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Georgia Urban Redevelopment Law — Opportunity Zones (GA)

Tracked preemption from the Georgia overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
1955-01-01
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:GA
Other Georgia preemptions
Georgia Short-Term Rentals — No State PreemptionGeorgia Density / ADU / Design Review — No State PreemptionGeorgia Tree Canopy / Tree Ordinance — No Statewide PreemptionGeorgia Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA) — Rezoning ConstraintGeorgia Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Review ThresholdGeorgia Zoning Procedures Law (ZPL)Georgia Rent Control Preemption (constrains mandatory inclusionary zoning)Georgia Constitutional Home Rule for Planning and Zoning

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

AND
  • parcel.in_designated_opportunity_zone == True
  • city.has_adopted_urban_redevelopment_plan == True

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
base_districts[*].job_tax_credit_tieroverridetier_1_maximum_creditDesignated Opportunity Zones grant the maximum-tier state job tax credit ($3,500/job/year for 5 years) regardless of underlying county tier
base_districts[*].permitted_redevelopment_powersaddurban_redevelopment_agency_powersIncludes acquisition by eminent domain for redevelopment, tax allocation district (TAD) authority, and bond financing

Citation

Authority source
O.C.G.A. §§36-61-1 through 36-61-19 (Urban Redevelopment Law); Opportunity Zone designation under §48-7-40.1
§ §§36-61-1 et seq.; §48-7-40.1 (job tax credit Opportunity Zone designation)
https://www.dca.ga.gov/community-economic-development/incentive-programs/opportunity-zones

Research notes

GA Urban Redevelopment Law is the enabling statute that allows cities to designate redevelopment areas, adopt urban redevelopment plans, and create urban redevelopment agencies. The state Opportunity Zone program (distinct from federal OZ) is administered by DCA and overlays designated areas with maximum-tier job tax credits. Requires (a) a designated Opportunity Zone by DCA, and (b) an adopted Urban Redevelopment Plan by the local government. Often paired with Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) under O.C.G.A. §36-44 (Redevelopment Powers Law).