In January 2026, Senoia's city council voted to stop taking applications for new residential developments of more than 10 lots. Nine months later, new-home communities with Senoia addresses are still advertising available homes. How do both things hold at once? The answer matters to anyone pricing new construction here. Most of what a buyer can choose from today, and probably for some time, was approved before the pause began. The rules that will shape whatever comes next have not been adopted yet.
The Pause Was Written to Leave the Existing Pipeline Alone
The January 5, 2026 council minutes describe Ordinance 26-01, a 180-day moratorium on new residential development. Mayor Scott Tigchelaar said the pause would hold while the city finished a new Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO, that "will better codify parameters for new developments." In the same discussion, the minutes record that about 550 new homes were already scheduled to be built.
The city attorney then spelled out the exemption. The moratorium applied to all phases of new development, but "current development does not stop if already applied for or conceptual site plans approved." The ordinance text covers residential proposals that would create more than 10 lots. Its term ends after 180 days or when the UDO is adopted, whichever comes first.
In practice, the pause stopped new subdivisions from entering the queue. The roughly 550 homes already in the queue kept moving. For buyers, the near-term supply of new construction in Senoia was largely set the day the pause passed.
Here is how the rulebook has moved since then, based on city records:
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| January 5, 2026 | Council adopts Ordinance 26-01, a 180-day moratorium on residential proposals over 10 lots |
| Reported later in 2026 | City manager tells council a UDO draft was completed in May, with gaps and no planned-development standards yet |
| June 18, 2026 | Ordinance 26-06 extends the moratorium 60 days, from July 4 to September 2, 2026, or until UDO adoption |
| September 21, 2026 | FY2027 budget, marked "Final Adopted," lists completing the UDO adoption as a department goal |
| October 5, 2026 | Council work session agenda includes "UDO and Ordinance Changes that will be needed after adoption" |
The extension ordinance was written to run through September 2, 2026, unless the UDO was adopted first. The city records I could review do not clearly show what followed in August and September. Because the FY2027 budget was adopted on September 21 and still lists finishing the UDO as a goal, the new ordinance does not appear to have been adopted as of that date.
What's for Sale Now Comes From Approvals Made Before the Pause
Since new large subdivisions are on hold, buyers shopping for new construction are choosing from communities that were already moving. Here is what builders were advertising in early October 2026 for communities with Senoia addresses:
- Fox Hall, Phases V and VI by Jeff Lindsey Communities, near Al Roberts Road. Advertised from the $600s, with available homes listed between $723,340 and $758,110.
- Grove Park by Jeff Lindsey Communities. Single-family homes on one-acre lots, Phase 2 open, listed homes from $753,070 to $849,275.
- Stallings Farm North on Stallings Road, with listed homes from $767,480 to $799,900.
- Stallings Farm South on Stallings Farm Road, advertised from the $600s, with listed homes at $646,725 and $649,994.
- Welch Farms on McIntosh Trail. Five-acre homesites, advertised from the $700s, with available homes from $861,450 to $989,900.
- Heritage Pointe by D.R. Horton, off Staffin Drive. Advertised starting at $483,200, with seven homes shown for sale.
- Overlook at Gin Property by JW Collection, off Bourbon Street. A nine-townhome community with move-in-ready homes listed from $839,900 to $919,900.
Builder pricing changes often, so treat these figures as a snapshot. Even so, the pattern is clear. For September 2026, the Georgia MLS Coweta County snapshot reports a median residential sales price of $411,600, with 182 homes sold and 802 active listings. Only one community on the list starts below $600,000, and it still starts above the county median. Most of the inventory is single-family homes on larger lots, plus one small townhome community at the top of the range.
The county figures help explain why that matters. At September's pace, 802 active listings equal a little over four months of sales countywide. Buyers have choices across Coweta. In Senoia, though, the new-construction choices come from a fixed list of earlier approvals. A buyer who wants a new home in a price band or lot size that list doesn't cover is unlikely to find a new subdivision filling that gap soon.
141 South Shows What the Next Wave Might Look Like
The clearest preview of post-pause development comes from a project that went through council during this same period. As The Newnan Times-Herald reported, the original 141 South proposal covered about 152 acres and called for 658 residences plus commercial and restaurant space. After residents raised concerns about traffic, school capacity, and infrastructure, the applicant asked for time to reduce density.
The version that moved forward is much smaller. Council unanimously annexed about 72 acres and rezoned the full project area, 152.14 acres according to the March 16, 2026 minutes, to R40C. The minutes say that zoning equates to about 168.8 units and requires 40% greenspace. The Times-Herald's follow-up reported that a 55-plus component was being added and the entrance moved farther down Luther Bailey Road.
That is roughly a quarter of the original home count on the same land. The 168.8 figure is zoning capacity, not a final plan. At the March meeting, the applicant said a detailed site plan was still being developed and would come back to council later. The sources reviewed name no builder, start date, or community name. 141 South is not yet something anyone can buy.
The Rules for Future Development Aren't Final Yet
Whatever follows the current pipeline will be built under the UDO, and the substance of that ordinance is still open. The city has worked with planning consultant Street Plans on the update alongside its Livable Centers Initiative, a partnership documented as ongoing in September 2025. City Manager Timothy Hults told council the May draft would redefine development standards, sign rules, and development densities. He also said the draft had gaps and did not yet include planned-development standards.
The one stated direction so far concerns rentals. "We want to close the loophole on large-scale apartments," Mayor Tigchelaar said, adding that the goal is "not to say no rental property," but projects that are "more boutique or more architecturally unique." No adopted lot-size minimums or density caps were available in the records reviewed.
Adoption is also not the last step. The city's FY2027 budget lists more goals after adoption: a conformity analysis to assign zoning district boundaries under the new UDO, then the public hearings needed to put those districts in place. The UDO must also be presented to the public before adoption, and the city attorney noted the hearing must be advertised no less than 15 and no more than 45 days ahead.
A Senoia Address Doesn't Always Mean Senoia's Rules
This is where the pause can affect an actual purchase. The moratorium and the UDO are City of Senoia rules. Many communities are marketed with a Senoia mailing address, and a mailing address does not tell you whether a property sits inside city limits. Some land around town falls under Coweta County zoning, which this ordinance does not cover.
Before you get attached to a lot, especially one next to open land, a few questions help:
- Is this property, and the vacant land beside it, inside Senoia city limits or in unincorporated Coweta County?
- Is the community already approved through the phase you're buying in, or are later phases still pending?
- Has anything near this property been annexed or rezoned recently, as the 141 South acreage was?
- When the UDO is adopted, will the city's conformity analysis assign new zoning to nearby parcels?
The answers come from city and county records and from council agendas posted on senoia.com. They tell you more about what could be built across the street than any sales brochure will.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the moratorium stop construction in communities already underway?
No. City minutes record that development already applied for, or with approved conceptual site plans, did not stop. The pause also exempted projects of 10 lots or fewer.
Is the moratorium still in effect?
The extension adopted June 18, 2026 was set to expire September 2, 2026, or on UDO adoption if that came first. The records reviewed do not clearly show whether it was extended again. Current council minutes are the place to confirm.
When will the new development rules take effect?
No adoption date had been published as of early October 2026. The council's October 5 work session agenda included ordinance changes "that will be needed after adoption."
If you're comparing new construction in Senoia and want to know which communities are inside city limits, which phases are already approved, and what has been proposed nearby, Jessica Mottola can go through the city records with you before you choose a lot. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
