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  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Highways, Bridges, and Ferries
  4. State, County, and Municipal Road Systems
  5. Municipal Street Systems
  6. General Powers and Duties of Municipality
  7. Powers

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  1. The powers of a municipality with respect to its municipal street system, unless otherwise expressly limited by law, shall include but not be limited to the following:
    1. Subject to the limitations of subparagraph (d)(1)(A) of Code Section 32-2-61, a municipality has the authority to contract with any person, the federal government or its agencies, the state or its agencies, other municipalities, a county in which the municipality lies, or any combination of the foregoing entities for the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of any public road located within the municipality;
    2. A municipality may accept and use federal and state funds for municipal street purposes and do all things necessary, proper, or expedient to achieve compliance with the provisions and requirements of all applicable federal-aid acts and programs. Nothing in this title is intended to conflict with any such federal-aid law and, in case of such conflict, such portion as may be in conflict with such federal law is declared of no effect to the extent of the conflict;
    3. A municipality may acquire, manage, and dispose of real property or any interests therein for public roads on its municipal street system under the procedures provided in Article 1 of Chapter 3 of this title and in Chapter 7 of this title. In acquiring property for rights of way for federal-aid highway projects on its system, the municipality shall comply with the requirements of the applicable provisions of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970, as amended by the Uniform Relocation Act Amendments of 1987, Title IV of Public Law 100-17, and in general be guided by the policies applicable to the department as set forth in Code Section 32-8-1. For good cause shown, a municipality, at any time after commencement of condemnation proceedings and prior to final judgment therein, may dismiss its condemnation action, provided that (A) the condemnation proceedings have not been instituted under Article 1 of Chapter 3 of this title and (B) the condemnor has first paid to the condemnee all expenses and damages accrued to the condemnee up to the date of the filing of the motion for dismissal of the condemnation action;
    4. Subject to the requirements of Part 2 of this article, a municipality may purchase, borrow, rent, lease, control, manage, receive, and make payment for all personal property such as equipment, machinery, vehicles, supplies, material, and furniture which may be needed in the operation of the municipal street system and may sell or otherwise dispose of all personal property owned by the municipality and used in the operation of said municipal street system which is no longer necessary or useful in connection with the operation of said system; and it may execute such instruments as may be necessary in connection with the exercise of the foregoing powers in this paragraph;
    5. A municipality and its authorized agents and employees shall have the authority to enter upon any lands in the municipality for the purpose of making such surveys, soundings, drillings, and examinations as the municipality may deem necessary or desirable to accomplish the purposes of this title; and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass, nor shall it be deemed an entry which would constitute a taking in a condemnation proceeding. However, reasonable notice shall be given the owner or occupant of the property to be entered; such entry shall be done in a reasonable manner with as little inconvenience as possible to the owner or occupant of the property; and the municipality shall make reimbursement for any actual damages resulting from such entry;
    6. A municipality may employ, discharge, promote, set and pay the salaries and compensation of its personnel, and determine the duties, qualifications, and working conditions for all persons whose services are needed in the construction, maintenance, administration, operation, and development of its municipal street system; and may employ or contract as independent contractors with such engineers, surveyors, attorneys, consultants, and all other employees whose services may be required, subject to the limitations of existing law;
    7. Except as otherwise provided by Code Section 12-6-24, a municipality may regulate and control the use of the public roads on its municipal street system and on portions of the county road systems extending within the corporate limits of the municipality. Any municipality may regulate the parking of vehicles on any such roads in order to facilitate the flow of traffic and to this end may require and place parking meters on or immediately adjacent to any or all of such roads for the purpose of authorizing timed parking in designated spaces upon the payment of a charge for such privilege. A municipality also may place such parking meters on or adjacent to any public road on the state highway system located within the corporate limits of the municipality when authorized by the department pursuant to Code Section 32-6-2;
    8. A municipality may purchase supplies for municipal street system purposes through the state, as authorized by Code Sections 50-5-100 through 50-5-102;
    9. A municipality may provide lighting and maintenance thereof on any public road located within its limits;
    10. A municipality may grant permits and establish reasonable regulations for the installation, construction, maintenance, renewal, removal, and relocation of pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, poles, towers, traffic and other signals, and other equipment, facilities, or appliances of any utility in, on, along, over, or under any part of its municipal street system and of a county road system lying within its municipal limits. However, such regulations shall not be more restrictive with respect to utilities affected thereby than are equivalent regulations promulgated by the department with respect to utilities on the state highway system under authority of Code Section 32-6-174. As a condition precedent to the granting of such permits, the municipality may require application in writing specifically describing the nature, extent, and location of the portion of the utility affected. The municipality may also require the applicant to furnish an indemnity bond or other acceptable security conditioned to pay for any damage to any part of a public road or to any member of the public caused by the work of the utility performed under authority of such permit. However, it shall be the duty of the municipality to ensure that the normal operation of the utility does not interfere with the use of any portion of the municipal street system or of a municipal extension of a county public road. The municipality may also order the removal and relocation of the utility, equipment, facilities, or appliances where such removal and relocation is made necessary by the construction and maintenance of any part of the municipal street system or municipal extension of a county public road. In so ordering the removal and relocation of a utility or in performing such work itself, the municipality shall conform to the procedure set forth for the department in Code Sections 32-6-171 and 32-6-173, except that when the removal and relocation have been performed by the municipality, it shall certify the expenses thereof for collection to its city attorney; and
    11. A municipality may provide for surveys, maps, specifications, and other things necessary in supervising, locating, abandoning, relocating, improving, constructing, or maintaining the municipal street system, or any part thereof, or any activities incident thereto or necessary in doing such other work on public roads as the municipality may be given responsibility for or control of by law.
  2. In addition to the powers specifically delegated to it in this title, a municipality shall have the authority to perform all acts which are necessary, proper, or incidental to the efficient operation and development of the municipal street system; and this title shall be liberally construed to that end. Any such power vested by law in a municipality, but not implemented by specific provisions for the exercise thereof, may be executed and carried out by a municipality in a reasonable manner pursuant to such rules, regulations, and procedures as a municipality may adopt and subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.

(Code 1933, §§ 95A-503, 95A-504, enacted by Ga. L. 1973, p. 947, § 1; Ga. L. 1980, p. 775, § 6; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1737, § 2; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1126, § 3.)

Cross references.

- Assessments by municipalities for street improvements, T. 36, C. 39.

Use of parking meter receipts to pay principal, interest, and other expenses of revenue bonds issued to finance public parking areas or public parking buildings, § 36-82-62.

U.S. Code.

- The Uniform Relocation System and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970, referred to in this Code section, is codified as 42 U.S.C. Ch. 61.

Law reviews.

- For annual survey of administrative law, see 56 Mercer L. Rev. 31 (2004). For annual survey of local government law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (2005).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Police power of municipalities.

- State law has not preempted police power authority of municipalities to regulate location and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs within their territorial jurisdictions. City of Doraville v. Turner Communications Corp., 236 Ga. 385, 223 S.E.2d 798 (1976).

City's ordinances prohibiting the use of amphibious vehicles as tour vehicles in parts of the city were not preempted by the state law giving the Public Service Commission the authority to issue certificates of public convenience and necessity; the ordinances fall within the constitutional exception to the doctrine of preemption since the General Assembly enacted general laws authorizing the local government to exercise its police powers and enact the local laws at issue. Old South Duck Tours, Inc. v. Mayor & Aldermen of Savannah, 272 Ga. 869, 535 S.E.2d 751 (2000).

No municipal liability for lighting.

- City's failure to add supplemental lighting to crossing was not actionable for negligence as O.C.G.A. § 32-4-92 provides that a municipality "may" provide lighting on any public road located within the municipality's limits, but is under no duty to provide lighting if the municipality does not choose to do so. Biggers ex rel. Key v. Southern Ry., 820 F. Supp. 1409 (N.D. Ga. 1993). but see CSX Transp., Inc. v. Trism Specialized Carriers, Inc., 9 F. Supp. 2d 1374 (N.D. Ga. 1998), aff'd, 182 F.3d 788 (11th Cir. 1999).

Court's authority to review.

- Federal appellate court determined that whether an amendment to Macon, Ga., Code of Ordinances art. VII, § 18-153 that increased the annual permit fee that the City of Macon charged a telecommunications company for placement of the company's fiber optic cable on utility poles from $2.00 to $4.50 per linear foot was preempted by O.C.G.A. § 32-4-92(a)(10), or otherwise invalid because it exceeded the fees charged by the Georgia Department of Transportation for its rights of way, was an issue appropriate for resolution by the Supreme Court of Georgia through a certified question. Alltel Communs., Inc. v. City of Macon, 345 F.3d 1219 (11th Cir. 2003).

Cited in Department of Transp. v. Doss, 238 Ga. 480, 233 S.E.2d 144 (1977); Georgia Power Co. v. Collum, 176 Ga. App. 61, 334 S.E.2d 922 (1985); Murray v. Ga. DOT, 284 Ga. App. 263, 644 S.E.2d 290 (2007).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Scope of municipal regulation of state highway system.

- Municipality may not, by ordinance, seek to regulate streets which are a part of the state highway system, except when the municipality is placing parking meters on or adjacent to a road which is a part of the system, and has been first authorized by the department to place such parking meters; or the municipality may also erect or maintain a traffic-control device on a road which is a part of the system, if written approval has first been obtained from the department. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U74-94.

Contract for improvement of county road located in municipality.

- County may, by contract, obtain the cooperation of a municipality in the right-of-way acquisition for, and construction and maintenance of, a county road located within the municipality, but the county cannot require this of a municipality absent an appropriate contract. 1986 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U86-27.

Truck routes.

- By establishing truck routes, a city may effectively regulate the amount of weight which may be carried on designated streets on the municipal street system. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-20.

Any city or county ordinances purporting to regulate vehicular weights must not exceed maximum weights permitted by O.C.G.A. § 32-6-26. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-20.

Use of cameras to enforce traffic laws.

- Municipalities are not prohibited by Georgia's Constitution or laws from enacting ordinances regarding enforcement of traffic control devices by the use of cameras. 2000 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U2000-7.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 40 C.J.S., Highways, § 263 et seq.

ALR.

- Validity of restrictions as to points at which jitney bus passengers may be taken on and discharged, 6 A.L.R. 110.

Validity of statute or ordinance giving right of way in streets or highways to certain classes of vehicles, 38 A.L.R. 24.

Constitutionality of statute or ordinance denying right of property owners to defeat a proposed street improvement by protest, 52 A.L.R. 883.

Liability of municipal corporations and their licensees for the torts of independent contractors, 52 A.L.R. 1012.

Duty as regards barriers for protection of automobile travel, 86 A.L.R. 1389; 173 A.L.R. 626.

Personal liability of highway officers for damage to or trespass upon land in connection with construction or maintenance of highway, 90 A.L.R. 1481.

Validity, construction, and application of municipal ordinances relating to loading or unloading passengers by interurban busses on streets, 144 A.L.R. 1119.

Municipal power as to billboards and outdoor advertising, 58 A.L.R.2d 1314.

Municipality's power to permit private owner to construct building or structure overhanging or crossing the air space above public street or sidewalk, 76 A.L.R.2d 896.

Liability of private landowner for vegetation obscuring view at highway or street intersection, 69 A.L.R.4th 1092.


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