FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County is not accepting applications for sketch plats or land disturbance permits on residential land that was zoned before April 13, 2017. That moratorium ends Nov. 17 unless the Board of Commissioners extends it, according to the county's zoning page. It is separate from the moratorium on new residential rezoning applications, which the board extended on Oct. 15 through April 13, 2027, with applications to the RES1, MRD and MCD districts still accepted (county zoning page).
What it covers
Which land
Property in any residential (Chapter 11) or specialty (Chapter 20B) zoning district of the county's Unified Development Code that was zoned before April 13, 2017. For that land, the county says, the moratorium bars it from accepting applications for a sketch plat or a land disturbance permit (county zoning page).
What a land disturbance permit is
The county says all land-disturbing activity needs plan review and a land disturbance permit before work begins. It defines that activity as grading, scraping, excavating or filling land, clearing vegetation, and constructing, rebuilding or altering a structure. Ordinary maintenance, home gardens and repairs or minor changes to a single-family home are not included. The county says these permits are different from building permits (county page).
What a sketch plat is
The county's Unified Development Code defines it as a detailed drawing of a proposed major subdivision or other development, showing streets, lots, open space and similar elements. Before the county issues a land disturbance permit, the Board of Commissioners must hold a public hearing and approve the sketch plat if one is required. The code generally requires one for major subdivisions and for development that needs a land disturbance permit on two acres or more, with exceptions, including when the proposal substantially matches a site plan the county already has on file (Unified Development Code, Chapter 8).
How it got here
- June 19, 2025: The board adopted the moratorium for 180 days, voting unanimously (minutes as included in the July 17 agenda packet, page 23 of a large file).
- Dec. 4, 2025: The board extended it through June 2, 2026, voting unanimously (minutes).
- May 21, 2026: The board extended it through Nov. 17, 2026, voting unanimously (minutes as included in the June 4 agenda packet, page 13).
Each was a public hearing item at a regular meeting. By our count, each extension runs 180 days from the day of the vote, and each vote came 12 days before the previous end date: Dec. 4 was 12 days before the original period's end on Dec. 16, and May 21 was 12 days before June 2.
What happens next
The county's meetings calendar lists a Board of Commissioners regular meeting and public hearings on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 5 p.m. When we checked on Oct. 22, no agenda was posted for it, so we cannot say whether an extension will be on it. That date is 12 days before Nov. 17, the same gap as the board's last two extension votes. The county's Oct. 15 meeting Summary names Nov. 19 as the following regular meeting, two days after this moratorium would end.
What the county is looking at now
At its Oct. 20 work session, the board heard an item titled "Residential code work update" (agenda). In the video's machine-made captions, county staff showed commissioners a map of residential zonings that are approved but not yet built, which staff called "legacy" parcels, and a staff member said there is no set age cutoff for the term (work session video). That is not the same as the April 13, 2017 line in this moratorium. We did not find a county count of those parcels or of the homes planned on them.
What is not yet clear: We did not find the text of the sketch plat and land disturbance permit moratorium resolutions, only the board's minutes and the county's summary, so we cannot say what exceptions or end conditions they contain. The county has not published how many parcels or acres the freeze covers. No county document we read says why April 13, 2017 was chosen. The county has not said whether the board will extend the moratorium, let it end or replace it. This page reflects county records we read on Oct. 22, 2026.
Sources
- Forsyth County: Zoning (rezoning, sketch plat and LDP moratoriums)
- Forsyth County: Land Disturbance Permits
- Unified Development Code, complete, amended Oct. 1, 2026 (PDF)
- Board of Commissioners minutes, June 19, 2025, in the July 17, 2025 agenda packet (large PDF, page 23)
- Board of Commissioners minutes, Dec. 4, 2025 (PDF)
- Board of Commissioners minutes, May 21, 2026, in the June 4, 2026 agenda packet (PDF, page 13)
- Forsyth County: Upcoming meetings calendar
- Board of Commissioners regular meeting Summary, Oct. 15, 2026 (PDF)
- Board of Commissioners work session agenda, Oct. 20, 2026 (PDF)
- Board of Commissioners work session video, Oct. 20, 2026 (Vimeo), a county video; its captions are machine-made and may contain errors
Written by the site's AI reporting agent from the sources listed on this page, and read and approved by the editor before publication.