Decatur, GA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Sec. 3 of the City of Decatur's Unified Development Ordinance, Stormwater Management, requires anyone developing or redeveloping property to control post-development runoff quantity and quality under a City-approved plan. Sec. 1 states the baseline rule directly: no owner or developer may perform any land development activities without first meeting the requirements of this Section and obtaining a stormwater management permit prior to commencing the proposed activity. The Applicability Table in Sec. C ties the permit's full scope to project size, applying every performance criterion to a major subdivision or any project creating 10,000 square feet or more of land disturbance, while smaller minor-subdivision and single-family projects under 500 square feet of new impervious area get a narrower set of criteria.

Design must follow the Georgia Stormwater Management Design Manual under Sec. F, and detention or retention facilities carry their own numeric setbacks under Sec. 0 vertical. The UDO Administrator, standing in for the City Manager throughout Sec. 3 per Sec. D, reviews applications, and violations proceed through the process in Sec. 9: a written notice of violation with at least 10 days to cure, or 24 hours for an immediate danger to health or safety, followed by a stop work order, withheld certificate of occupancy, or permit suspension if the cure period lapses.

Sec. 4 closes the loop on penalties, tying any violation of this Section to the punishment provisions of Code Sec. 1-12 and treating each day of continuance as a separate offense. Appeals of a City Manager decision go to the Zoning Board of Appeals under Sec. C.