Stonecrest, GA Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Section 4.2.37 of the Stonecrest Zoning Ordinance, titled Outdoor display and seating, is the operative rule for any restaurant, coffee shop or tasting room that wants tables on a public or private sidewalk in the City of Stonecrest. The section is written around merchandise display, but subsection J extends the identical standards to 'outdoor seating areas at restaurants, coffee shops, etc.' Placement is confined to the NS, C-1, C-2, MU-1 through MU-5, M and M-2 zoning districts; a sidewalk cafe proposed in a residential or OI district has no path to approval under this section.

Subsection A allows the seating area on public or private sidewalks only if 'all ADA requirements are fulfilled,' meaning the accessible pedestrian path through the sidewalk cannot be reduced below code minimums by tables, planters or railings. Subsection C separately bars any outdoor display or seating from occupying or interfering with traffic circulation, required parking, or pedestrian access, and subsection B requires the area to sit contiguous to the principal building subject to fire-safety clearances. Operators must show the outdoor seating footprint on the site plan submitted with land development and building permit applications under subsection I.

A restaurant or farm winery tasting room that wants to use the actual sidewalk right-of-way, rather than sidewalk space on its own lot, faces an additional layer: Section 4.2.64(M)(4) of the alcohol chapter requires that use to 'comply with the regulations of the City of Stonecrest concerning such sidewalk dining facilities,' folding § 4.2.37 into every winery or restaurant right-of-way application. The Planning and Zoning/Community Development Department administers site plan review and permitting for this use citywide.