Before You Build in Dunwoody, GA: Permit & Rule Checklist (2026)

Retaining walls in Dunwoody's single-dwelling residential districts follow a tiered approval system: up to four feet is allowed as of right, four to eight feet needs an administrative permit, and eight up to twelve feet requires a special exception, each tier demanding more topographic justification.

In Dunwoody's residential districts, fences and walls in a street yard top out at four feet, rising to eight feet along a collector or arterial street and to six feet on corner lots with an administrative permit. Fences elsewhere max out at eight feet, and none may block the 15-foot intersection sight triangle.

Dunwoody bans accessory buildings and sheds from front yards entirely and requires at least 10 feet of separation from the main house unless the shed sits within the principal building's own setbacks. Residential lots under one acre cap total accessory floor area at 900 square feet under § 27-166.

Dunwoody prohibits all open burning of yard waste citywide, including brush, leaves, grass and clippings, under City Code § 22-1. The ban applies everywhere within city limits, with no residential burn-pile exception, and was enacted by ordinance in February 2026.

Dunwoody requires a tree removal permit for hardwoods 10 inches or larger, softwoods 20 inches or larger, and understory trees 6 inches or larger on non-residential, mixed-use and multi-family lots, plus any tree in the city's 75-foot stream buffer. The city arborist decides within five business days.