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Texas — Williamson County

Build where America is growing fastest.
We help you get there first.

Georgetown added more residents than any other U.S. city between 2020 and 2025, and the opportunity that comes with that momentum is real. JDJ turns Georgetown’s Unified Development Code into a clear, confident path forward, guiding your project from Site Development Plan through building permit and coordinating Planning and Building & Inspections so you can move on the city’s growth with certainty instead of guesswork.

Governing Code

Unified Development Code (UDC)

Lead Departments

Planning Department + Building & Inspections

Application Portal

MyGovernmentOnline (MGOConnect)

Have a site in Georgetown?

Tell us what you’re trying to build — we’ll prepare your MGO submittal
and manage every step Georgetown doesn’t expedite for you.

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Call Us: ‪(818) 252-9610‬
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How Georgetown Regulates Development

The framework, in JDJ’s words

Every Texas city on this site uses its own code, department structure, and review sequence.
Here is Georgetown’s, in the terms you will see referenced throughout your project.

Governing Code

Unified Development Code (UDC) Adopted by City Council on March 25, 2003, the UDC is Georgetown's single governing instrument for zoning, subdivision, and site development. It is supported by the UDC Development Manual, which contains the forms, fees, checklists, and submittal calendars for every application type. The Manual is updated periodically; applicants should always confirm they are working from the current version before filing.

Lead Departments

Planning + Building & Inspections The Planning Department manages the day-to-day land development process, including zoning, subdivision, site development, historic preservation, and housing programs. It also staffs the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Historic and Architectural Review Commission (HARC), the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and the Unified Development Code Advisory Committee. Building & Inspections handles building permit intake and inspections once planning approvals are in hand.

Application Portal

MyGovernmentOnline (MGOConnect) Georgetown routes site development, subdivision, and building permit applications through MyGovernmentOnline. The City has stated that MyGovernmentOnline is used for all communication regarding plan review, so keeping the submittal record complete and current in the portal is central to a clean review cycle.

Georgetown Service Offerings

What JDJ handles in Georgetown

Georgetown’s process rewards applicants who arrive with a complete, code-compliant package and who understand the sequence between Planning and Building & Inspections. That coordination is where JDJ works.

Worth knowing: Georgetown requires a pre-application conference for all new development unless specifically exempted, and a commercial building permit application cannot be accepted for review until the first round of Site Development Plan comments has been issued. Sequencing these two tracks correctly is the difference between one clean cycle and months of avoidable resubmittals.

01. Entitlements & Land Use

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Site Development Plan (SDP) applications

required for most multifamily and non-residential projects before building permits can proceed.
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UDC compliance review

zoning, subdivision, and plat application analysis against current code and the Development Manual.
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ETJ vs. city-limits screening

jurisdiction determination. No zoning applies in Georgetown's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, but the City still regulates subdivision, stormwater, driveway, utility, and sign permitting there.
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Certificate of Appropriateness (COA)

Downtown and Old Town overlay applications reviewed by the Historic Preservation Officer or HARC, coordinated ahead of any building or sign permit.
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Pre-application conference representation

scheduling and attending the mandatory conference on your behalf.

02. Permit Expediting

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Commercial building permit submittal

full application management through MyGovernmentOnline.
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Certificate of Occupancy coordination

final document management for tenant move-in.
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Plan review cycle management

Georgetown does not offer a paid city-run expediting service, so disciplined submittal preparation and comment resolution is where an outside consultant adds the most measurable value.

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Record drawings and closeout coordination

as-built and completion document management through occupancy.
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03. Due Diligence & Feasibility

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Williamson County deed and restriction research

recorded-deed and plat restriction review through the County Clerk.
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Transportation Impact Fee verification

coordination directly with Georgetown's Engineering and Transportation staff under the current fee study.
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UDC update tracking

monitoring Georgetown's active code rewrite for entitlement-timing impacts on your project.

The Georgetown UDC Rewrite:

What Developers Need to Know Now

Georgetown is in the middle of the first comprehensive rewrite of its Unified Development Code since the original 2003 adoption. For anyone entitling land here in 2026, the update is the single most important variable to track, because the code your project vests under depends on when your application is deemed complete.

Timing

The updated UDC moves through Planning and Zoning Commission review and two City Council readings during summer 2026. If Council adopts the code at both readings, a delay period of roughly 90 days follows before the new code takes effect. That window matters: applications in process may be able to vest under existing standards, so entitlement timing decisions made now carry direct consequences.

Accessory dwelling units become far easier

City leadership has described the most significant citywide change as allowing accessory dwelling units broadly across residential zoning, subject to written limits — generally one ADU per residence,

with rules governing placement, parking, and utility connections.

For infill and small-lot residential strategies, this is a meaningful expansion of what a parcel can carry.

Planned Unit Developments get narrower

The City has signaled that PUDs will be reserved for genuinely unique developments rather than used as a routine workaround, a shift that changes the calculus for projects that historically leaned on custom zoning.

Downtown mixed-use gets contained

The updated code is expected to limit the mixed-use downtown district to the Downtown and Old Town areas, tightening where commercial uses can locate within residential contexts.

JDJ tracks each reading and the effective-date window so entitlement filings are timed against the code that best serves the project.

Impact Fees and the Cost of Building in Georgetown

Rapid growth has made infrastructure cost recovery a central part of Georgetown’s development math.

Transportation Impact Fees (TIF)

Under Chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code, Georgetown periodically updates its Transportation Impact Fee Study, land use assumptions, and capital improvement plan. City Council adopted the updated TIF Study and implementation ordinance in August 2025, resetting the maximum assessable fee and collection rates. Fees are assessed by land use and zoning, and for shell buildings they are reassessed at tenant finish-out, with the applicant paying the difference in use. Developments outside the city limits generating average daily traffic of 1,000 or greater must submit a Traffic Impact Analysis under the UDC.

Why it matters for pro formas

Because fees are use-driven and reassessed at finish-out, early-stage feasibility work should model the correct land use category from the start. JDJ verifies the applicable fee basis directly with Georgetown Engineering so the number in your feasibility study reflects the current ordinance rather than a stale estimate.

Local Terminology

Georgetown’s terms, decoded

The vocabulary you will hear from Georgetown staff, in plain English.

UDC

Unified Development Code. Georgetown's single zoning and subdivision rulebook, adopted 2003 and under active rewrite in 2026.

TIF

Transportation Impact Fee, assessed by land use under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395.

SDP

Site Development Plan. Required ahead of most commercial and multifamily building permits.

ETJ

Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. City-regulated land outside the limits where no zoning applies but subdivision and infrastructure rules still do.

COA

Certificate of Appropriateness. Historic-district approval issued by the Historic Preservation Officer or HARC before building or sign permits.

MGO / MGOConnect

MyGovernmentOnline, Georgetown's application and communication portal.

HARC

Historic and Architectural Review Commission.
FAQ

Questions we hear most in Georgetown

Q. What is the difference between building in Georgetown city limits and the ETJ?
Inside the city limits, full UDC zoning applies. In the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction there is no zoning, but the City still regulates subdivision of land, stormwater, impervious cover, utility evaluations, driveway permits, and sign permits. Confirming which side of that line a parcel sits on is the first question to answer on any Georgetown site.
Q. Is a pre-application conference really mandatory?
Yes. Georgetown requires a pre-application conference for all new development unless the code specifically exempts it. These are held on a set weekly schedule and are the City’s structured opportunity to flag code issues before a formal application is filed.
Q. Can I submit a commercial building permit at the same time as my site plan?
Not for acceptance. Georgetown will not accept a commercial building permit for review until the first set of Site Development Plan comments has been issued. The two tracks must be sequenced, not run blind in parallel.
Q. When are applications actually processed?
Georgetown accepts applications only on set submittal days, with completeness and payment verified before a posted deadline. Missing a submittal window can move a project back by a full cycle, which is why calendar management is part of the coordination JDJ provides.
Q. Which building codes apply?
Georgetown adopted the 2021 family of International Codes (IBC, IRC, IECC, IEBC, IPC, IMC, IFGC, IFC, ISPSC) and the 2023 National Electrical Code, effective November 1, 2023, alongside the UDC and City Code of Ordinances.