Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Clarkston, Georgia

At a glance

Zoning

City of Clarkston zoning code (Appendix A), with NR-1, NR-2 and NR-3 residential districts¹

Building permit

Required for new construction and alterations; issued by the City of Clarkston²

Building code

Georgia State Minimum Standard Codes, enforced by the city⁵

Minimum lot size

9,000 sq ft in NR-1, 7,500 in NR-2, 5,000 in NR-3⁶

Minimum home size

1,000 sq ft in NR-1, 900 in NR-2, 800 in NR-3⁷

Accessory dwelling

Allowed only in districts that list it, up to 1,250 sq ft first floor⁸

Septic permit

DeKalb Public Health Environmental Health³

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 16, 2026.

Does Clarkston, Georgia have zoning, and what does it mean for lot size and setbacks?

Yes. The City of Clarkston zones land inside its limits through Appendix A of its code, which sets NR-1, NR-2 and NR-3 residential districts alongside other districts¹. NR-1 is meant mainly for single-family detached homes on larger lots¹.

Minimum lot sizes are 9,000 square feet in NR-1, 7,500 in NR-2 and 5,000 in NR-3⁶. Minimum home sizes are 1,000, 900 and 800 square feet in the same three districts⁷. Front setbacks are 30, 25 and 15 feet⁹. Maximum lot coverage is 50 percent¹⁰, and buildings top out at 35 feet¹¹.

These are small-lot, in-town numbers, not rural-acreage rules. Confirm your parcel's district with the Clarkston planning office before you plan a build¹².

Can you build an accessory dwelling or tiny home in Clarkston?

Clarkston allows accessory dwelling units only on lots that have a single-family detached home as the primary structure, and only in districts that list them as a permitted accessory use⁸. An accessory dwelling may have a first floor of up to 1,250 square feet, or the primary home's first floor if smaller, and a height of 18 feet, or 25 feet with a pitched roof⁸. It needs its own kitchen and bathroom and an off-street parking space⁸.

Georgia treats tiny homes as dwelling units under the same building codes as any site-built home¹³. Whether Clarkston allows a tiny home on wheels, or living in an RV, is something we could not confirm; ask the city planning office¹².

Do you need a building permit in Clarkston, and who issues it?

The City of Clarkston issues building permits inside city limits. The city says a building permit is generally required for new construction, temporary buildings and alterations to existing construction, inside or out². Plans are required for residential construction². Inside the city, construction must follow the Georgia State Minimum Standard Codes as adopted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs⁵.

DeKalb County's permit division handles unincorporated land, and its own page warns that a project inside an incorporated city may have a different permitting authority⁴. Georgia does not require a license to build your own home, but that does not waive local permits or inspections¹⁴. Whether Clarkston has its own owner-builder process is unconfirmed; ask the city.

How do septic permits work inside Clarkston?

Septic permits for every address in DeKalb County come from DeKalb Public Health Environmental Health, not from the city³. The agency says it must permit a new septic system, a new drain line or a repair before a contractor does the work¹⁵. Applications go by email to [email protected] or in person to its Decatur office¹⁵.

Most in-town lots connect to public sewer. Georgia requires connection to a public or community sewer if one is available within 200 feet of the property line¹⁶. Whether a particular Clarkston lot is on sewer, and how the county applies that rule inside the city, we could not confirm; ask DeKalb Public Health and the city before you buy.

Building a home in Clarkston: the steps, in order

1. Confirm the parcel's zoning district and dimensional rules with Clarkston planning and zoning¹².
2. Check whether the lot touches a floodplain; new homes in the future-conditions floodplain must meet sections 5-132 through 5-134 of the city code, with the lowest floor at least 3 feet above base flood elevation¹⁷.
3. Confirm sewer or septic with DeKalb Public Health¹⁵.
4. Submit plans and the building permit application to the city by email².
5. Schedule each inspection through the city's online portal; the final inspection leads to a certificate of occupancy or completion².
6. Ask the city about the DeKalb County Fire Marshal's plan review and fees, which are paid to the county at plan submittal².

What stays with DeKalb County, and what to check before you buy in Clarkston

Septic permits come from the county health department, not the city³. For land outside Clarkston's limits, the rules differ; see the DeKalb County page for unincorporated land.

DeKalb County's typical home value is about $339,259 and its effective property tax rate is 0.9 percent¹⁸¹⁹. These are county figures, not Clarkston-only. Georgia's conservation-use program assesses qualifying farm or timber land at 40 percent of current use value, but it is a tax benefit and not a zoning exemption²⁰.

Watch-outs

• Clarkston's lots are small and in-town: minimum lot size runs from 5,000 to 9,000 square feet depending on district⁶.
• We could not confirm Clarkston's rules on RV occupancy, camping, manufactured homes, subdivision or permit fees; ask the city planning office¹².
• The fire marshal charges separate plan review and inspection fees paid to DeKalb County at plan submittal².

Sources

1. Clarkston Code, Appendix A Zoning, Sec. 306 NR-1 district (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
2. City of Clarkston Community Development (building permits and inspections) (clarkstonga.gov)
3. On-Site Sewage Management Systems Manual, quoted and re-checked
4. Permits, Plan Review & Inspections, quoted and re-checked
5. Clarkston Code, Sec. 5-1 State minimum standards adopted (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
6. Clarkston Code, Appendix A Zoning, Sec. 305 Dimensional Standards (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
7. library.municode.com (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
8. Clarkston Code, Sec. 413 Accessory Dwelling Units (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
9. Clarkston Code, Appendix A Zoning, Sec. 305 Dimensional Standards (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
10. Clarkston Code, Appendix A Zoning, Sec. 305 Dimensional Standards (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
11. Clarkston Code, Appendix A Zoning, Sec. 305 Dimensional Standards (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
12. City of Clarkston Planning and Zoning (clarkstonga.gov)
13. Georgia Tiny House Fact Sheet (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Residential and Commercial General Contractors Frequently Asked Questions (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
15. DeKalb Public Health Environmental Health (dekalbpublichealth.com)
16. GA DPH Onsite Sewage Manual (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
17. Clarkston Code, Sec. 5-151 Building standards, future-conditions floodplain (Clarkston), quoted and re-checked
18. Typical home value (Zillow): Bolthole Index county data
19. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
20. Conservation Use Land Values (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 16, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.