Owners of ER, R-43 and 1.5-acre-plus lots can burn limbs until April 30, 2027, with a free daily permit. Who qualifies, how to apply and the rules.

Owners of Peachtree City’s largest home lots can burn fallen limbs and yard waste again this winter, with a permit. The city’s online burn permit is now open, and the suspension of the burn ban runs until April 30, 2027.

The City Council voted 5-0 for the one-season trial on Oct. 8, according to draft minutes in the Nov. 5 agenda packet. Everyone else is still covered by the ban, which the council passed in 2025.

Who can burn

The suspension covers single-family homes that are:

  • zoned ER, Estate Residential (187 properties)
  • zoned R-43 (929 properties)
  • on 1.5 acres or more under any other zoning (49 properties)

That is 1,165 homes, or 8.6% of the city’s single-family homes, Mayor Pro Tem Suzanne Brown told the council. The other 12,335 can still have fires only in a fire pit or outdoor fireplace.

You can check your zoning on the city’s zoning map. If your address is wrong or missing, the city’s FAQ says to contact the Fayette County Tax Assessor’s Office.

How to get a permit

Apply on the city’s burn permit application. The city’s burn permit page and burn permit FAQ set out how it works:

  • The permit is for one day and expires at sunset. You need a new one each day you burn.
  • You can ask for a permit for a future date.
  • A confirmation email comes within 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Peachtree City Fire Rescue receives every permit, so firefighters know the fire is planned.
  • City Manager Justin Strickland told the council Oct. 8 there is no fee.

The rules on the day

  • Burn only between sunrise and sunset.
  • Burn only fallen branches and natural yard waste.
  • Keep the fire at least 50 feet from homes, sheds, barns and other buildings.
  • Keep it at least 25 feet from woods, fields and brush.
  • Someone must stay with the fire until it is fully out, with water, a shovel or a rake on hand.
  • Do not burn on dry or windy days.

The system will still issue a permit on a day the state does not allow burning. Check the Georgia Forestry Commission before you light anything. The fire department can also order a permitted fire put out if it is a hazard or a nuisance.

Two things stay banned for everyone. You cannot burn yard debris such as leaves or pine straw in a fire pit or cooking fire. You also cannot bring debris from a lot that does not qualify and burn it on one that does.

Why the council changed course

Three residents asked for the change during public comment Oct. 8. One showed photos of the debris that had piled up since the ban. Brown said the ban “created a physical and financial burden” for owners of larger lots, and that the debris itself was a fire risk.

The city will record the address, zoning and size of every lot that asks for a permit, and how many permits each one gets. Council member Michael Polacek asked for complaints to be tracked too. Brown said the data should be ready in May 2027, when the council decides whether to make a permanent change.

Mayor Kim Learnard said smoke had always been the issue. She said the fire marshal had told the council that harmful smoke from even a three-acre lot travels off the property. She voted for the trial.

What it means for you

  • If your lot qualifies, apply for a permit each day you plan to burn, and check the state’s burn rules that morning.
  • If it does not qualify, nothing changes. The trash and recycling page covers your yard waste options.
  • Smoke from a neighbor’s fire: the council is tracking complaints during the trial. Our who to call at City Hall page lists contacts.
  • Polacek also asked the city to look at citywide yard debris pickup. Strickland said that discussion would start in late winter or early spring.