Forsyth County, GA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- UDC § 16-4.24(d), Mobile Vendors
- Sidewalk rule
- Cannot occupy required internal sidewalks or block pedestrians
- Road setback
- No display within 50 feet of county/state road
- Approval required
- Planning commission or board must approve site use
- Civil penalty
- Up to $1,000 per day per violation
- Criminal penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine and 60 days jail
Summary
Mobile vendors operating anywhere in unincorporated Forsyth County cannot block the paths people use to get around a property. UDC § 16-4.24(d) bars vendors from occupying required internal sidewalks, disrupting pedestrian ingress and egress, or setting up within 50 feet of a county or state road, alongside matching protections for vehicular access and off-street parking.
(d)Unless otherwise specifically approved by the planning commission, mobile vendors shall comply with the following requirements:(1)No sales or related activities shall disrupt controlled vehicular ingress and egress or occupy required off-street parking spaces.(2)No sales or related activities shall disrupt pedestrian ingress and egress or occupy required internal sidewalks.(3)No display shall be erected or installed, nor shall any activities take place within a required side or rear setback, a county or state right-of-way, or within 50 feet of a county or state road.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 43).
Full Breakdown
24, and paragraph (d) is the county's operative sidewalk-obstruction rule: unless the planning commission specifically approves otherwise, a vendor cannot let sales activity spill into space the site's approved plan set aside for people on foot. Subsection (d)(2) forbids disrupting pedestrian ingress and egress or occupying required internal sidewalks, the walkways a development's site plan designates to move customers from parking to the door. Subsection (d)(1) protects the mirror-image vehicular routes, barring vendors from blocking controlled ingress and egress lanes or occupying required off-street parking spaces.
Subsection (d)(3) adds a distance rule: no display may be erected, and no vendor activity may occur, inside a required side or rear setback, within a county or state right-of-way, or within 50 feet of a county or state road. 24(c). Vendors also cannot call attention to their operation with sounds, music, or amplified announcements, and must separately comply with the county noise ordinance and sign ordinance. 1.
Violations & Fines
A vendor that blocks a required internal sidewalk, crowds a designated pedestrian route, or sets up within 50 feet of a county or state road violates UDC § 16-4.24(d), enforceable under chapter 22: a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day per violation, or a criminal citation to Magistrate Court carrying a fine up to $1,000, up to 60 days in jail, or both. Operating without planning commission or board approval is a separate violation of § 16-4.24(a).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a mobile food truck set up on a sidewalk in Forsyth County?
How close to the road can a vendor set up?
What happens if a vendor ignores the sidewalk rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Forsyth County
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