Building Setbacks & Zoning in Georgia (2026)
88 rules on the books across Georgia, 32 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Setback Rules
How far structures must be from property lines, streets, and other buildings. Different setbacks apply to front, side, and rear yards.
Acworth
Some RestrictionsAcworth sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district in Table 73-3.5 of the Zoning Ordinance, requiring 20 to 50 feet…
Read full rule →Atlanta
Some RestrictionsAtlanta sets a separate front, side, and rear yard depth for every residential zoning district, 60/25/35 feet in R-1…
Read full rule →Augusta-Richmond County
Some RestrictionsAugusta-Richmond County's R-1 zoning sets minimum yard setbacks: 30 feet in front on local streets (40 feet on major…
Read full rule →Bartow County
Some RestrictionsBartow County's Zoning Ordinance sets a different front, side and rear setback for every zoning district in Article…
Read full rule →Carroll County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Carroll County, Georgia's zoning ordinance bars any building from occupying a required yard under County…
Read full rule →Chatham County
Some RestrictionsChatham County Sec. 4-6.1 requires that no structure sit closer than 20 feet from any design right-of-way line, nor…
Read full rule →Cherokee County
Some RestrictionsYard setbacks in unincorporated Cherokee County vary by zoning district under Table 7.1A of the Zoning Ordinance…
Read full rule →Clayton County
Some RestrictionsClayton County requires front, side and rear yard setbacks for every structure, set individually for each zoning…
Read full rule →Cobb County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Cobb County fixes minimum yard setbacks by zoning district in the Chapter 134 bulk-regulations table…
Read full rule →Columbia County
Some RestrictionsFront, side and rear yard setbacks in Columbia County's residential districts are set by the § 90-53 lot and structure…
Read full rule →Columbus
Some RestrictionsColumbus, Georgia's UDO sets minimum front, side, corner-side, and rear yard setbacks by residential zoning district…
Read full rule →Coweta County
Some RestrictionsCoweta County's zoning ordinance sets minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks for every zoning district in Article…
Read full rule →Decatur
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia, the Unified Development Ordinance's R-60 Single-Family Residential…
Read full rule →DeKalb County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated DeKalb County, minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks are fixed by zoning district in Table 2.2…
Read full rule →Dunwoody
Some RestrictionsDunwoody sets minimum building setbacks by zoning district in City Code § 27-58(b). Street-facing setbacks range from…
Read full rule →Fayette County
Some RestrictionsIn the R-85 Single-Family Residential District, unincorporated Fayette County's Section 110-128 sets a 100-foot front…
Read full rule →Floyd County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Floyd County, how far a house can sit from the street and side lines depends on zoning district. The…
Read full rule →Forsyth County
Some RestrictionsFront, side and rear setbacks in unincorporated Forsyth County are fixed district-by-district in Table 11.2(a) of the…
Read full rule →Fulton County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Fulton County's R-1 Single Family Dwelling District, new houses must sit at least 60 feet back from…
Read full rule →Gwinnett County
Some RestrictionsUDO § 210-120 sets minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks for every base residential district in unincorporated…
Read full rule →Hall County
Some RestrictionsHall County's Unified Development Code sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district in Article 3 and Article 4…
Read full rule →Houston County
Some RestrictionsHouston County's Section 82 setback table requires a 50-foot front yard from arterial and collector streets in every…
Read full rule →Johns Creek
Some RestrictionsIn Johns Creek's R-1 Single-Family District, homes must sit back at least 60 feet from the front line, 25 feet from…
Read full rule →Macon Bibb County
Some RestrictionsMacon-Bibb County's yard setback table in Section 9.06 sets a 40-foot front, side, and rear setback from arterial and…
Read full rule →Marietta
Some RestrictionsMarietta's R-1 Single-Family Residential/Agriculture district sets front setbacks that scale with the street: 50 feet…
Read full rule →Paulding County
Some RestrictionsPaulding County's R-2 Suburban Residential District, the county's standard suburban zoning, sets a 35-foot minimum…
Read full rule →Rockdale County
Some RestrictionsRockdale County's dimensional standards table sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district: 40 feet front, 10 or 30…
Read full rule →Roswell
Some RestrictionsRoswell's UDC sets minimum primary-street, side-street, side-interior and rear setbacks for each building type and…
Read full rule →South Fulton
Some RestrictionsSouth Fulton sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district in Table 4-1 under Zoning Ordinance Section 403.03(a). The…
Read full rule →Walton County
Some RestrictionsThe A1 Rural Estate District, the county's main large-lot residential zone, requires a 50-foot front setback, 15-foot…
Read full rule →Warner Robins
Some RestrictionsWarner Robins sets minimum front, rear, and side yard setbacks by zoning district under Section 82 of the zoning…
Read full rule →Whitfield County
Some RestrictionsIn the R-4 Zero Lot Line Residential district in unincorporated Whitfield County, homes need a 20-foot front setback…
Read full rule →Structure Height Limits
Maximum building heights allowed by zoning, including how height is measured and exceptions for chimneys, antennas, and rooftop equipment.
Acworth
Some RestrictionsAcworth caps building height by zoning district in Table 73-3.5 of the Zoning Ordinance: 35 feet in the R-1 through R-5…
Read full rule →Atlanta
Some RestrictionsAtlanta limits buildings in R-4 single-family districts, the city's standard medium-density residential zone, to 35…
Read full rule →Augusta-Richmond County
Some RestrictionsAugusta-Richmond County caps R-1 single-family homes at two and one-half stories or 45 feet under Section 8-6 of the…
Read full rule →Bartow County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Bartow County, the Zoning Ordinance caps single-family homes in the R-1 residential district at 50…
Read full rule →Carroll County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Carroll County, Georgia's zoning ordinance caps buildings at 35 feet in the Office and Institutional…
Read full rule →Chatham County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Chatham County's residential and nonresidential R-district schedules cap maximum building height at 36…
Read full rule →Clayton County
Some RestrictionsClayton County sets a maximum building height for each zoning district in the Article 3 layout (Sec. 6.5). Certain…
Read full rule →Cobb County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Cobb County, principal residential structures are capped at 35 feet under the zoning code's…
Read full rule →Columbia County
Some RestrictionsEvery one of Columbia County's ten residential zoning districts, from the rural R-A district to the densest A-R10…
Read full rule →Columbus
Some RestrictionsColumbus, Georgia caps residential building height at 35 feet in most zoning districts (40 feet in HIST), with narrow…
Read full rule →Coweta County
Some RestrictionsCoweta County's zoning ordinance caps residential structures at three stories and 35 feet in the RD Two-Family and R-2…
Read full rule →Decatur
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia, the Unified Development Ordinance caps residential height by district…
Read full rule →DeKalb County
Some RestrictionsSingle-family homes in unincorporated DeKalb County are capped at 35 feet, dropping to 28 feet in Residential Infill…
Read full rule →Dunwoody
Some RestrictionsDunwoody caps residential building height at 35 feet for the principal house and 20 feet for accessory structures…
Read full rule →Fayette County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Fayette County caps residential structures at 35 feet in the R-85 Single-Family Residential District…
Read full rule →Floyd County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Floyd County caps building height by zoning district under the Unified Land Development Code's Table…
Read full rule →Fulton County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Fulton County, the AG-1 and R-1 zoning districts cap residential buildings at 40 feet, measured from…
Read full rule →Gwinnett County
Some RestrictionsUDO § 210-120 caps building height at 35 feet across Gwinnett County's six single-family districts, RA-200 through…
Read full rule →Hall County
Some RestrictionsHall County caps building height by zoning district under UDC § 2.1.6, measuring from mean finished grade to the…
Read full rule →Johns Creek
Some RestrictionsIn Johns Creek's R-1 Single-Family Dwelling District, no building may exceed 40 feet in height under the city's Zoning…
Read full rule →Macon Bibb County
Some RestrictionsMacon-Bibb County caps buildings and structures in the R-1, R-1A, and R-1AA single-family districts at 35 feet under…
Read full rule →Marietta
Some RestrictionsMarietta caps building height at 40 feet for a principal structure in the R-1 Single-Family Residential/Agriculture…
Read full rule →Paulding County
Some RestrictionsHomes and other structures in Paulding County's R-2 Suburban Residential District top out at 45 feet under UDO Section…
Read full rule →Rockdale County
Some RestrictionsRockdale County caps building height at 35 feet in the W-P watershed protection and RM multi-family districts, but…
Read full rule →Roswell
Some RestrictionsRoswell caps most detached houses at 35 feet or 2½ stories and accessory structures at 24 feet, measured from average…
Read full rule →South Fulton
Some RestrictionsSouth Fulton caps residential building height at 35 feet across every R-1 through R-6 single-family zoning district…
Read full rule →Walton County
Some RestrictionsHomes in Walton County's A1 Rural Estate District are capped at thirty-five feet under Section 4-1-120(E)(5) of the…
Read full rule →Warner Robins
Some RestrictionsWarner Robins caps residential structures at 35 feet and three stories in every standard single-family and multi-family…
Read full rule →Whitfield County
Some RestrictionsChart 3-7 of Whitfield County's Unified Zoning Ordinance caps building height at 35 feet across every agricultural and…
Read full rule →Lot Coverage Limits
The maximum percentage of your lot that can be covered by buildings and impervious surfaces like driveways and patios.
Acworth
Some RestrictionsAcworth's Zoning Ordinance limits how much of a lot can be covered by buildings, pavement and other impervious surface…
Read full rule →Atlanta
Some RestrictionsAtlanta caps building footprint at 50 percent of total lot area for the R-4 Single-Family Residential District, the…
Read full rule →Augusta-Richmond County
Some RestrictionsAugusta-Richmond County's R-1 (One-Family Residential) Zone caps building coverage at 30 percent of a lot's area…
Read full rule →Bartow County
Some RestrictionsNon-residential and multi-family development in unincorporated Bartow County cannot cover more than 75 percent of a lot…
Read full rule →Carroll County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Carroll County, Georgia's Office and Institutional (OI) zoning district, County Code §…
Read full rule →Chatham County
Some RestrictionsFor uses in Chatham County's R-districts, Sec. 4-6.2 caps building coverage at 40 percent of the lot. Single-family…
Read full rule →Cherokee County
Some RestrictionsCherokee County caps how much of a lot can be covered by buildings, from 20 percent in the rural AG district up to 60…
Read full rule →Clayton County
Some RestrictionsClayton County caps the maximum lot coverage for every zoning district, but the percentage is set individually for each…
Read full rule →Columbia County
Some RestrictionsColumbia County caps how much of a residential lot can be covered by the house and accessory structures under Code of…
Read full rule →Columbus
Some RestrictionsColumbus, Georgia's Unified Development Ordinance caps maximum lot coverage per zoning district, from 10 percent in the…
Read full rule →Coweta County
Some RestrictionsInside Coweta County's Village Center district, single-family detached lots face a tiered impervious surface cap: 35…
Read full rule →Decatur
Some RestrictionsDecatur, Georgia's Unified Development Ordinance limits how much of a lot a house can cover. For a legacy lot of record…
Read full rule →DeKalb County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated DeKalb County, no lot can exceed the maximum lot coverage set for its zoning district, as low as 25…
Read full rule →Dunwoody
Some RestrictionsDunwoody limits how much of a residential lot can be covered by buildings, driveways, patios, pools, and other…
Read full rule →Fayette County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Fayette County, the county code caps impervious lot coverage by zoning district rather than…
Read full rule →Fulton County
Some RestrictionsIn the TR Townhouse Residential district of unincorporated Fulton County, the combined footprint of all buildings and…
Read full rule →Gwinnett County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Gwinnett County caps building footprint under UDO § 210-120: 25% of lot area in the RA-200 and R-LL…
Read full rule →Hall County
Some RestrictionsIn Hall County's AG-1 Agricultural district, Table 3.1.1 caps site coverage at 35 percent of the lot, alongside a…
Read full rule →Houston County
Some RestrictionsHouston County caps building lot coverage at 25 percent for lots on private wells regardless of zoning district, and…
Read full rule →Macon Bibb County
Some RestrictionsMacon-Bibb County caps building footprint in its core single-family zones at 25 to 35 percent of lot area. Section 9.04…
Read full rule →Marietta
Some RestrictionsMarietta caps lot coverage at 35 percent for a home built in the R-1 Single-Family Residential/Agriculture district…
Read full rule →Rockdale County
Some RestrictionsRockdale County's dimensional standards table caps impervious surface at 20 percent of a lot in the R-1 single-family…
Read full rule →Roswell
Some RestrictionsRoswell's Unified Development Code caps building coverage, the ground-floor footprint of every principal and roofed…
Read full rule →South Fulton
Some RestrictionsSouth Fulton's Zoning Ordinance does not set one flat coverage percentage citywide; it assigns a lot-coverage maximum…
Read full rule →Walton County
Some RestrictionsIn Walton County's A1 Rural Estate District, the most common large-lot residential zoning in the unincorporated county…
Read full rule →Warner Robins
Some RestrictionsWarner Robins limits how much of a lot a building can cover under Section 81 of the zoning ordinance. Lots without…
Read full rule →Forsyth County
Light RestrictionsMost of Forsyth County's residential zoning districts have no maximum lot coverage percentage at all. Table 11.2(a) of…
Read full rule →