Zoning Districts

The City provides a variety of tools to help residents, businesses, and developers understand land use and development across the city. Access zoning districts, review future land use areas through the Community Development GIS map, and explore detailed geographic data using the GIS Mapping system.

Character Areas

The State of Georgia's Local Planning Requirements call for the City to identify and map Character Areas. These are specific geographical areas that have special or unique characteristics, based on either existing conditions or the vision for the future, and which collectively give Sandy Springs its distinctive character.  They support the long-term development goals in the City’s Comprehensive Plan and guide updates to the Zoning Map.

There are two resources that can be utilized to familiarize yourself with Sandy Springs' Character Areas. Section 1.2.1 - Districts Established of the Sandy Springs Development Code gives you an overview of the four Character Area Groups—Protected Neighborhood, Urban Neighborhood, Corridor & Node and Perimeter—as well as the Character Areas types and the Zoning Districts permitted within them. The Community Development GIS map can be used to explore the Character Areas geographically. You'll need to use the layers function of the map and look under the Zoning Layers category to find the Character Area layer and turn it on.

Zoning Map

The City of Sandy Springs is divided into residential and commercial zoning districts that manage where and how properties may be developed. Residential districts allow various housing types and densities, while commercial districts regulate the location and form of business activities. You can view these districts on the city’s Community Development GIS map. The Zoning layer amended April 17, 2018, will display by default. You can also search for a property or "parcel" by its address or click on it to view its zoning district.

Proposed Changes to the Zoning Map

It is sometimes beneficial to rezone properties to allow a different type of use. You can learn more about this process on the Filing Land Use Petitions page. You may also be interested in Land Use Petitions Under Consideration, which, if approved will be updated on the Community Development GIS map.

GIS Data

The city’s Geographic Information System (GIS) provides interactive tools for viewing and analyzing detailed geographic data. If you are looking for data that isn't available in the Community Development GIS map, it may be available on the Sandy Springs GIS maps website or in the Sandy Springs GIS open data portal.

Plan Sandy Springs Website

You can check if a type of land use is permitted at a particular address in Sandy Springs using the Plan Sandy Springs website. Use the "Zoning Check" function and first select your land use type and then enter the address of the property. This method is a user-friendly alternative to using the Community Development GIS map if you already have a type of land use in mind.

Zoning Certifications

A Zoning Certification is a letter confirming the existing zoning for a property, usually for legal purposes, and will state the current zoning classification and a list of prior zoning cases.