Mack Development Group builds and rebuilds custom homes in Johns Creek, Georgia, in Fulton County — whole-house renovations, additions, and full rebuilds inside mature, high-value subdivisions. Johns Creek has the lowest land disturbance permit threshold in north Fulton, so our sister firm Mack Engineering LLC handles the permit path in-house.

Neighborhoods & areas we build in

• St. Ives — a gated Johns Creek community (often listed under a Duluth or Alpharetta mailing address).
• Medlock Bridge.
• Sugar Mill — with St. Ives and Medlock Bridge, one of the three main subdivisions of the Medlock community area.
• Country Club of the South — in Johns Creek’s River Estates area, despite its Alpharetta mailing address.
• The River Estates community area along the Chattahoochee — inside the 2,000-foot Metropolitan River Protection Act corridor.
• Old Alabama Road and Medlock Bridge Road corridors.

What’s different about building in Johns Creek

Johns Creek is a renovation and rebuild market, not a raw-land market, and its rules reflect that. The controlling number is the nonconformity rule: destruction, by any means, of more than sixty percent of the gross square footage of a structure requires that the structure be reconstructed in conformity with the current ordinance. Cross 60% and any grandfathered setback, footprint, or siting right disappears. No structure may be enlarged or altered in a way that increases its nonconformity, and any structure moved any distance must fully conform. On an older Johns Creek house sitting inside today’s 60-foot front yard, that one threshold decides whether you are doing a renovation or a new build. We measure it before the design starts.

Zoning is estate-scaled. AG-1 requires 1 acre with frontage on a paved road or 3 acres on an unpaved road with 100 feet of lot width measured at the building line. R-1 requires 2 acres and 200 feet of width, with a minimum 1,800 square feet of heated floor area. R-2 requires 1 acre and 150 feet. Front yards are 60 feet across AG-1, R-1, and R-2; side yards are 25 feet interior and 40 feet adjacent to a street in AG-1 and R-1; height is capped at 40 feet. Notably, the district tables set no maximum lot coverage for AG-1, R-1, or R-2 — a real design advantage over Milton. Common open space is required at 5%.

There is no historic district, architectural review board, or design review board with authority over new single-family construction in Johns Creek, and the city’s Community Standards article expressly excludes single-family detached dwelling developments. Single-family lots are also not required to provide landscape areas or zoning buffers. Stream buffers are 50 feet undisturbed plus a 25-foot impervious setback, and no land-disturbing activity may occur inside the 50-foot buffer. Fulton County provides water and sewer, and septic systems do exist in the city — in the river corridor, a lot on on-site sewage disposal needs Fulton County Health Department approval before erosion control acceptance.

Permitting in Johns Creek

Johns Creek issues its own permits and is a Local Issuing Authority certified by Georgia EPD. The Community Development Department issues land disturbance permits through its Land Development Division, which handles minor land disturbance permits, land disturbance permits, minor plats, final plats, and tree removal permits. Building permits run through the Building Division’s CSS portal. Johns Creek does not publish a residential building plan review turnaround; tree plans get a published 30-day decision from the City Arborist.

The land disturbance threshold is the lowest of any city we work in: a land disturbance permit is required when 1,000 or more square feet of ground disturbance is proposed, and a minor permit may still be required below that where best management practices are needed. For comparison, Milton and Roswell trigger at 5,000 square feet. A driveway rebuild, a pool, or a side addition clears 1,000 square feet immediately, which is why so many Johns Creek projects get red-tagged for working without a permit they did not know they needed. A minor plat is a subdivision of three lots or fewer or a recombination of two or more lots. Clear-cutting is allowed on AG-1 zoned land only, and a timber harvest permit is required when more than two acres are clear cut or thinned.

The tree ordinance is administered by the City Arborist on a replacement-unit basis rather than a canopy percentage. Specimen thresholds are 27 inches diameter at breast height for large hardwoods, 24 inches for beech and large softwoods, and 10 inches for small native flowering trees. Recompense must be bonded before the land disturbance permit is issued, unauthorized removal doubles the unit value, the Tree Replacement Fund fee is 100% of total cost based on the average of three landscape contractor estimates, a clear-cutting bond runs 125%, and fines reach $1,000 per violation per day. A residential building permit also requires signing the Residential Erosion and Sedimentation Control Tree Protection Agreement.

Along the Chattahoochee, the Metropolitan River Protection Act corridor extends 2,000 feet from the banks and a River Corridor Certificate through the Atlanta Regional Commission is required before construction documents. Budget for the ARC single-lot fee, a $500 Johns Creek City Council hearing and advertising fee, ARC staff and board review, and a City Council public hearing with 21 days of advance notice.

Frequently asked questions