Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Tennille, Georgia

Tennille’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Tennille city limits (City of Tennille's own zoning ordinance, Code Chapter 40 'Zoning')

  • The zoning chapter is in the city's code PDF, codified in 2013 by order of city council; later amendments were not verified.

  “there are hereby established, within the city, the zoning districts identified as follows:”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts of the City of Tennille

  • Districts listed in the 2013 codification: A-1, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, C-1, C-2, I-1, I-2; the district map was not located.

  “there are hereby established, within the city, the zoning districts identified as follows:”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  A-1 agricultural district (agricultural/rural single-family) inside Tennille city limits

  • Stated in the purpose clause of the district; the schedule of district standards was not extracted.

  minimum lot size, A-1 district: >= 3 acres

  “the purpose of the a-1 agricultural district is to provide single-family residential areas with minimum lot sizes of three acres”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — R-1 single-family residential district inside Tennille city limits

    “the purpose of the r-1 single-family residential district is to provide single-family residential areas with minimum lot sizes of 12,000 square feet”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Privies and septic tanks inside Tennille city limits

  • Privies, septic tanks and cesspools are unlawful except as otherwise provided; the city's provision for private systems is conditioned on state EPD approval and a 20,000 sq ft minimum lot area for subsurface absorption.

  “except as otherwise provided, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage.”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  New dwelling on a lot abutting a street with a city sanitary sewer inside Tennille city limits

  • Sewer connection is required only when the public sewer is within 100 feet (30.5 meters) of the property line, after 60 days' official notice.
  • Water connection requirement was not located.

  distance to public sewer triggering connection: <= 100 feet

  “provided that said public sewer is within 100 feet (30.5 meters) of the property line.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  City of Tennille building and zoning permit fees

  • The city lists a Building & Zoning Fee Schedule PDF; its amounts were not opened in this research run.

  “building & zoning fee schedule pdf demolition permit application pdf electrical permit application pdf plumbing permit application pdf mobile home permit application pdf”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Tennille or Washington County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Tennille city limits
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption inside Tennille city limits
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Tennille city limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Tennille city limits
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling floor area inside Tennille city limits

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.