Homesite clearing
We open the building envelope and leave your perimeter trees standing. On wooded Dawson parcels that tree line is usually why people bought the lot.
DAWSON COUNTY, GEORGIA
DAWSONVILLE.
LAND CLEARING
& GRADING.
Clearing, grading and driveway work on Dawson County acreage, with the land disturbance permit pulled before the first tree comes down.
LOCAL GROUND. A PLAN THAT FITS.
BUILDING ON
DAWSON COUNTY GROUND.
Land clearing and grading in Dawsonville usually means acreage rather than a tight lot, and that changes the job. The drive is longer, the fall across the property is steeper, and the permit question gets answered before anything else.
Dawson County is the ninth fastest growing county in the country among counties over 20,000 people, adding 607 new residential units in eleven months against 13 commercial buildings. About 90 percent of the county lives outside the Dawsonville city limits, which is where most of our clearing and grading work happens.
BUILT AROUND YOUR PROPERTY
DAWSONVILLE
CLEARING & GRADING.
Pad grading
We cut and fill to your elevations in compacted lifts, running the dozer off a GPS grade model so the pad matches the plan, then leave it ready for the surveyor and the footing crew.
Driveway cut and base
Long rural drives graded, crowned and based to shed water. Dawson County counts the drive in your disturbed acreage, so we permit it together.
Erosion control
Silt fence, construction exit and matting installed to the approved plan, then maintained through the build and inspections.
BUILT FOR SHALLOW GROUND
ROOTS OUT.
GROUND READY.
Dawson County splits almost evenly between Blue Ridge and Piedmont, and northern ground often has only ten to twenty inches of soil before rock. Our root rake reaches eight to twelve inches into the subsoil, pulling stumps out clean rather than shearing them at grade, with a roller and independent compaction testing on every pad.
BEFORE THE FIRST TREE COMES DOWN.
THE PERMIT QUESTION.
ANSWERED EARLY.
One acre is the number most people know. Dawson County has two more triggers that sit below it.
An acre or more, always
One acre or more of land disturbance requires a land disturbance permit plus a Notice of Intent with Georgia EPD. The county counts your driveway toward that acre, which is what pushes a lot of rural homesites over the line.
Under an acre, still two ways in
A permit is required under an acre if you are disturbing within 200 feet of a creek, stream or lake, or if the lot sits in a subdivision platted after August 1, 2000. Proximity to water alone triggers the LDP; the Notice of Intent follows a separate threshold, and we confirm plat history with the county before filing.
County resources: 2026 land disturbance requirements · Published fee schedule
BUFFERS CHANGE THE BUILDING ENVELOPE
CHECK THE WATER.
PROTECT THE PLAN.
Georgia holds a 25 foot undisturbed buffer on state waters and 50 feet on designated trout waters. Dawson County's primary trout waters are Amicalola Creek above County Road 192, Anderson Creek, Long Swamp Creek, Nimblewill Creek and Sweetwater Creek. A 50 foot buffer on the wrong side of a building envelope changes the whole site plan, so we check the parcel against that list before quoting.
PLAN THE WHOLE JOB
CLEARING COSTS.
A CLEAR START.
Final pricing follows a site walk. Timber, access, grading, rock and disposal all affect the scope.
Burn on site
From $10,000 / acre
Clearing with on-site burning, where permitted.
Grind & leave mulch
About $13,500 / acre
Grinding with the mulch remaining on the property.
Grind & haul off
About $16,000 / acre
Grinding with the chips removed from the site.
Timeline
Clearing itself typically takes one to two days per acre depending on how heavy the timber is; grading, rock and weather add time on top of that.
Permitting
Dawson County charges $150 per lot for an individual residential land disturbance application, $250 for the erosion control plan review, and $40 per disturbed acre for the Notice of Intent. Subdivision and commercial work runs $50 per disturbed acre with a $500 minimum. These are selected charges from the county's August 2026 fee schedule; we confirm the exact total, including any administrative or state fees, at filing.
DAWSON COUNTY, GEORGIA
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER.
RIGHT HERE.
Tell us where your Dawsonville-area project is and what you’re planning. We’ll work through the land clearing & grading scope with you.
We confirm the jurisdiction and the conditions that apply to your property before finalizing the work.
SERVICE AREA MAP · DAWSON COUNTY, GEORGIA
YOUR DAWSONVILLE QUESTIONS.
ANSWERED.
Start with the property and what you want to do. We’ll help you work through the details.
Yes if you disturb an acre or more, and often below that. A permit is also required under an acre when you are within 200 feet of state waters or inside a subdivision platted after August 1, 2000.
GO STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE
Dawson County permit resources.
GET YOUR PROPERTYREADY FOR THE BUILD.
Send your Dawson County property address so we can scope the clearing, grading, access and permits.