Yes, a house moving permit is required to move a house in, out, or through the City of Roswell. A map of the route is required with notification to Fire, Police, Transportation, and the utility companies. 

No, the insulation cannot be installed for the rough-in inspection; it is considered a visual obstruction and is conducted after the rough-in.

• Business Occupation Tax Schedule of Rates

• Online Payment
  Pay online at www.roswellgov.com/OccupationTaxPayment
  There is a 3% surcharge for all online credit and debit card payments and a flat $1.50 fee for all eCheck payments.
  
  
• In Person
  At City Hall (38 Hill St, Suite 210, Roswell, GA 30075)
  
  
• By Mail
  Checks and money orders may be mailed to:

  City of Roswell
  Attn: Business Registration
  38 Hill Street, Suite 210
  Roswell, GA 30075

• By Phone
  Call 770-594-6235 to pay with a credit or debit card.
  
  

• Business Occupation Tax Schedule of Rates

The municipal code of the City of Roswell creates structure within the City government and protects the welfare of the citizens and the environment. The Code is accessible to all citizens on the City of Roswell website and at the Roswell Library or City Hall.

View the Roswell Municipal Code.

Discuss this situation with the Community Development Department for clarification as to how your project should be handled. If the project appeared before the Design Review Board, the Historic Preservation Commission, Planning Commission, or Mayor and City Council, you will most likely need a development permit. You may need a development permit even if you obtained an administrative approval for your project.

If there is any land disturbance on the project, a grading permit will likely be required. Conversions of residential property to other uses requires all of the above, even if you think no work needs to be done.

If the property is commercial, residential development, single-family over one acre, and in some cases individual lots of a larger development, a tree removal permit is required.

Additional permits may be required from Fulton County, the Georgia DOT, and/or the Roswell Transportation Department.

If you have any additional questions, please contact the Community Development Department at 770-641-3780. 

At a minimum, a plan update must be completed every 10 years, in accordance with the Local Comprehensive Plan Recertification Schedule maintained by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. However, after five years, community leaders may determine that the comprehensive plan needs to be updated, based upon the degree of change in the community. If only minor changes have taken place, then revisions to the plan may be sufficient, in the form of plan amendments. If significant changes have occurred in community conditions (i.e., if the data upon which the plan is based has become significantly outdated, or the community’s vision has changed), an update of the comprehensive plan or a major plan amendment may be needed. Public hearings and a vote by the Mayor and City Council are required for any changes to the Plan. 

The environmental element of the plan provides guidance for achieving a balance between protecting the environment and planning for the orderly development of the city. 

There will be recommendations and implementation strategies contained within the plan which will outline short-term, mid-term, and long-term strategies. These strategies will constantly be reviewed and executed by the City and many other individuals and groups involved with growth and development in the future. 

A Comprehensive Plan is the basis for many other planning activities, such as creation of development regulations, transportation planning, park and open space planning, and economic development strategies. It provides a general framework for other, more specific planning. 

The Comprehensive Plan is a municipality’s road map for the future. This official, living, city-wide public document provides long range policy direction for land use, transportation, economic development, housing, public facilities, intergovernmental agreements along with its natural and cultural resources. It serves as a guide for elected and public officials by providing the framework for evaluating development proposals. Included in the Comprehensive Plan are strategies for program funding for all city departments. 

A Comprehensive Plan is not a fiscal policy document; it will not provide specific dollar amounts for current or future expansion of services for the city’s needs nor will it provide specific cost/benefit information about various infrastructure improvements and taxes. It also does not include an economic impact assessment. 

The Comprehensive Plan guides decisions regarding growth and development. It establishes policies pertaining to various elements as required by the State of Georgia. The Zoning Ordinance is part of the city’s code and regulates the use, scale, and intensity of development that are allowed in various districts. 

The Comprehensive Plan process allows residents and local decision makers to identify and respond to changing community needs and desires in a thoughtful rather than reactive way. The new process requires representation from all the citizens and outlines implementation mechanisms.

All local governments in the State of Georgia are required to adopt a Comprehensive Plan for their locality. While Georgia does not require strict adherence to them, once adopted the plan becomes policy guides for the future growth. 

Please call the Fulton County Public Works Department at 404-730-7400. 

• Maps of Designated Service Areas

Building permits are not normally required for fences, but if you are installing a swimming pool it is part of the swimming pool requirements which are permitted and inspected. 

All applications, which contain checklists of materials required for each, and a meeting calendar can be obtained on this website and from the Community Development Department at:
38 Hill St.
Suite G-30
Roswell, GA 30075

You may also visit our offices on the ground floor of Roswell’s City Hall.

Each applicant must complete an orientation with staff prior to submitting the required documents. The Department is unable to accept applications until staff has held an orientation meeting with the applicant.

The SEDP process was guided by three canons established by both the City Council and the Advisory Committee:
• the retention of existing jobs;
• the expansion of existing businesses; and
• the attraction of new investment and jobs to Roswell.

The SEDP is a “menu” of actions tailored to Roswell based on the inclusive vision of the Advisory Committee. However, the SEDP also provides detailed technical documentation explaining the rationale behind the implementation recommendations. The Strategic Economic Development Plan only is the first step towards implementing a coordinated, strategic action plan.

Housing: There is large demand for affordable, market rate, and luxury rental housing in Roswell and North Fulton County. Without some regulatory and market changes, Roswell’s population may increase more slowly than the rest of the region and erode the competitiveness of Roswell’s commercial market.

Retail Redevelopment: Although Roswell currently is over-supplied in retail space, many of the larger, less competitive sites have the potential for redevelopment. These sites can become transformative projects that increase consumer spending (through new residential development) and decrease the excess retail space (through smaller retail footprints) benefiting all retailers. Selective redevelopment also will improve the viability of the remaining retail developments, as the decreased supply will stabilize rent rates and financial performance.

Class A Office: There will be opportunities as the economy recovers to support Class “A” office development in Roswell at strategic locations. The Holcomb Bridge/400 intersection has development and redevelopment potential to accommodate a substantial amount of new office development. GA9 between the Founder’s Square and Holcomb Bridge/Crossville intersection can accommodate smaller-scale office development (when the market can support new development).

Industrial: The industrial market has immediate opportunities for new development in Roswell. Data indicate much more demand for warehouse and flex space in North Fulton County than there is supply. It is important to balance immediate benefits from industrial development with longer-term opportunities consistent with the stated vision.

Lodging: There may be a market for a hotel type that does not already exist in the Roswell market. A bed & breakfast style concept has been proposed in the Founder’s Square/Canton Street area. This smaller-scale, market niche approach is more feasible than a traditional hotel development and capitalizes on the unique character of this area of Roswell. The City should also encourage new hotel development (in the mid- to long-term) in the areas closest to GA400, as these uses are complementary to the office potential and are strong tax revenue generators.

There is a limited amount of land which has not yet been developed, so future growth will likely require some component of redevelopment. Roswell’s regulations on development are not conducive to redevelopment. Higher density is necessary to make redevelopment fiscally viable and to allow multi-family housing, which is a common component in redevelopment efforts.

Healthcare: Roswell is an ideal location for the expansion of healthcare-related industries. Roswell has a comparatively more mature population that is believed to have a strong desire to age in place. As this population continues to age into their senior years, the demand for medical services likely will increase.

Tech and Corporate: Roswell’s quality of life and ideal location along Georgia 400 make the City very competitive to attract and retain technical, research, consulting, and corporate operations companies, ranging in size from 1-person firms to having thousands of employees.

Entertainment and Recreation: Creating a more diverse and integrated entertainment and recreation industry cluster is consistent with both the stated and implied vision established by the comprehensive plan, this economic development strategy, and numerous previous studies performed for the City. The dining segment has a valuable, but small presence (i.e. Canton Street) that can be expanded. One or more of the historic homes could be an ideal bed and breakfast venue. Other opportunities include expanding community-serving retail and sporting venues (i.e. soccer or softball tournaments).

The next step should be to vet the results with leadership priorities, financial resource availability, and technical capacity. The vetting process should yield a more concrete, workable plan of the most valued and achievable parts of the strategic plan. This annual action plan should then be periodically reviewed and edited for compatibility with the larger vision of the SEDP. This SEDP should not be viewed as the first and final economic development plan for Roswell. The strategy should be reviewed every 5-10 years to accommodate successes, identify new/modified courses of action and calibrate for new market/community climate, and reviewed more frequently in times of extreme market or community transition (i.e. the recent economic downturn).

Previous economic development efforts are not sufficient to position Roswell to succeed in the current economic and market climate of North Fulton County and the entire metropolitan Atlanta area. Those who desire to keep their community ‘the same’ oftentimes do not understand that things have remained the same because their community experienced economic growth. For example, the ability to maintain and operate excellent parks and recreation amenities requires a growing revenue base. Roswell sustained its fiscal strength and high quality of life through real property appreciation and county-wide retail sales tax revenue growth. Since then, Roswell’s economic viability has suffered from market evolution and market competitiveness.