Quick answer: A Cherokee County Land Disturbance Permit (LDP) plan set is a single PDF uploaded through the County’s CityView portal containing a cover sheet, site plan, grading and drainage plan, utility plan, phased erosion control plans, sanitary sewer and storm pipe profiles, standard details, a tree preservation and replacement plan, street lighting where applicable, the erosion control checklist and a sealed stormwater management and hydrology report. An LDP is required for clearing or grading of one acre or more, tree removal, excavation and fill, and any soil disturbance within 200 feet of state waters. Reviews typically run five business days per cycle, and the permit is issued at a pre-construction meeting after the NPDES Notice of Intent and fees are in.
When Cherokee County requires an LDP
Cherokee’s Development Service Center regulates the following under the LDP: clearing and grading of one acre or more, removal or destruction of trees or other vegetation, excavation and filling, deposition of debris, and any disturbance of soil within 200 feet of state waters. Clearing and grading of less than one acre is handled under an Erosion Control Permit, and the County may require a Lot Grading Plan before a building permit on an individual lot. If disturbance on a lot exceeds an acre, it moves to the LDP track. This post is about what goes in the LDP plan set for land development engineering projects; the process and timeline are in our Cherokee County LDP process guide.
Before you draw: the three items the County expects first
- Zoning confirmation from Planning and Zoning, including overlays and any conditions attached to a prior rezoning. Where a concept plan approval is required, the approved concept plan must be in hand before plan submittal.
- Outside agency coordination. Cherokee County Water and Sewerage Authority reviews water and sewer separately, and Environmental Health reviews septic. The County portal upload is for County reviewers only.
- Plan review and digital submittal fees, paid before the plans are uploaded.
The twelve components of a Cherokee LDP plan set
1. Cover sheet
Project name and description, owner and primary permittee, engineer, zoning and overlay, site and disturbed acreage, sheet index, vicinity map, and the County’s required general notes. Reviewers also want the scope of work described in the portal’s “Description of Project” field so the plan is routed to the right reviewers.
2. Site plan
Boundary, setbacks and buffers (including corner-lot and exterior setbacks), building footprints, parking and drive geometry, access, easements, and the limits of disturbance. Stream buffers are drawn at 25 feet (state waters), 50 feet (undisturbed county stream buffer) and 75 feet (impervious setback), measured from the stream, and no grading is permitted inside undisturbed stream or zoning buffers.
3. Grading and drainage plan
Existing and proposed contours, spot elevations, storm structures and pipes, and the drainage pattern to each discharge point. Retaining wall design in Cherokee must be certified by a Georgia-registered professional engineer and submitted with the construction plans, not deferred to the contractor. Where walls, deep fills or steep cuts are involved, the geotechnical report should be on the table before grading is finalized; see geotechnical and soil testing for Cherokee subdivisions.
4. Utility plan
Water, sanitary sewer, storm, and dry utilities with crossings and separations shown. Water and sewer design must also satisfy CCWSA, whose approval is separate from the County’s.
5. Phased erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plans
Initial, intermediate and final phase sheets prepared by a GSWCC Level II certified design professional with the current-year checklist attached. Cherokee’s plan notes include a 17-acre maximum of open disturbance at one time with phasing shown, and temporary grassing or mulching every seven days. What reviewers look for on these sheets, and how the state NPDES coverage ties in, is covered in NPDES plans in Cherokee County (companion post).
6. Sanitary sewer profiles
Profiles for gravity sewer with inverts, slopes, manholes and crossings. Required where public sewer is extended; septic projects substitute Environmental Health approval.
7. Storm pipe profiles
Profiles for storm drainage with hydraulic grade line, pipe sizes, slopes and structure data. Energy dissipation is required at every storm outfall; the County’s minimum is a rip-rap apron six pipe diameters long and two pipe diameters wide, in compliance with the approved erosion plan.
8. Standard details
County standard details for pavement, curb, storm structures, and the erosion control details from the Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia.
9. Tree preservation and replacement plan
Projects requiring an LDP that are not exempt must have a Tree Preservation and Replacement plan meeting Article 27, prepared by a registered landscape architect, ISA certified arborist or licensed forester. Tree save areas and fencing must appear on the tree plan and on the clearing, grading and erosion control plans. Specimen trees that do not meet the condition criteria need an arborist report with the first submittal; leaving it out delays the LDP.
10. Street lighting plan (if applicable)
Required for subdivisions and some commercial sites where public or HOA lighting is proposed.
11. Erosion control checklist
The GSWCC checklist for the permit year, completed and included in the set. Plans submitted without it are not reviewed.
12. Stormwater management and hydrology report
Under Section 6.02.B(1)a of the Cherokee County Development Ordinance, a post-developed stormwater management plan and hydrology report is required for new development creating 5,000 square feet or more of impervious cover, or other land development activities of one acre or more. The report must be signed and sealed by a Georgia professional engineer. It covers pre- and post-development hydrology, detention and water quality sizing to the Georgia Stormwater Management Manual, downstream analysis, outlet protection and level spreaders with 100-year calculations, and permanent drainage easements. A stormwater maintenance agreement is required before final plat or certificate of occupancy, and the entire system must be re-analyzed by a Georgia engineer using as-built survey data before site release. Pond sizing and cost drivers are explained in detention pond design and GSMM sizing.
Floodplain adds a thirteenth item
If the site contains an area of special flood hazard or future-conditions flood hazard, Cherokee’s floodplain ordinance requires a separate permit application to the Engineering Department and an engineering study whenever development proposes to disturb land within the future-conditions floodplain. The study, with a grading plan or site plan that defines every encroachment, has to be approved before the LDP.
Review timing and resubmittals
Once uploaded, the Plan Approval Coordinator distributes the set and is the single point of contact. Each reviewer posts comments as they finish, and a corrections notice is emailed at the end of the cycle; the County states reviews are typically completed in five business days. The engineer corrects and resubmits through the portal, and the cycle repeats until every reviewer approves. Georgia’s SB 447 added a statutory clock for local LDP decisions, which we explain in Georgia SB 447 45-day LDP deadline; a complete first submittal remains the fastest path regardless of the deadline.
Fees, bonds and the pre-construction meeting
- Digital submittal and plan review fees are due before upload.
- NPDES fees ($40 per disturbed acre to EPD, $40 to the County) and the EPD Notice of Intent are due at least 14 days before LDP approval; the LDP will not be issued without them.
- After all sign-offs, a pre-construction meeting is scheduled with the assigned inspector and the LDP fee is paid. The permit is issued at or after that meeting.
Typical county-by-county fee ranges are in land disturbance permit costs by county.
What this looks like on a real project
Our Iron Mill Estates case study walks through a 23-lot rural subdivision permitted in Canton, and the Union Hill Medical case study covers a 7.49-acre commercial site, including how the detention, buffers and tree plan were coordinated into one LDP submittal.
Frequently asked questions
Clearing or grading of one acre or more, tree or vegetation removal, excavation and filling, debris deposition, or any soil disturbance within 200 feet of state waters. Under one acre of clearing and grading is an Erosion Control Permit.
Through the CityView portal as a single PDF after paying the digital submittal and plan review fees. The County does not accept paper plans.
It is required for 5,000 square feet or more of new impervious cover or one acre or more of land development activity, and it must be sealed by a Georgia PE.
A registered landscape architect, ISA certified arborist or licensed forester, per Article 27 of the zoning ordinance.
The County states reviews are typically completed within five business days per cycle. Total time depends on how many cycles the set needs and on outside agency approvals.
No. The NOI must be filed with EPD and NPDES fees paid at least 14 days before LDP approval, and a pre-construction meeting must be held. Disturbance begins after the permit is issued.
Planning a project in Canton, Woodstock, Holly Springs or Ball Ground? Our civil engineer in Canton, GA team prepares complete Cherokee LDP sets, including hydrology and Level II erosion plans. Contact Mack Engineering or call (770) 715-7295.
Owners planning a commercial site can also use our Cherokee County commercial LDP questions and answers, twenty short answers on fees, review cycles, buffers and the NOI.
Related reading
- Cherokee County land disturbance permit: 2026 process guide
- NPDES plans in Cherokee County, GA: what it really means
- Georgia SB 447 and the 45-day land disturbance permit deadline
- Soil testing and geotech coordination for Cherokee County subdivisions
- Case study: Iron Mills Estates, Canton
- Case study: Union Hill Medical, Canton
- Land development services
- Detention pond design in Metro Atlanta
- Land disturbance permit costs in Metro Atlanta by county
- Civil engineering in Canton, GA
Sources
- Cherokee County, Development and Land Disturbance Permit (what an LDP regulates; CityView; no paper plans)
- Cherokee County, Lot Grading Plans
- Cherokee County, Plan Approval Customer Package (required plan set; 5-business-day reviews; pre-con; NOI 14 days)
- Cherokee County, Stormwater Land Disturbance Plan Review Checklist (Development Ordinance 6.02.B(1)a thresholds; PE seal)
- Cherokee County, Stormwater Plan Required Notes (as-built analysis; maintenance agreement)
- Cherokee County, Development Inspection Plan Review Checklist (retaining walls PE-certified; buffers; limits of disturbance)
- Cherokee County, Tree Preservation and Replacement Plan Checklist (Article 27; preparer qualifications)
- Cherokee County, Floodplain Management Ordinance (engineering study for future-conditions floodplain)
- Cherokee County, CityView Portal
This article is general information, not a site-specific engineering opinion. Code requirements and local ordinances change; confirm current requirements with the authority having jurisdiction for your property.