Smyrna, GA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Article IX of the Smyrna Zoning Ordinance, Appendix A of the city code, pairs two sections on loading. Section 907 sets the design standard and § 908 sets how many spaces each use needs. Section 907 covers off-street loading, and it sets physical standards rather than delivery hours.

Every required loading space must sit on the same or adjoining premises as the facility it serves, either inside or outside a building or structure. A full loading berth has minimum dimensions of 12 feet wide and 35 feet deep with an overhead clearance of 14 feet. A loading space need not be a full berth but must be sufficient to allow normal loading of a magnitude appropriate to the use served. The hard limit is the last sentence of the section: in no case can the space or its use hinder or obstruct the free movement of vehicles and pedestrians over a street, sidewalk or alley.

Section 908 sets the count. Under § 908.1, retail operations and all first-floor nonresidential uses with a gross floor area under 20,000 square feet, and wholesale and light industrial operations under 10,000 square feet, need one loading space. Under § 908.2, retail operations of 20,000 square feet or more, including restaurant and dining facilities within hotels and office buildings, need one loading berth for every 40,000 square feet of floor area or fraction thereof, and one loading space for every 20,000 square feet or fraction thereof. Under § 908.3, office buildings and hotels with 100,000 square feet or more need one loading berth for every 100,000 square feet or fraction thereof. Industrial and wholesale operations of 10,000 square feet or more follow a schedule that runs from one berth at 10,000 to 39,999 square feet up to six berths at 320,000 to 400,000 square feet, plus one more berth for each 90,000 square feet above 400,000.

The building inspector administers and enforces the ordinance under § 1301, and a certificate of occupancy is not issued unless the lot, building or structure, and its use, comply with all provisions of the ordinance (§ 1306).