Commercial land disturbance permits by county in North Georgia

Last updated: November 2026

Quick answer: The land disturbance permit is the gate between zoning approval and the building permit on every commercial site in North Georgia, and every county runs it differently. Cherokee reviews in about five-business-day cycles through CityView with published plan review fees of $255 to $1,075 plus $700 per disturbed acre; Forsyth runs a Monday deadline and a review meeting nine business days later with a $3,000 per acre performance bond; Dawson states at least 14 working days per cycle with a $500 minimum application fee and escalating resubmittal fees; Hall runs two-week cycles through Accela with a $2,000 commercial LDP fee plus $40 per acre. Georgia SB 447 requires a decision on a complete application within 45 days. Total time depends far more on the number of review cycles than on the county.

Key takeaways

The LDP comes before the building permit in every county we work in.
One acre of disturbance triggers the state NPDES permit: a Notice of Intent, $40 per acre and a certified erosion control plan.
Water and sewer are separate agencies with their own approvals and fees.
Incomplete submittals are routed back, not reviewed. The first-cycle plan set decides the schedule.
The five most common delays are detention in a buffer, tree density that does not close, unapproved sanitary design, an unresolved turn lane question and a late Notice of Intent.

The land disturbance permit is the gate between zoning approval and the building permit on every commercial site in North Georgia. Every county runs it differently: a different portal, a different review clock, a different fee schedule and a different list of plan sheets.

This page puts the counties we work in side by side. Each county row links to a detailed question and answer guide written from that county’s own published documents.

Updated November 2026. Fees and cycles are the counties’ published figures at that date (the Cherokee figures are from the county’s plan approval package, last updated 2019); confirm current amounts with the county before budgeting. Georgia SB 447 requires a decision on a complete application within 45 days. The clock stops on an incomplete one.

County comparison

County	Review agency and portal	Review cycle	Published fees	Plan set and special requirements
Cherokee	Development Services Center, CityView portal; assigned plan coordinator	About five business days per cycle; free preliminary review with the Plan Approval Team every Thursday	Digital upload $150 to $250 by acreage; plan review $255 (to 1 acre) to $1,075 (over 100 acres); fire review $200; commercial LDP $700 per disturbed acre, $1,000 minimum; NPDES $40 per acre to the state	Ten sheets plus stormwater and hydrology report: cover, site, drainage and grading, utility, phased erosion control, sanitary and storm profiles, details, tree preservation and replanting, lighting. 25-, 50- and 75-foot buffer lines; tree density calculation; retaining wall certification; Etowah habitat conservation plan statement; NOI filed 14 days before approval; water and sewer through CCWSA
Forsyth	Planning and Community Development, Customer Self Service portal; Department of Engineering reviews LDP and stormwater	Plans due 5:00 p.m. Monday; review meeting with all departments nine business days later; corrected plans re-enter on a later Monday	Plan review and permit fees per the county fee schedule in the portal; card payments carry a 3.55 percent service fee; $3,000 per acre land disturbance performance bond; county share of NPDES $40 per acre	Sketch plat and Board of Commissioners hearing if tract or disturbance is two acres or more (five in M-1); architectural elevations, color and material board and photometric plan with the civil set; storm sewer for the 25-year storm, 18-inch minimum pipe; cut slopes 2:1, fills over 10 feet 3:1; modular walls approved by Engineering; LDP must issue within 12 months of first submittal
Dawson	Community Development routes to Public Works, Fire, Etowah Water and Sewer, erosion reviewer and Health Department; online permit portal only	At least 14 working days per cycle; comment meeting by Zoom; fees paid on or before that meeting	Land development application $50 per disturbed acre, $500 minimum; site development plan review $1,000; second, third and fourth reviews $300, $500, $750; fire review $150; commercial LDP administrative fee $50; NOI $40 per acre	Site, grading, hydrology, erosion control, utility, recorded plat, landscape, exterior lighting and transportation study where applicable; LDP required under an acre within 200 feet of state waters or in any plat recorded after August 1, 2000; GSWCC blue card contractor, bonds and stormwater maintenance agreement before the pre-construction meeting; 100-foot setback on parkways and divided highways; water and sewer through Etowah Water and Sewer Authority
Fulton and North Fulton cities	County Public Works for site development; city portals in Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell, Johns Creek	30 to 75 days typical by jurisdiction	$450 to $500 base plus $45 to $100 per acre	Overlay districts in Alpharetta and Milton add review depth; Roswell historic overlays.
Cobb	County portal	45 to 75 days typical	$600 base plus $60 per acre	Trip generation review on commercial projects.
Gwinnett	County portal	30 to 60 days typical	$500 base plus $50 per acre	Electronic submittal process.
Hall	Public Works and Utilities, Development Review Division; Accela ePermitting portal (no paper drop off since February 2023)	Plans in by 4:00 p.m. Monday go to the following Wednesday Development Review meeting; initial review up to two weeks; each resubmittal two weeks; a third review is sometimes required	Commercial LDP $2,000 plus $40 per disturbed acre; third and subsequent reviews $200 each; revision to approved plans $200; as-built review $750; access only plan review $200; fees paid at submittal	Cover sheet with parcel, zoning, existing conditions, cut and fill volumes and construction schedule; bookmarked sealed PDFs; hydrology report with water quality spreadsheet at 5,000 square feet of new impervious area or one acre disturbed; Soil and Water Conservation District review within 200 feet of state waters or over one acre; as-built submitted at about 80 percent construction and approved before CO

Sources: Cherokee County Plan Approval Customer Package and Development Regulations, Section 3; Forsyth County Land Development page; Dawson County Land Disturbance Requirements 2026, LDP process and fee schedule; Hall County Development Review; our Metro Atlanta LDP cost and timeline guide for the remaining counties.

What every county has in common

The LDP comes before the building permit. No county we work in issues the building permit until the land disturbance permit is processed.
One acre of disturbance triggers the state NPDES Construction General Permit through Georgia EPD: a Notice of Intent, a $40 per acre fee and an erosion and sediment control plan carrying the required certification. See our guide to Georgia’s NPDES construction stormwater permits.
Stormwater is designed to the Georgia Stormwater Management Manual: water quality, channel protection, overbank and extreme flood protection, and downstream analysis.
Water and sewer are separate agencies with their own approvals and fees. Capacity and tap fees are confirmed with the utility, not through plan review.
Incomplete submittals are routed back, not reviewed. The first-cycle plan set decides the schedule.

Mack perspective: The county is rarely the reason a commercial LDP is slow. The plan set is. A set that goes in with the buffer lines drawn, the tree density closed, the sanitary design already through the water authority and the NOI staged typically clears Cherokee in two to three five day cycles. The same set with one of those missing takes four or more. We treat the first submittal as the only one that matters.

What delays a commercial LDP

The five delays we see most often on North Georgia commercial LDPs: detention placed inside a buffer or landscape strip; tree density that does not close without a replanting plan; a sanitary design the water and sewer authority has not yet approved; an unresolved turn lane or sight distance question at the entrance; and a Notice of Intent filed late.

All five are known before the first submittal if the site is studied properly. None of them should cost a review cycle. Read how to avoid delays in land disturbance permit approval.

Owner tip: Ask your engineer which review cycle the schedule assumes, and what happens to the calendar if it takes one more. If the answer is “we usually clear in one,” ask to see the last three projects. Two cycles is a realistic plan; one is a hope.

County guides

Frequently asked questions

Which North Georgia county has the fastest commercial LDP review?

Cherokee’s five-business-day cycles and Forsyth’s nine-business-day meeting schedule are the fastest published clocks. Hall runs two-week cycles and Dawson states at least 14 working days per cycle. Total time depends far more on the number of cycles than on the county.

How much does a commercial LDP cost?

County fees range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand depending on acreage, plus the state NPDES fee of $40 per acre and, in Forsyth, a $3,000 per acre performance bond. Engineering fees for the plan set are the larger part: $10,000 to $25,000 or more for a small commercial site under five acres and $25,000 to $90,000 or more for an industrial site of 5 to 30 acres, depending on acreage, stormwater complexity and utility coordination.

Do I need an LDP for a commercial site under one acre?

Often yes. Cherokee processes small sites as an erosion control permit with the same review. Dawson requires the LDP under an acre within 200 feet of state waters or in any plat recorded after August 1, 2000. Forsyth requires it for any land disturbing activity not expressly excepted.

When do I file the Notice of Intent with Georgia EPD?

The state permit requires the Notice of Intent at least 14 days before land disturbance begins. Cherokee requires it 14 days before LDP approval, and Dawson requires it before the pre-construction meeting. We stage the NOI as soon as the erosion and sediment control plan is stable so it never holds the permit.

Have a commercial site in one of these counties?

Send us the parcel number and your concept. You get back a feasibility exhibit and the county’s actual review schedule before you commit.

Call (770) 715-7295 or contact Mack Engineering. Our office is at 5745 Stables Wy A-09, Alpharetta, GA 30004, and we serve Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

This page is general information about land disturbance permitting in Georgia. It is not a parcel specific permit determination, legal advice, or a cost estimate. Fees and requirements change frequently; confirm current rules with the reviewing agencies and your engineer of record.