Forsyth County, GA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Forsyth County's road drainage article treats any private cut into a public way as regulated encroachment. Section 62-73 requires a permit before installing a culvert or drainage structure for vehicular access to a dwelling; the permit sets out the size and type of structure and is issued free of charge. A separate permit is unnecessary if the installation is already covered by a building permit specifying the drainage structure, and no permit is required when the county's own crews install the structure after the landowner purchases it.

Section 62-74 extends the same permitting scheme to commercial and business driveways, charging one dollar per linear foot of right-of-way disturbed by the installation, with approval processed the same way as the residential permit under section 62-73. Public way is defined broadly in section 62-72 to include any road, street or highway the county maintains plus adjacent ditches, cuts, fills, culverts, drainage easements and retention structures, so the permit requirement follows the drainage system, not just the paved surface. Section 62-75 separately bars dumping trash, debris or sediment-laden runoff into that same drainage system from any dwelling, business or vacant lot.

Violations of the article are punished under the county's general penalty in section 1-12, and the director of engineering and designees were authorized by a March 17, 2011 resolution to issue citations directly for breaches of the underlying 1984 ordinance governing this article.