Residential lot clearing
Define the work area, retain the trees that belong and prepare for the next stage of the project.
HALL COUNTY, GEORGIA
GAINESVILLE.
LAND CLEARING
& GRADING.
Hall County exempts small residential clearing jobs from some paperwork. Commercial work carries full requirements at every size, in both jurisdictions.
LOCAL GROUND. A PLAN THAT FITS.
COMMERCIAL WORK.
FULL REQUIREMENTS.
Hall County's code states it directly: a noncommercial project under an acre skips the full land-disturbing permit's plan requirements, but commercial projects carry those requirements at every size. Inside Gainesville city limits, a land development permit applies to clearing, grubbing, grading and excavation at every acreage, aside from a narrow carve-out for detached single-family and duplex homes.
The exemptions that exist are built for small residential jobs; a commercial pad carries full requirements regardless of size, in both places.
BUILT AROUND YOUR PROPERTY
GAINESVILLE
CLEARING & GRADING.
Commercial and industrial pad grading
Match preparation, access and equipment to the scale and intended use of the site.
Subdivision grading
Prepare the ground and access around the approved development plan.
Tree protection compliance
Identify the trees that stay and plan equipment access around their protection zones.
BUILT AROUND THE CONDITIONS
PROTECTED TREES.
BEFORE THE FIRST CUT.
Gainesville caps tree removal at 90 percent of what's on a lot under its tree protection chapter, and an unauthorized specimen tree has to be replaced at twice its value, four times for a historic or landmark tree. Hall County requires a permit before touching any tree ten inches in diameter or larger inside a protection zone, and a development plan has to be approved before a lot can be cleared at all.
Both rules exist to stop exactly the move some crews try: clear first, file the paperwork after.
BEFORE THE WORK STARTS
WATERSHED BUFFERS.
KNOW THE BOUNDARY.
Property within seven miles of Gainesville's North Oconee River water intake carries a 100-foot stream buffer plus a 150-foot zone where impervious surface is prohibited; beyond seven miles those numbers drop to 50 feet and 75.
The detail that catches people: this buffer protects streams feeding a drinking-water reservoir, and by the city's own definition that excludes the multipurpose reservoirs the Army Corps of Engineers operates. Lake Lanier itself sits outside that 150-foot setback, unlike a smaller water-supply lake would carry. We check which rule applies to the actual waterway on the parcel rather than assuming the nearest one.
PLAN THE WORK BEFORE IT STARTS
POCKETS OF ROCK.
PLAN THE WHOLE SITE.
Pacolet and Madison together cover more than half of Hall County, both well-drained and mostly clear past 60 inches to bedrock. The exceptions sit in isolated pockets: Tallapoosa restricts at 15 inches, Musella at 17.
A lot can test clean on one corner and hit shallow rock a hundred feet away, which is why we walk the whole building envelope rather than pricing from a single test hole.
BEFORE THE WORK STARTS
GROWING DEMAND.
SITEWORK AT EVERY SCALE.
Hall County issued 1,846 new single-family permits in 2025, and roughly 2 million square feet of speculative industrial space is under development across Gainesville, Oakwood, Flowery Branch and Buford. New subdivisions are moving through approval right now: a 75-home project on Hog Mountain Road, a 326-home subdivision near the Hall line in Braselton, and a 45-lot development off Flat Creek Road.
This is a market with real volume on both the residential and commercial side, built on dozens of active projects rather than one or two.
PLAN THE WHOLE JOB
CLEARING COSTS.
A CLEAR START.
Land clearing runs by the acre once we've walked it. Burning what comes down starts at $10,000 per acre; grinding with the mulch left on site runs about $13,500 per acre, or about $16,000 per acre if we haul the chips off. Commercial and subdivision-scale grading prices separately once we know the acreage, the cut and fill, and which jurisdiction's tree and buffer rules apply.
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.
HALL COUNTY, GEORGIA
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER.
RIGHT HERE.
Tell us where your Gainesville-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 · HALL COUNTY, GEORGIA
YOUR GAINESVILLE QUESTIONS.
ANSWERED.
Start with the property and what you want to do. We’ll help you work through the details.
It carries full requirements regardless of size. Hall County exempts small noncommercial projects from some plan requirements, but commercial work carries full requirements at every size. Inside Gainesville city limits, the permit applies at every acreage outside the single-family and duplex carve-out.
GO STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE
Gainesville and Hall County permit resources.
GET YOUR NEXTDEVELOPMENT STARTED.
Send your Gainesville or Hall County plans so we can confirm the jurisdiction and prepare a clearing and grading scope for your site.