Cobb County Ordinance

401.19 STREET NAMES AND ADDRESSES

The Community Development Agency has the responsibility of maintaining the street addressing system throughout the county, and coordinates with the Public Safety Agency, the E911 Communication Bureau, the Department of Transportation/Operations Division and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The goal is to ensure that addresses are assigned and properly maintained in a logical, sequential order for the purposes of locating property anywhere in the county. An accurate addressing system facilitates quicker response times for emergency services, and provides efficient mail delivery. Correct property identification is also necessary for locating utilities.

Street numbers and addresses shall be assigned, changed and/or corrected where deemed necessary to assure the health, safety, and welfare of all Cobb County residents and property owners. Street names must be verified by the Development and Inspections Division before a preliminary subdivision plat can be approved. Street numbers shall be posted and maintained in a prominent place on the property (i.e. building façade, mail box, signage, ect.), which is visible from the street providing public access (Official Code of Cobb County, Georgia Chap. 106, Sec. 106-2). The numbers shall be posted in the following manner:

1.For residential properties, in figures at least one inch (1”) high with a contrasting background; and

2.1. For commercial properties, in figures at least two inches (2”) high with a contrasting background.

Cobb County utilizes a grid system for assigning street names and numbers. The reference point (or zero point) of the grid is located at the Marietta Square in the county seat of Marietta, Georgia. The base line between north and south part of the county is at Whitlock Avenue. The base line between the east and west part of the county is at Church street. Directional base lines are extended to the county’s boundaries thus creating four quadrants designed N.E., N.W., S.E., and S.W. Street numbers increase as one moves away from the base lines

All property address numbers are assigned by the Community Development Agency / Development & Inspections Division (OCGA Chap.1q10,Sec. 110-85).

Typically, a property located on the right side of a street is given an even number as numbers increase. Conversely, a property located on the left side of the street is given an odd number as numbers increase. Numbers are always referenced from the address grid base lines. Generally, address numbers will increase sequentially as they move away from the zero point.

Street Naming and Selection Procedures
All street names are subject to the approval of the Community Development Agency / Development & Inspections (OCGA Chap. 110,Sec. 110-85) the following guidelines are used when assigning street names:

1. Proposed streets that are obviously in alignment with other existing, named streets shall bear the names of such existing streets. Once a name is assigned to any alignment, it may not change any where along the extension of that alignment.

2. A street name combination (primary name / type / suffix) may be used only once and may not be used in any other alignment.

3. Except within the same project, no proposed street name shall duplicate an existing street name within Cobb County regardless of the use of any type such as "street", "avenue", "boulevard", "drive", "place", "way", "court", or other designation.

4. All streets shall bear the proper quadrant suffix (i.e. N.E., N.W., S.E., S.W.).

5. Proposed new name shall be reviewed for correct usage and reasonable meanings consistent with the language used. Such review shall also include correct spelling.

6. Street names shall not include directional words such as north, south, east or west, or the words "old" or "new".

7. A street name should be pleasant sounding, appropriate and easy to read so that the public and children, in particular, can communicate the name in an emergency situation.

8. Street names tending to be confused as homonyms (similar names spelled differently) are not acceptable.

9. Names derived from a foreign language are unacceptable.

10. Names that tend to be slurred, or have pronunciations that run together are unacceptable.

11. Street names with the same theme (i.e. flowers, states, etc.) are suggested for naming streets in an entire subdivision, as means of general identification, rather than duplicating the conventional name differentiated only by the street type (suffix).