Macon-Bibb County, GA Ordinances (2026)

Macon-Bibb County protects the monuments, memorials and historical markers at Rosa Parks Square by ordinance, barring anyone from relocating or moving them without approval of the full…

Macon-Bibb County makes it unlawful to abandon a vehicle anywhere in the county or to leave a wrecked, dismantled, or junked vehicle on any street, under County Code Sections 15-51 and…

Macon-Bibb County marks freight, passenger, bus and taxicab loading zones with colored curb stripes and signs; commercial vehicles get one hour max in a red-striped freight zone, and…

A camper trailer, motor home, boat or boat trailer cannot sit on a Macon-Bibb County residential street or public place for more than one hour at any time, day or night.

No vehicle may sit on a Macon-Bibb County street for more than 72 consecutive hours; the county impounds vehicles left parked past that limit, with a separate presumption of…

Buses, trucks or other freight vehicles over one ton (or 10,000 pounds in the former unincorporated county) cannot sit on a residential street for more than one hour at a time, except…

Macon-Bibb County bars parking within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, 20 feet of an intersection, on sidewalks, or in a way that blocks a driveway or another parked vehicle, with a…

Macon-Bibb County enforces Georgia's state minimum standard codes, including the National Electrical Code, through the Department of Business Development Services. The Chief Building…

Macon-Bibb County has no mandatory green building code. Code of Ordinances § 6-2(c) adopts the National Green Building Standard only as "an optional, non-mandatory standard for…

Macon-Bibb County enforces Georgia's state minimum standard plumbing code under Code of Ordinances § 6-2(a), administered by the Department of Business Development Services. Unlike…

Macon-Bibb County issues building permits through the Department of Business Development Services and its Chief Building Official, who administers the latest Georgia State Minimum…

Macon-Bibb County requires child day care centers to sit on at least a full acre with a 150-foot-wide lot before the Commission will approve one. Section 23.03.02 of the Land…

Macon-Bibb County Code Section 13-23 lays out the inspection process for manufactured, mobile, and pre-owned manufactured homes located or relocated in the area that formerly comprised…

Macon-Bibb County Code Section 15-12 excludes 'flowers, shrubbery, trees and other growth used as a part of landscaping' from the county's weed definition, so intentional native or…

Macon-Bibb County limits outdoor irrigation of landscapes to the hours of 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. daily under County Code Section 16-39, with a long list of exempted water uses such as…

Macon-Bibb County Code Section 15-1(12) declares it a nuisance to let shrubbery or tree limbs on private property hang so far into a street or sidewalk that they block safe passage for…

Macon-Bibb County caps weed and grass growth at 12 inches on any lot with a residential structure. Exceeding that height is a nuisance under the general County Code, enforced through…

Macon-Bibb County requires yard trimmings, from grass clippings to shrub prunings, to be kept out of the regular garbage stream and instead sorted, stockpiled, chipped, composted or…

Macon-Bibb County requires forester approval, within a 60-day response window, before anyone removes, cuts or otherwise disturbs a tree on county-owned property or in a public…

Macon-Bibb County requires every cat six months or older kept in the county more than 120 days a year to carry a rabies tag and registration license from the Animal Welfare Department…

Macon-Bibb County Code Section 12-222 requires any farm animal or fowl, including backyard chickens, to be kept at least 100 feet from the nearest property line or occupied dwelling…

Macon-Bibb County Code Section 15-1(15) declares it a nuisance to let a dog run loose, off leash and unrestrained, on someone else's property without permission, and the sheriff's…

Macon-Bibb County classifies individual dogs, not breeds, as dangerous or vicious based on documented bites or attacks, then requires the owner to get an annual certificate of…

Macon-Bibb County keeps veterinary hospitals and clinics at least 100 feet from any residential district under Section 23.10.02. In Agricultural districts, clinics treating only small…

Macon-Bibb County has no general pet microchipping law, but Code Section 5-28(c)(3) makes an implanted, scannable microchip a mandatory condition of the certificate of registration…

Macon-Bibb County bars anyone from owning, keeping or harboring a dog or cat six months or older that has not been spayed or neutered unless the owner holds an unaltered animal permit…

Macon-Bibb County requires a construction permit application to the Tobesofkee Recreation Area Manager before building a dock, boathouse or seawall at Lake Tobesofkee, with strict…

Macon-Bibb County's stormwater system is run by the Macon Water Authority under a 2019 intergovernmental agreement, and Chapter 23 bans discharging pollutants into the county's storm…

Macon-Bibb County requires a development permit before any construction, filling, grading, or land alteration in a mapped Area of Special Flood Hazard. The Macon Water Authority, not…

In Macon-Bibb County flood zones mapped as AE without a designated floodway, no fill, new structure, or substantial improvement is allowed unless a registered engineer certifies the…

A Macon-Bibb County-owned motor vehicle cannot idle more than 15 minutes while not in traffic, extended to 25 minutes for heat/AC or cold-weather use; violators face fines up to…

Macon-Bibb County requires a land-disturbing permit from the Macon Water Authority before any grading, clearing, or construction activity disturbs the ground, under County Code Chapter…

Macon-Bibb County pawnbrokers need a privilege license approved by the sheriff, must positively ID every pawner or seller, and must hold every pawned item for ten days in its original…

Anyone who buys used gold, silver, platinum, or gems for resale in Macon-Bibb County, other than from manufacturers or licensed dealers, must hold a privilege license under Code of…

Macon-Bibb County confines vape shops to the C-2, C-4, M-1, M-2 and SC zoning districts under Section 23.16.04, added in 2026 to curb youth exposure to vaping. A new vape shop must sit…

Anyone operating a wrecker, defined as a tow truck or skid truck for wrecked or disabled vehicles, on Macon-Bibb County streets needs a business license under Sec. 27-57(a). Sec. 27-59…

Every massage parlor in Macon-Bibb County needs a county license on top of each therapist's Georgia state license, and every practitioner on-site must hold a valid state massage…

Macon-Bibb County's home occupation rules flatly bar auto repair, auto sales, and auto brokerage from residential and agricultural properties. Section 23.01.06 lists the businesses…

Macon-Bibb County's Comprehensive Land Development Resolution bars adult entertainment establishments from locating within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, parks, day care centers…

Macon-Bibb County makes it a crime to loiter or prowl "in a place, at a time or in a manner not usual for law abiding individuals" when circumstances create justifiable alarm, under…

Macon-Bibb County bans "aggressive solicitation" under County Code Sec. 16-38(d), covering blocking someone's path, following them, using profane language, or making a threatening…

Macon-Bibb County decriminalized small-quantity marijuana possession: under County Code Sec. 16-9, possessing less than one ounce anywhere in the county, including in public, draws…

Macon-Bibb County bans drinking or holding an open container of alcohol on any public street, highway, alley, sidewalk, park or picnic area, and within 200 feet of a package-only…

Macon-Bibb County bars roller skates and any "coaster or similar toy vehicle," a category that covers skateboard-type devices, from the roadway under Sec. 28-21, except while briefly…

Macon-Bibb County bans yelling, shouting, singing, or other noise from a residence that is audible in a nearby home once its doors and windows are closed. Under County Code Sec…

Macon-Bibb County runs automated speed cameras in school zones, not red-light cameras at intersections; citations issue only 10+ mph over the limit, carrying a $75 first-offense civil…

Shareable dockless scooters, e-bikes, and similar vehicles are banned outright from Macon-Bibb County's public rights-of-way and public property under Section 24-4. There's no pilot…

Macon-Bibb County designates bicycle paths and sidewalks along an official bike route inventory kept by the traffic engineer, and bars riding a bicycle on central business district…

Operating a Macon-Bibb County short-term vacation rental without a permit carries escalating fines: $500 for a first violation, $750 for a second within 12 months, and $1,000 for a…

Renting out any dwelling unit in Macon-Bibb County for stays under 30 days requires a short-term vacation rental permit from the Department of Business Development Services before the…

A short-term rental in Macon-Bibb County stops owing the nightly occupation tax once a guest signs a written agreement for more than 30 days: Sec. 26-207.1(e)(1)(A) sets that rate at…

Macon-Bibb County requires every short-term vacation rental applicant to submit proof of insurance showing the property is used as a short-term rental, filed with the annual permit…

Macon-Bibb County taxes tourist courts and short-term vacation rentals on a per-night basis on top of the standard business occupation tax: $1.50 per rental night for stays of seven or…

Macon-Bibb County tells residents exactly where to put solid waste carts for pickup under Code § 22-9: next to the alley if the property has one, or no more than 25 feet behind the…

Every developed residential and commercial property in Macon-Bibb County is entitled to at least one garbage pickup a week and one single-stream recycling pickup every two weeks under…

Macon-Bibb County picks up yard trimmings every two weeks, but the code sets strict limits on how you set it out: containers can't exceed 50 pounds, brush piles are capped at 3 by 3 by…

Bricks, broken concrete, lumber, ashes, sand, gravel, automobile frames, and dead trees don't get picked up with the regular garbage in Macon-Bibb County. Section 22-16 excludes these…

Macon-Bibb County runs a single-stream recycling program: every residential and commercial user of county solid waste service gets one recycling pickup every two weeks, with all…

The Macon-Bibb County landfill normally shuts down on all observed city holidays, and it only reopens if the Director of Solid Waste or the mayor decides to. When it does open on a…

Dumping junk, trash, or yard waste on a Macon-Bibb County street, sidewalk, alley, or into the storm drainage system carries a mandatory minimum fine of $250.00 under Section 22-53. A…

Commercial properties in Macon-Bibb County must store solid waste in county-furnished wheeled carts or in a dumpster the director of solid waste has provided or approved, under Code §…

Macon-Bibb County requires stationary internal combustion engines, the category covering backup generators, to discharge exhaust through a muffler or equivalent device that prevents…

Macon-Bibb County classifies occupation taxpayers by employee count under Code of Ordinances Sec. 26-206, billing $39.00 per full-time-equivalent worker plus a $65.00 administrative…

Macon-Bibb County outlaws excessive horn use, worn-out "noisy vehicles," and unmuffled exhaust under County Code Sec. 15-26(b)(1), (4), and (6). A horn sounded for no danger reason, a…

Macon-Bibb County doesn't limit when you can run a leaf blower, but it does control where the debris goes. Section 22-53(b) makes anyone using a mechanical leaf blower responsible for…

Macon-Bibb County channels land uses by proximity to runway noise under Section 20A.04 of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution. Property inside Noise Control Zone 1, closest…

Macon-Bibb County limits building erection, demolition, alteration or repair and street excavation in residential districts to 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekdays. Working outside…

Macon-Bibb County sets quiet hours from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. During those windows, any regulated…

Playing a radio, TV, audio device or musical instrument loud enough to disturb others' quiet or comfort is a code violation in Macon-Bibb County at any hour, with a carve-out for music…

A dog, cat or other animal that barks or makes noise continuously or intermittently for more than ten minutes in a day or night, loud enough to be heard in a nearby home with the…

Property near Robins Air Force Base cannot raise ambient noise for neighbors. Section 20C.02[6](f) of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution caps any increase in average…

Macon-Bibb County bans consumer fireworks between 9:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. except on January 1, July 3, July 4 and December 31, when the county code extends the window under state law…

Macon-Bibb County keeps outdoor aboveground propane and other fuel-gas tanks at least 500 feet from any residential district under Section 23.21.02 of the Land Development Resolution…

Macon-Bibb County makes it unlawful to conduct any type of outdoor burning without first getting approval from the Fire Department's Bureau of Fire Prevention. The Bureau enforces this…

Macon-Bibb County Code Section 13-24(10) requires every manufactured home, mobile home, and pre-owned manufactured home relocated in the former unincorporated Bibb County area to have…

Anyone setting up a street party, fair, festival, carnival, or itinerant meeting in Macon-Bibb County needs a health department permit, applied for in writing at least 30 days before…

Restaurants in Macon-Bibb County's Sidewalk Café District, the CBD-1 core of downtown, need an annual Tax Commissioner permit before putting tables on the sidewalk, and pay a $150…

Macon-Bibb County requires written permission from the Directors of Recreation and of Parks & Beautification before anyone stakes a tent, stage or sign into county park ground, a…

Macon-Bibb County bars minors 16 and younger from unsupervised public places between midnight and 5:00 a.m. under County Code Sec. 16-14. Parents or guardians who allow a child to…

Macon-Bibb County closes public parks and recreation facilities from midnight to 6:00 a.m. and public playgrounds even earlier, from 7:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. depending on season, under…

Macon-Bibb County's yard setback table in Section 9.06 sets a 40-foot front, side, and rear setback from arterial and collector streets in the R-1, R-1A, and R-1AA districts, dropping…

Macon-Bibb County caps building footprint in its core single-family zones at 25 to 35 percent of lot area. Section 9.04 of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution sets R-1 at 35…

Macon-Bibb County caps buildings and structures in the R-1, R-1A, and R-1AA single-family districts at 35 feet under Section 9.07 of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution, with…

Macon-Bibb County Code Section 12-243 lets the health department post a conspicuous sign on rental housing that violates sanitation rules, barring occupancy until the violation is…

Every food truck operating in Macon-Bibb County must carry a valid Georgia Department of Public Health Mobile Food Service Unit permit from its home county, and any truck based outside…

Selling food from a push cart on Macon-Bibb County's downtown sidewalks, inside the fire zone bounded by MLK Boulevard, Riverside Drive, Spring Street, Hazel Street and Fifth Street…

Macon-Bibb County caps sidewalk food vending at two permits per block, and the Urban Development Authority must approve each cart's exact location, weighing sidewalk width and nearby…

Macon-Bibb County Code Section 12-132 makes every building owner and occupant responsible for keeping the structure rat-free. When the health department finds a rat infestation…

Macon-Bibb County restaurants must post their health permit and inspection sheet near the main entrance where the public can read the entire document. Violations of food-safety rules…

Macon-Bibb County bars door-to-door solicitation between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., on Sundays, and on federal or state holidays, and makes it unlawful to enter any property posted with…

Anyone going door-to-door in Macon-Bibb County to sell goods, take orders, solicit donations, or hand out commercial flyers needs a Tax Commissioner permit good for up to 60 days…

New construction and substantial improvements in a Macon-Bibb County flood hazard area must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated at least two feet above the base…

After a declared disaster, Macon-Bibb County only clears storm debris from public and private rights-of-way, not private yards, and only when the county manager determines the debris…

Macon-Bibb County requires nearly all outdoor light fixtures to use IES semi-cutoff, cutoff, or full cutoff distribution and be partially or fully shielded to cut glare and spillage…

Macon-Bibb County requires every outdoor light fixture, regardless of where it sits on a property, to be designed and installed so it does not glare or spill onto neighboring…

Every illuminated sign in Macon-Bibb County, including a billboard, is capped at 5,000 nits during daylight hours and 500 nits from dusk until dawn under the Comprehensive Land…

A home-based business in a Macon-Bibb County house cannot turn the street into a parking lot. Section 23.01.06[A][1](g) of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution caps the extra…

A business in a Macon-Bibb residential district, including a home business, can install one freestanding sign per street frontage no larger than 12 square feet and 6 feet tall, plus…

Running a business from a Macon-Bibb County home requires meeting the Section 23.01.06 standards before the county will treat it as a compatible accessory use. The rules cap the space…

Macon-Bibb County caps an in-home day care at six children under 17, including the operator's own kids, and Section 23.03.03 requires the operator to live in and own or rent the house…

Macon-Bibb County bans flashing lights and light festoons that outline property lines, rooflines, doors, or windows, but the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution carves out a…

Macon-Bibb County treats a yard or garage sale sign as a temporary sign under Section 25.04[4], allowing up to three per residential lot without a permit. Each freestanding sign can…

A digital billboard in Macon-Bibb County, called a 'multiple message billboard' under the sign code, is permitted by right only along an interstate highway or Eisenhower Parkway in…

Macon-Bibb County exempts window signs from permitting entirely. Section 25.04[1] of the Land Development Resolution says any sign or display on the inside of a building, including a…

Macon-Bibb County requires detached sheds and other accessory buildings to sit at least 10 feet from the main house and 5 feet from any interior lot line or alley, stay out of the…

Macon-Bibb County will not permit an accessory dwelling unit unless the property owner actually lives on site. Section 23.01.01[1] of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution…

Macon-Bibb County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot as a conditional use under Section 23.01.01 of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution. The ADU can be attached…

Macon-Bibb County bans barbed wire fencing outright in residential districts, allows it in commercial districts only as a Commission-approved conditional use, and permits it in…

Macon-Bibb County caps residential fences at 4 feet in front yards and 8 feet in side or rear yards, while commercial and industrial fences can run up to 8 feet in any yard, with a…

A fence in Macon-Bibb County counts as a 'structure' under the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution's definitions, so erecting a new fence triggers the same zoning permit Section…

Macon-Bibb County's A-Agricultural District exists specifically to permit land uses compatible with existing and future farming, requiring 1-acre minimum lots, 150-foot lot widths…

Anyone wanting to build a fence, steps, portico or other structure that crosses their lot line into a Macon-Bibb County street or sidewalk right-of-way needs an encroachment agreement…

When a newly built Macon-Bibb County sidewalk turns up defective within its first year, Sec. 25-88(4) puts the repair duty on the bonded contractor or bonded property owner who built…

Macon-Bibb County Code § 24-106 makes it unlawful to obstruct any sidewalk or alley by placing an object on it, or by erecting a building, fence, or other structure that blocks the…

Macon-Bibb County levies an 8 percent excise tax on the rent charged by hotels, motels, inns, lodges, tourist camps, tourist cabins, campgrounds and similar overnight-accommodation…

Macon-Bibb County limits outdoor landscape irrigation to 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. under County Code Sec. 16-39, but exempts water use entirely from that schedule when it comes from a…

Exterior work visible from the street inside Macon's Central Business District needs sign-off before it can start. Sections 13A.10 and 13B.10 of the Comprehensive Land Development…

Macon-Bibb County declares dilapidated, fire-hazardous, or unsanitary dwellings and buildings public nuisances under Code of Ordinances § 15-79, and lets the Code Enforcement director…

A vacant lot in a Macon-Bibb County residential district is a nuisance once weeds exceed 18 inches, six inches more tolerance than an improved residential lot gets. The same…

Macon-Bibb County protects individual high-value trees on public property through a case-by-case 'specimen tree' designation made by the county forester, defined in Code Section 17-32…

Macon-Bibb County requires every above-ground or in-ground pool to be fully enclosed by a fence or wall at least 4 feet tall with a self-latching, self-closing gate, and bars deck…