Zoning Overlays & Bonuses in Georgia (2026)
18 rules on the books across Georgia, 15 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Density Bonus Law
California Density Bonus Law (Gov Code §65915) and local implementations granting up to 50% density bonuses for affordable-housing projects.
Cobb County
Significant RestrictionsIn unincorporated Cobb County, condominiums or townhomes built to replace demolished multifamily housing in the RM-8 or…
Read full rule →Atlanta
Some RestrictionsIn Atlanta's BeltLine Overlay District, developers earn a 15% floor-area-ratio bonus above the zoned FAR by setting…
Read full rule →Bartow County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Bartow County's RE-1 and RE-2 rural estate districts, a conservation subdivision developer earns a 20…
Read full rule →DeKalb County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated DeKalb County lets developers in the RSM Small Lot Residential Mix district double their base density by…
Read full rule →Forsyth County
Some RestrictionsIn Forsyth County's Mixed-Use Center District, base residential density tops out at six units per acre, but UDC §…
Read full rule →Fulton County
Some RestrictionsResidential developers who provide Fulton County's Inclusionary Housing Component can add 20 percent more units than…
Read full rule →Gwinnett County
Some RestrictionsIn the MU-R Regional Mixed-Use District, unincorporated Gwinnett caps base development at 3.0 FAR and 75 feet, but…
Read full rule →Rockdale County
Some RestrictionsRockdale County grants a per-acre density bonus to developers within the Salem Road Corridor Overlay District who…
Read full rule →South Fulton
Some RestrictionsSouth Fulton awards density bonuses to Conservation Subdivisions that protect more open space than the code otherwise…
Read full rule →Downtown Design Guide
LA's Downtown Design Guide and Community Plan governing high-rise massing, ground-floor activation, and adaptive-reuse standards in DTLA.
Atlanta
Significant RestrictionsAtlanta's SPI-1 Downtown Special Public Interest District sets mandatory exterior design rules: window transparency…
Read full rule →Clayton County
Significant RestrictionsClayton County's MX Mixed Use District, Sec. 3.35 of the Zoning Ordinance, sets traditional downtown-style design…
Read full rule →Cobb County
Significant RestrictionsUnincorporated Cobb County regulates redevelopment in old Downtown Mableton under County Code Section 134-286, a…
Read full rule →Columbus
Significant RestrictionsColumbus, Georgia requires a certificate of facade appropriateness from the Uptown Facade Board before any material…
Read full rule →Macon Bibb County
Significant RestrictionsExterior work visible from the street inside Macon's Central Business District needs sign-off before it can start…
Read full rule →Marietta
Significant RestrictionsDevelopment within 750 feet of designated corridors in and around Downtown Marietta must clear the Commercial Corridor…
Read full rule →Roswell
Significant RestrictionsRoswell's UDC requires downtown and historic-district development to follow adopted Design Guidelines, with the Design…
Read full rule →Forsyth County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Forsyth County reviews rezonings to neighborhood shopping and urban village districts against a…
Read full rule →Walton County
Some RestrictionsWalton County's Town Center District (TC) is the closest thing the unincorporated area has to a downtown design code…
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