Barrow County, GA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)

Sec. 89-791 defines a billboard as any freestanding sign that exceeds the area limits set for principal freestanding signs under Sec. 89-788, and that is not a shopping-center sign under Sec. 89-789 or an office-park sign under Sec. 89-790, then regulates it far more tightly than an ordinary business sign. The county has capped the total number of billboards allowed anywhere in the unincorporated area at 25 under subsection (b)(1)a; once that count is reached, no more billboard permits can be issued. Location is narrow by design: subsection (c) allows a billboard only as the sole principal use on its property, requires the property to be zoned commercial or industrial, requires at least 200 feet of frontage on Georgia Highway 316, and requires the billboard itself to sit within 660 feet of that highway, tying every new billboard to the GA 316 corridor rather than allowing them along any road in the county.

Subsection (d) layers on spacing and size limits: billboards must sit at least 1,000 feet from any other billboard and at least 100 feet from a residential or agricultural zoning district, at least 1,000 feet from a national or state park, local monument or church, and cannot exceed 90 feet in height, with a sign face capped at 672 square feet or 48 feet in any dimension, and a minimum clearance of 15 feet above ground level. A removed billboard's owner keeps the right to rebuild at a permissible location if a new permit application is filed within 12 months of removal; after that, the slot opens to other applicants.