For a commercial project in unincorporated Cobb County, land-disturbing activity generally proceeds through Site Plan Review and a Land Disturbance Permit, or LDP. The first task is confirming the actual jurisdiction. A site with a Marietta, Acworth or Kennesaw mailing address may still be unincorporated, while a parcel inside a city follows that city's development process and may still require separate county utility or fire coordination.
Cobb County states that, unless exempt, land-disturbing activities in unincorporated Cobb are regulated through an LDP. Its Site Plan Review Section coordinates review of site construction documents and issues the permit. The checklist below is a planning guide, not a substitute for the current county application, agency comments or project-specific professional advice.
1. Confirm whether the parcel is county or city jurisdiction
Do not use the postal city as the jurisdiction. Confirm the parcel against current GIS and the applicable local government. Cobb County contains unincorporated areas and the cities of Marietta, Smyrna, Austell, Acworth, Kennesaw, Powder Springs and Mableton. The review path, application forms, fees and zoning authority depend on that boundary. Cobb also notes that Mableton assumed its own zoning and plan-review services beginning March 3, 2025.
2. Choose the correct LDP type
Cobb lists three land-disturbance permit types. A clearing-only permit allows trees to be cut and removed but does not allow stump extraction or other soil disturbance. A grading-only permit allows tree removal and grading with full erosion and sediment controls, but no infrastructure installation. A full-site permit allows tree removal, grading and project infrastructure. The permit must match the work actually planned; early clearing is not a shortcut around later controls or approvals.
3. Build the plan set from one verified base
The civil set should coordinate existing conditions, property and easement information, zoning and stipulations, layout, grading, drainage, stormwater, utilities, erosion and sediment control, tree protection, access, landscape requirements and off-site connections. Architectural, landscape, utility and civil sheets should use the same building footprint, finished-floor elevation, accessible routes and site geometry. A technically complete sheet that conflicts with another discipline still creates a review problem.
4. Resolve zoning conditions before finalizing civil design
Document the zoning district, permitted use, approved stipulations, variances, buffers, parking, landscape and overlay requirements. If rezoning or another land-use action is still pending, separate the assumptions that can proceed from the issues that could change the site plan. Do not let architecture, utilities and stormwater advance around a layout that the zoning approval may materially alter.
5. Use the current Georgia erosion-control checklist
Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission checklists change over time. The 2026 plan-review checklist calls for site-specific information, calculations, best management practices, vegetative measures and the applicable design-professional certifications. It also addresses temporary sediment storage or documented equivalent controls at common drainage locations. Use the version required for the actual submittal date instead of copying notes from an older project.
6. Coordinate Cobb Water review early
Cobb Water reviews civil plans for new development and redevelopment associated with an LDP. Confirm service availability, connection points, easements, meter and backflow requirements, fire-flow needs and any off-site extensions. City parcels and unincorporated parcels can follow different routing, so identify who reviews which utility component before the plan is circulated.
7. Coordinate access and road-owner requirements
Confirm whether the frontage is on a county, city or state route. Test driveway location, sight distance, spacing, turn lanes, medians and cross-access against the responsible road owner's standards. If Georgia DOT controls the frontage, its right-of-way and driveway permit process is separate from the county's site-plan review. Required off-site work can affect property control, utility coordination and the critical path.
8. Complete hydrology and stormwater coordination
Show existing and proposed drainage areas, conveyance, water-quality measures, detention or other controls, discharge points and the information needed to support the design. Confirm maintenance access and any easements or covenants. Where downstream conditions, off-site drainage or shared facilities matter, resolve the necessary analysis and property rights before treating the stormwater concept as final.
9. Keep the LDP, grading start and building permit distinct
These milestones are related but not interchangeable. An approved plan set and issued LDP do not erase required erosion controls, inspections or separate building review. Cobb's development standards tie grading activity to the permit, installation of required controls and applicable inspection steps. The project schedule should identify the conditions for clearing, grading, infrastructure and vertical construction separately.
10. Run a coordination check before submittal
A plan can be detailed and still be unready. Before submittal, compare zoning information across every sheet, confirm utility responses, resolve access geometry, complete drainage calculations, use current erosion-control notes and checklists, and align architectural and civil information. Log each outside approval and identify whether it is required for initial review, permit issuance or construction start.
Pre-submittal checklist
- Parcel jurisdiction confirmed against current mapping.
- Current survey, title exceptions and easements reviewed.
- Zoning, stipulations, variances, buffers and overlays documented.
- Clearing-only, grading-only or full-site permit scope selected correctly.
- Building, parking, fire access, loading and accessible routes coordinated.
- Road owner and access-permit path confirmed.
- Water, sewer, fire flow, connection points and off-site needs confirmed.
- Hydrology, stormwater, outfall and maintenance access resolved.
- Current ES&PC checklist, notes, calculations and certifications included.
- Tree protection, landscape and open-space requirements coordinated.
- Architecture, civil, landscape and utility sheets checked against one another.
- Current applications, signatures, fees and outside approvals logged.
How long will review take?
There is no responsible universal promise. The path depends on jurisdiction, zoning actions, project scope, plan completeness, outside agencies and the number and substance of comment cycles. Cobb publishes Site Plan Review schedules, but a scheduled review date is not the same as a guaranteed permit date. Build the project schedule from the parcel's actual approval map and update it when agency dependencies change.
Verified against the linked official sources on September 30, 2026. Requirements, forms and agency assignments can change. Confirm the current process for the exact parcel and proposed work before submitting or disturbing land.