Chatham County, GA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)
Key Facts
- Consent threshold
- 51% of abutting owners in writing
- Payment window
- 30 days interest-free
- Installment interest
- 9% per year, 5-year plan
- Enforcement
- Lien plus sheriff-collected fi. fa.
- Applies to
- Subdivisions with 150-ft or less frontage
Summary
In unincorporated Chatham County, the Board of Commissioners builds and maintains subdivision sidewalks and curbing, then bills the cost pro rata to abutting property owners. Unpaid assessments become liens against the property from the date the improvement resolution is adopted.
The commissioners are given full and complete authority to provide for the construction and maintenance of streets, sidewalks and curbing within any subdivision of Chatham County, Georgia, located outside the corporate limits of any municipality, where the lots have been subdivided with frontage of one hundred fifty feet or less... All assessments made hereunder, shall be liens against the property abutting such street, sidewalk or curbing from the date of the adoption of the resolution authorizing such improvements.
Full Breakdown
Article IX of the county code lets the Board of Commissioners construct and maintain streets, sidewalks and curbing in any subdivision outside a municipality's limits where lots have 150-foot frontages or less (Sec. 12-903). "Construction and maintenance" covers laying out, grading, repairing, paving or otherwise improving the sidewalk. Before any assessment, owners of 51% of the abutting property must consent in writing (Sec. 12-904), and the Commissioners must hold a public hearing after 15 days' newspaper and certified-mail notice to affected owners (Sec. 12-905). Costs are apportioned equitably in proportion to street frontage served (Sec.
12-907). A property owner pays the pro rata share in full within 30 days without interest, or defaults automatically onto a 5-year installment plan at 9% annual interest on the unpaid balance, billed each September 1 (Sec. 12-907). Sec. 12-909 makes every such assessment a lien against the abutting property, dating from adoption of the resolution authorizing the improvement. execution against the owner and property, records it on the Superior Court Clerk's general execution docket, and turns it over to the sheriff for collection like a tax execution (Sec. fas. issued under this article may be transferred, assigned, and the property sold under judicial-sale rules (Sec. 12-911).
Violations & Fines
Nonpayment does not trigger a criminal fine; instead the assessment converts into a recorded lien and a fi. fa. execution against the owner and the property, enforced through the sheriff exactly like a delinquent tax execution (Sec. 12-909, 12-910). An owner disputing the amount or the legality of the assessment must file an illegality, litigated the same way as a tax fi. fa. challenge, rather than appeal an ordinary code citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Chatham County repair sidewalks for free?
What happens if I don't pay my sidewalk assessment?
Can I spread the cost over time?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chatham County
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