Forsyth County › Unified Development Code

Chapter 18 — Subdivisions and Land Development, Article 7 — SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS FOR MINOR SUBDIVISIONS

current as of 2026-04-02currency checked manuallyOfficialofficial source ↗3 sections · full chapter

§ 18-7.1

Flag Lots.

Flag lots within minor subdivisions shall be permitted, provided that flag lots within a minor subdivision shall meet the minimum access requirements as specified by this Code. At no point may the staff or "pole" portion of a flag lot be less than sixty (60) feet in width. Minor subdivisions may contain more than one flag lot; however flag lots may not adjoin each other or share common property lines. This provision shall not be construed to prohibit the approval of two contiguous flag lots in separate minor subdivisions under separate ownership. Under no circumstances may two flag staffs or "poles" be contiguous.

§ 18-7.2

Access.

A maximum of three (3) lots within a minor subdivision may fail to abut a public road or street only in an instance where the subdivider provides access to said individual lot over and across a valid easement containing a minimum width of twenty (20) feet. The location and dimensions of such access shall be shown upon the minor subdivision plat and clearly identified as an easement and shall only be used for a maximum of three (3) parcels, whether previously platted or newly created under the terms of this chapter. In instances where a minor subdivision contains such lots that do not abut a public road, the final plat of the minor subdivision shall also contain the following owner’s certificate:

"I, the undersigned owner hereby dedicate the access easement shown on this plat to the common use of the owner, or owners, of the lot within this subdivision. It is further acknowledged that the accessway and any improvements within such access easement shall not be accepted by Forsyth County, Georgia, but shall remain privately owned and maintained.

Owner Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of:

Witness Notary Public"

§ 18-7.3

Limitations on Minor Subdivisions.

(A)Purpose. Minor subdivisions provide certain advantages that tend to favor their use over the filing of major subdivision applications. Said advantages include a shorter application period and approval process, less public scrutiny, and less rigorous requirements for access to three of the lots in a minor subdivision. Given these advantages, the prospect exists that subdividers may seek to divide a parcel via consecutive and/or contiguous minor subdivisions instead of filing for a major subdivision. It is the intent of the Board of Commissioners to prohibit the practice of “chain” subdivisions where the same land owner subdivides land and then files minor subdivision applications on contiguous common parcels, which collectively total seven (7) or more lots. It is also the intent of the Board of Commissioners to prohibit minor subdivisions adjacent to each other within a three-year time period, in cases where part of an original tract of land is now owned by another person or entity and was transferred or sold to another owner with the apparent intent to circumvent the major subdivision process.

(B)Contiguous common parcels, as defined by this Code, shall be referenced on all applications for minor subdivisions and contiguous common parcels shall be considered part of any application for minor subdivision, for purposes of determining whether or not the division of land proposed is a major subdivision or a minor subdivision. Contiguous common parcels shall not be counted as lots in the case of a minor subdivision.

(C)Land within a minor subdivision, including all contiguous parcels owned by the subdivider, shall not be further divided for a period of three years unless a sketch plat application is filed and approved as a major subdivision pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.

(D)If property proposed to be subdivided was part of an original tract, and if the property proposed to be subdivided abuts land that has been divided as a minor subdivision in the last three years, then minor subdivision of said property shall be prohibited. This provision shall not be construed to prohibit the approval of two contiguous minor subdivisions under separate ownership; however, this provision is intended to be construed liberally so that one property owner does not develop a minor subdivision on part of an original tract and transfer or sell another part of the original tract for the purposes of minor subdivision within a three year period. It is the intent that land abutting a minor subdivision that was owned by the subdivider of the abutting minor subdivision shall not be subdivided as a minor subdivision for a period of three years, regardless of ownership.

ARTICLE VIII, INTRAFAMILY LAND TRANSFERS: