FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Until Dec. 4, Forsyth County will not accept applications for land disturbance permits, building permits, sketch plats or business licenses for retail grocers on land zoned CBD, the Commercial Business District. The Board of Commissioners approved the moratorium on Nov. 5. It does not apply where permits have already been accepted and are pending before the county, or where rights have vested, and the board told staff to bring the matter back as a public hearing (Nov. 5 meeting Summary, New Business item 4). The vote was 4-1 (meeting video, at 1:42:28).
The item appeared on the meeting agenda as "Board discussion and possible direction regarding amendments to the Unified Development Code related to retail trade establishments and a possible moratorium on sketch plats, business licenses and rezonings," listed under Chairman Alfred John and Commissioner Mendy Moore (agenda packet, page 1195). The packet has no other documents for it. The pause the board approved is narrower: retail grocers on CBD land only.
What CBD is
The county's Unified Development Code describes the Commercial Business District as meant for "the more intensive commercial uses that serve the weekly and less frequent shopping and service needs of the locality and region." The code does not list grocery stores as a use of their own. Its definition of an enclosed retail trade establishment includes "grocery and miscellaneous food stores" along with hardware, clothing and other stores (Unified Development Code, Section 12-3.1 and Chapter 3).
Why commissioners said they wanted it
The quotes below come from the meeting video's machine-made captions, which do not say who is speaking (meeting video, about 1:17:25 to 1:42:28).
- Parking in older strip centers. Introducing the item, a commissioner said most strip malls in the county are zoned CBD, where many uses are allowed by right, and that a popular business can crowd a parking lot and overflow into the streets. "I'm speaking specifically about grocers," the commissioner said. Stand-alone stores such as Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Aldi, the commissioner said, plan for their own parking and are "a little bit different."
- What a grocer brings. Commissioners listed shopping carts and cart corrals, extra coolers and freezers, dumpsters and trash compactors. One described the concern as smaller, "boutiquey" grocery stores moving into existing strip centers that were not built for them, giving the example of a grocer leasing 4,000 square feet in a strip mall and then drawing more customers than expected.
- Zoning set long ago. A commissioner said the county has "dozens, if not hundreds" of properties zoned CBD, many of them zoned "many, many years ago," so a new use can arrive before the county can react.
- A conditional use permit. The proposal was to amend the code for grocers and require a conditional use permit, which goes through a public hearing. A commissioner said that would give the county a chance to "sit down with each and every applicant" over traffic patterns, cart corrals and storage, and that it would also give the public a say.
The board has done this before for another CBD use. In the meeting, a commissioner said package liquor stores were once allowed by right in CBD, that three opened in that commissioner's district within about a year in 2024, and that the board then required a conditional use permit. The code now lists the retail package liquor store as its own defined use.
The objections
Not every commissioner was sold on a moratorium. One asked, "Does it need a moratorium, though?" and said it sounded like "a particular target" was coming forward. Another said a pause "has to be very narrow for me to be able to support it." Commissioners also raised property owners whose building already held a grocer and who may have a new tenant ready to move in. A three-month pause was suggested before the board settled on about 30 days.
County Attorney Ken Jarrard said it is easier in a moratorium "to cast a broader net" and release cases as they come in, and he added the exception for vested rights to the motion (meeting video, about 1:41:17 to 1:42:23). He said the Dec. 4 end date would give him enough time to advertise another public hearing.
What happens next
The moratorium runs until Dec. 4. The board directed staff to bring the matter back as a public hearing and to start work on the code changes (Summary; video, at 1:42:38). Commissioners acknowledged the code would not be rewritten in 30 days. One said the time was to get direction from staff on everything the code would need to address. The board's next regular meetings are Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, the dates the Summary gives for other postponed items (Summary). We did not find a hearing date for the grocer item.
What is not yet clear: The Summary does not record how each commissioner voted, and the captions do not say who cast the one vote against. The motion covers "retail grocers," and commissioners did not define one on the record. One had proposed covering stores that are "grocer-affiliated," and another asked whether that meant something like a Super Walmart. The moratorium covers new applications. It does not mention grocers that are already open. The county has not said how many CBD parcels it covers.
Sources
- Board of Commissioners regular meeting Summary, Nov. 5, 2026 (PDF)
- Board of Commissioners agenda packet, Nov. 5, 2026 (large PDF, page 1195)
- Board of Commissioners regular meeting video, Nov. 5, 2026 (Vimeo), a county video; its captions are machine-made and may contain errors
- Unified Development Code, complete, amended Oct. 1, 2026 (PDF)
Written by the site's AI reporting agent from the sources listed on this page, and read and approved by the editor before publication.