Zoning Overview

One of the difficulties in describing Zoning (from a legal standpoint) is that zoning is a purely LOCAL issue. The answer to the question concerning whether you or your business may or may not re-zone, whether your property is conforming or non-conforming, whether there has been a taking, etc., turns initially on the local Zoning Code or Zoning Ordinance. There are 159 counties (and an an untold number of cities) in Georgia with their own zoning ordinances. Metro Counties, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, etc., have extremely extensive codes that are quite literally hundreds of pages long. Our unscientific estimate of the length of DeKalb Zoning Ordinance leads us to believe that it contains somewhere between 60,000 and 80,000 words. Not surprisingly, the DeKalb Code differs in layout and application from the Ordinances of its contiguous counties. Thus, it is somewhat futile for us to write a legal primer of zoning for the local metro area.

Thus, in an effort to provide a much meaningful material concerning zoning as we can, we offer the following: This site will provide electronic references to as much local material available electronically concerning zoning of which we are aware, the current status of the Superior Court and Appellate Court's review of local zoning decisions and some cases where the Federal Courts(Northern District of Georgia -- Atlanta Division and the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit) have reviewed Georgia zoning issues and applied Georgia substantive law.

Recent Developments

More later.

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