Carroll County, GA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter 46, Article II of the Carroll County Code, the Flood Damage Prevention ordinance, applies to all areas of special flood hazard within the county's jurisdiction, mapped in the FEMA flood insurance study, under Section 46-31. Section 46-33 requires a development permit before any development activity begins in those areas; the county's code and ordinance enforcement officer administers the permit and has authority to issue citations for violations under Section 46-51. Section 46-34 bars locating, extending, converting or structurally altering any structure or land without full compliance with the article, and Section 46-35 makes clear that where this ordinance and another county rule conflict, whichever is stricter controls.

The county treats every standard as a floor, not a ceiling, under Section 46-36, and Section 46-37 warns that meeting the ordinance does not guarantee a property will stay dry in a larger flood and does not create county liability for flood damage. Violations, including breach of any condition attached to a variance or special exception, are misdemeanors under Section 46-38, prosecuted in the county magistrate's court, with each day of continued violation a separate offense. These floodplain rules apply only to unincorporated Carroll County; Carrollton, Villa Rica, Temple, Bowdon, Whitesburg, Mount Zion and Roopville each administer their own floodplain regulations inside their city limits.