinance applies to every area of special flood hazard in the unincorporated county, mapped on FEMA's October 16, 1991 Flood Insurance Study…

Outdoor lighting inside Barrow County's Destination 211 (D211) Overlay District must be fully shielded with opaque, full cutoff fixtures that point light downward. Barrow County Code §…

Barrow County restricts how a billboard along Georgia Highway 316 can be lit. Code Sec. 89-791(d)(9) bars illumination intense enough to interfere with the peace and comfort of…

Barrow County defines light trespass as illumination that spills onto property where it is not wanted, and its D211 Overlay lighting rule limits security lighting to no more than 20…

Barrow County caps how much of a storefront window a sign can cover. Code Sec. 89-788(c)(6) bars any window sign from obscuring more than 25 percent of a window, and any neon window…

Barrow County caps billboards countywide at 25 total signs and confines new ones to Georgia Highway 316. Code Sec. 89-791(c) requires a billboard parcel to be zoned commercial or…

Barrow County allows electronic changeable copy signs only on commercial and industrial property under Code Sec. 89-787. Signs visible from a public street or sidewalk must show static…

New streets built inside Barrow County's Destination 211 (D211) Overlay District must include a planting strip with street trees spaced no farther than 40 feet apart. Barrow County…

Data centers cannot locate anywhere within unincorporated Barrow County's Destination 211 (D211) Overlay District. Barrow County Code § 89-1511(a)(12) lists data centers among sixteen…

Unincorporated Barrow County caps building and structure heights by zoning district under Table 4.1, but section 89-405 layers on its own rules: a hard 35-foot ceiling with no…

In unincorporated Barrow County, every principal building must sit back from its street, side and rear lot lines by the exact distances Table 4.1 sets for the property's zoning…

Unincorporated Barrow County caps impervious surface at 25 percent inside its small water supply watersheds: Cedar Creek, Laurel Lane Reservoir, Fort Yargo Lake, Barber's Creek and…

Barrow County limits outdoor holiday decorations and seasonal lawn displays to 60 days a year for properties inside the Destination 211 (D211) Overlay District. Barrow County Code §…

Unincorporated Barrow County lets an open space subdivision build more homes than the base zoning density allows if the developer sets aside extra common open space. Section 89-465(a)…

Barrow County's Destination 211 Overlay imposes downtown-style streetscape and building design standards, not on Winder's historic downtown, but on a mapped corridor of unincorporated…

Any utility work, pavement cut, road or lane closure, or other encroachment into a public right-of-way or easement in unincorporated Barrow County needs a permit from the director of…