Dunwoody, GA HOA Rules: CC&R Enforcement (2026)

Section 16-5(c) of the Dunwoody Code, part of the land development regulations' conflicting-provisions article, addresses how the city's rules interact with private agreements. Subsection (c)(1) makes clear the land development regulations are not meant to interfere with, abrogate or annul any easement, covenant, deed restriction or other private agreement, but if the city's regulations impose a greater restriction than a private covenant does, the city's rule controls, not the covenant. Subsection (c)(2) then draws the enforcement line directly: private restrictive covenants to which the city is not a party are not regulated by or enforced by the city.

That means an HOA's architectural standards, paint-color rules, fence specifications or assessment obligations are enforced by the homeowners association itself, typically through its board, an architectural review committee and its own governing documents, not through the Dunwoody Municipal Court or the community development director's code enforcement process described elsewhere in chapter 16. The city's own enforcement machinery, including notices of violation and municipal court penalties under section 16-35, applies only to violations of the city's actual land development regulations, zoning ordinance, and other adopted city codes, not to a private covenant standing alone.

Where a subdivision's declaration and the city's regulations overlap, for example on setbacks or tree density, the more restrictive standard of the two controls, but that overlap does not turn the covenant itself into a city ordinance the city will enforce.