Whitfield County, GA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 14-86 falls in Article VII of Chapter 14, the county's Site Design Ordinance, and applies to the unincorporated area only. It bars planting any vegetation exceeding 30 inches in height, or any plant with a trunk more than four inches in diameter, either inside the platted road right-of-way or within 15 feet of the edge of pavement, using whichever of the two boundaries extends farther from the road. The rule traces to Section 7-1 of the Resolution of June 9, 2003. It sits alongside two companion clearance rules in the same article: Section 14-87 requires commercial driveways to be built with adequate sight distance, measured 15 feet back from the pavement edge at a height of three and a half feet, using AASHTO geometric design standards, and Section 14-88 keeps parked cars and trucks from overhanging sidewalks.

Chapter 14's general administration clause, Section 14-8, makes the Whitfield County Engineer or a designee the enforcement officer for the whole Site Design Ordinance, including this vegetation limit, with authority to order a stop-work directive or corrective action. Because Section 14-86 is a Site Design Ordinance provision rather than a Unified Zoning Ordinance section, complaints about overgrown roadside vegetation go through the county's Building, Zoning and Development Department or the County Engineer's office rather than through Animal Control or the nuisance program.