Gordon County, GA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 4.02.02(C)(7) of the Unified Land Development Code governs Hillside Development inside the Resaca Battlefield Overlay District. It applies to any development proposal on property with a natural slope of 25 percent or more, including the crests, summits and ridge tops above those slopes. Under subsection (f), existing deep-rooted vegetation, including trees, bushes and ground covers, comes out only where necessary for buildings, roads, driveways, parking and minimum required yards. Thinning the limbs of individual trees is preferred over removal when a view corridor is wanted.

The permit trigger is narrow and specific. Trees inside the building envelope, a proposed street, a driveway or parking area, or a utility easement can be cleared as part of the project. Every other tree needs a permit from the Planning and Development Department, and the department must also approve a tree replacement plan. The application steps in subsection (9) require that plan whenever trees are removed beyond those cleared areas. Grading, filling, clearing or excavation above 50 cubic yards needs an approved grading plan and a land disturbance permit from the same department.

Exempt from the hillside section are agriculture and forestry that follow Georgia best management practices, landscape maintenance including removal of diseased, dead or damaged trees, land under a development plan approved before the section took effect, and certain additions to existing single-family homes. Elsewhere in the overlays, Sections 4.02.01(C)(2) and 4.02.02(C)(2) call for avoiding removal of trees over 5 inches in caliper where siting can avoid it, require residential and mixed-use projects to retain 20 percent of the site as woodland and commercial projects 15 percent, and require tree protection barriers at the outer critical root zone or the drip line, whichever is greater.