Decatur, GA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 86-4 of the Decatur Code of Ordinances is direct: no obstructions shall be placed on any sidewalk in the city for a period exceeding 30 minutes, except mobile food facilities operating where allowed as a limited use consistent with the city's standards. Section 86-3 targets a specific type of obstruction: it is unlawful for a merchant or individual selling produce, fruit or merchandise to place it in front of their business on the sidewalk, again with the same mobile food facility exception carried over from a 2017 amendment.

Both sections trace back to the original 1967 code sections 20-2 and 20-3 and were most recently amended by Ordinance No. O-17-04 in May 2017 to accommodate mobile food vending as a recognized limited use. Read together, the two sections mean a Decatur business cannot use the public sidewalk as extra retail display space, and no one, business or otherwise, can leave equipment, materials, sale items or other obstructions sitting on a sidewalk past the half-hour mark. Enforcement responsibility for the surrounding chapter's sidewalk provisions rests with the codes enforcement officer, public works director and city engineer under Section 86-2(b), and construction-related obstructions must additionally be lit with red lanterns or torches at night under Section 86-10.