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Article 11 — Subdivisions and Land Development, Chapter 11-3 — DESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR BLOCKS AND LOTS

current as of 2025-12-16verified current · checked 2026-08-24Officialofficial source ↗10 sections · full chapter

§ 11-3-1

Suitability of Land

Land physically unsuitable for subdivision or development because of flooding, poor drainage, steep slopes, rock formations or other such features that may endanger health, life or property, aggravate erosion, increase flood hazard, or necessitate excessive expenditures of public funds for supply and maintenance of services shall not be approved for subdivision or development unless adequate methods are formulated by the subdivider or developer for solving the problems.

§ 11-3-2

Conformance with Comprehensive Plan

All proposed subdivisions shall conform to the Comprehensive Plan and development policies in effect at the time of submission to the Director of Community and Economic Development.

§ 11-3-3

Block Lengths and Widths

(a)Intersecting streets shall be provided at such intervals so as to provide adequate cross traffic and connectivity.

Blocks in residential subdivisions should not exceed 1,800 feet nor be less than 400 feet in length, except where topography or other conditions justify a departure from these standards. In blocks longer than 800 feet, pedestrian ways and/or easements through the block shall be required near the center of blocks.

(b)In addition, for blocks longer than 800 feet in length, the Director of Community and Economic Development may require one or more public easements of not less than 20 feet in width to extend entirely across the block for fire protection or utilities.

(c)The width of the block shall be sufficient to allow two tiers of lots of appropriate depth, except where reverse frontage lots on arterial streets are provided, or when prevented by topographic conditions or size of the property, or for lots along the periphery of the subdivision, in which case the Director of Community and Economic Development may approve a single row of lots. Blocks intended for business or industrial use shall be of such width as to be considered most suitable for their respective use, including adequate space for off-street parking and deliveries.

§ 11-3-4

Width, Depth, and Size

(a)Residential lots shall have a depth not greater than three times the width of the lot at the building line, unless unusual circumstances make these limitations not practicable.

Residential corner lots shall have adequate width to meet building setback requirements from both abutting streets.

(b)Where individual septic tanks are used, the Hall County Environmental Health Department shall approve minimum lot sizes to conform to health standards of the Georgia Department of Public Health and the county.

(c)Commercial and industrial lots shall be adequate to provide service areas and off-street parking suitable to use intended.

(d)Each lot shall contain an adequate building site not subject to flooding and outside the limits of any existing easements or required building setback lines.

§ 11-3-5

Lot Lines

All side lot lines shall be perpendicular to street lines, and all rear lot lines shall be parallel or radial to street lines, unless not practicable because of topographic or other features.

§ 11-3-6

Building Lines

A building line, meeting or exceeding the front building setback requirements of the zoning district in which the lot is located, shall be established on all lots.

§ 11-3-7

Double Frontage Lots

Double frontage lots shall be avoided except where essential to provide separation of residential development from traffic arteries or overcome specific disadvantages of topography or orientation. The Director of Community and Economic Development may require a no-access, planting screen easement of at least 10 feet, across which there shall be no right of access, shall along the line of lots abutting such a traffic artery or other disadvantageous use.

§ 11-3-8

Flag Lots

(a)Flag lots, which meet minimum lot area requirements and meet the minimum lot width at the front building setback line where the building is placed, may only be allowed in nonresidential districts.

(b)Where such lots are allowed, the street frontage of each panhandle portion of the lot shall not be less than 40 feet wide, and the panhandle portion of the lot shall be no less than 40 feet wide and not more than 200 feet long. Not more than two such panhandle access points shall abut each other. The Director of Community and Economic Development may require shared driveways for abutting flag lots.

(1)Setbacks for flag lots. See definition of “lot lines” in Chapter 9-2-2.

(2)Building separation for flag lots. No structure may be within 50 feet of another such structure on an adjacent lot.

§ 11-3-9

Remnant Lots Not Permitted

All remnants of lots below any minimum lot size which may be required, left over after subdividing a larger tract or land-locked parcel, must be added to adjacent lots, rather than allowed to remain as unusable or noncompliant parcels. The Director of Community and Economic Development may permit a remnant lot for a specific purpose such as a detention pond or other common areas, provided that access and design is appropriate and the lot is restricted to a specific nonresidential use.

§ 11-3-10

Monuments

(a)For all subdivisions, a Georgia Registered Land Surveyor shall install permanent survey monuments at all property corners, at each point at which a property line changes direction, and land lot lines, prior to final plat approval. Each monument shall be a ½ inch diameter steel rod or #4 rebar, at least 24 inches long. When rock is encountered, a hole shall be drilled 4 inches deep in the rock, into which shall be cemented a steel rod ½ inch in diameter. The top of each such monument shall be approximately level with the finished grade.

(b)Permanent survey monuments shall also be installed in accordance with the most recent edition of Section 180-7-.05 ”Monument” of the Rules of State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and the Georgia Plat Act (O.C.G.A. 15-6-67).