Permitting delays and repeated plan reviews slow Georgia homebuilding, builders tell Small Business Development Committee

At a meeting of the Small Business Development Committee, home builders said lengthy local review cycles and repeated plan comments are significantly slowing new-home production and contributing to higher prices for buyers.

Austin Hackney, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Georgia, said most friction between government and builders occurs at the local level. “Really most of the rub with the government for a home builder happens at the local level,” Hackney said, listing local architectural mandates, impact fees and lot-size rules among typical obstacles.

Builder Jay Knight, who described decades of experience developing and building in Metro Atlanta, told the committee that long review times have become routine. Knight said today’s timeline can include roughly a year for zoning, about four months for engineering, and another year for permitting; in some jurisdictions he described plan-to-permit waits of 18 months. “We budget a year. So now we’re budgeting a year for zoning, 4 months for engineering, and another year for permitting,” Knight said.

Committee members asked whether local plan reviewers are qualified to do reviews; Knight answered that on engineering and general plan review his experience is positive but he sees weaknesses on stormwater and runoff standards. A Department of Community Affairs representative told the committee that DCA can offer nonbinding interpretations of building-code conflicts, but that the ultimate legal recourse for binding resolution is superior court.

Committee members pressed for examples. Knight cited ongoing cases in Clayton County (16 months for a permit), a long-running Fairburn project that has not broken ground after five years, and a past Fulton County matter where a permit could not be issued for six months after approvals had been signed off. He also said Covington has a moratorium that will remain in place through summer 2026.

Builders urged the committee to consider state-level “guardrails” that would limit repetitive review cycles. Knight proposed a “one-bite” approach: give local reviewers 45 days for an initial, substantive review and then limit subsequent rounds of non-code-related comments so applicants that address initial reviewer notes could receive a permit within two weeks. “What we are asking is 45 days on the front end…and no added comments to subsequent reviews,” Knight said.

Speakers who addressed permitting delays included Austin Hackney of the Home Builders Association of Georgia; Jay Knight, Metro-Atlanta home builder and developer; Adam Cornett, division president (Greater Atlanta); Wayne Hyatt, vice president, Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association; a Department of Community Affairs representative; and several unnamed committee members who asked questions during the presentation. The chair indicated he would meet offline with presenters to explore possible next steps.

The discussion was framed as testimony and requests for policy options; no formal motions or votes were recorded during the session.

For communities and buyers, the builders said, the effect is fewer lots and higher prices: Metro Atlanta needs about 34,000 building lots per year but the builders estimate approximately 17,000 will be delivered in the coming 12 months, a shortfall they said puts upward pressure on lot and house prices.