Fairfield Plantation's Real Parking Deadline Comes Before January

Picture a lot at Fairfield Plantation with a golf cart, a boat trailer, a camper and a utility trailer. Which of them can stay after January?

Under the revised Parking & Driveway Rules, which the Fairfield Plantation Property Owners Association began phasing in this year, the answer is three. A fourth vehicle needs to go, or the household may file a variance request that the POA says has no guarantee of approval. The same is true if one of those three is parked on grass and needs an approved surface. That surface has to pass the Property Compliance Committee, which meets on a fixed calendar. Only four meetings remain in 2026, and the last submittal date is December 1.

The Warning Period Has Started

The Board approved the updated rules in February 2026. The POA set out three phases. February through September was education and grace. October through December is the warning period. Fines and enforcement start in January 2027. The executive summary that announced the changes thanked the Property Compliance Committee and the Community Patrol Committee for reviewing the rules.

At the April 20, 2026 community information session, the POA explained why it acted now. Parking rules had not been strictly enforced since the pandemic. Erosion problems were getting worse. Some parking choices were blocking roads, and heavy vehicles were making the roads harder to maintain. Erosion and water runoff explain most of the driveway and parking pad requirements later in this post.

The new rules apply to every residential property in Fairfield Plantation. Everyday cars face no new limit. The FAQ says there is no cap on the number of personal vehicles at a residence. The limit applies to everything else, and in a lake-and-golf community that covers a lot.

The Three-Vehicle Count at a Lake-and-Golf Address

The April presentation lists the recreational and utility vehicle rules as follows:

• One of each type and three total per lot. RVs, campers, boats, golf carts and utility trailers all count.
• Each must sit on an approved parking surface and be hidden from view where possible.
• Empty boat trailers must be screened with plants or a fence.
• No vehicles, trailers or watercraft may be parked on an undeveloped lot, and watercraft may not be moored there.

Golf carts count toward the three, and so do boats. For a household that uses both the course and the lake, two of the three spaces may already be taken before a camper or utility trailer is considered.

The FAQ gives one counting rule that helps here. A trailer carrying two personal watercraft counts as one recreational vehicle because it uses one parking space. That holds only if the watercraft stay on the trailer whenever they are parked at the residence.

Commercial vehicles have separate rules. They cannot be stored on residential lots. They may be there only while workers are on the job or making a delivery. A vehicle with no more than two axles that a resident drives to and from work is exempt. A food truck counts as commercial. So does a trailer that carries business equipment, such as pressure washer tanks or landscaping gear. An in-home business licensed by Carroll County may keep up to three passenger-type business vehicles on the paved driveway. It must give the POA a copy of the county business license every year.

A New Parking Spot Needs Committee Approval

Some households will find they can stay within the count but have nowhere approved to park. Under the rules, the only fix is a new or expanded surface, and that needs Property Compliance Committee approval before work begins. The committee meets on a published calendar, and an application has to be complete by the submittal date to get onto the next meeting. These are the cycles left this year.

The October 6 deadline is two days away. If an application isn't ready by then, November 10 leaves time to gather the paperwork and still allows one more try in December if the committee sends something back. If you want to present your project in person, you have to ask in writing before the submittal deadline so staff can schedule it.

What the Application Needs

The posted form is titled "Application for a Second or Altered Driveway." It requires an as-built plat that shows the house, other structures and the proposed work drawn to scale. The POA will not accept an application without that drawing. From the application and the April presentation, a complete submittal includes these items:

1. A to-scale plat showing structures, plus a site plan.
2. A specification sheet and dimensions for any surface other than concrete.
3. An erosion control plan if the work disturbs more than 100 square feet of dirt.
4. The county review items and a construction timeline the form asks for.
5. The Property Control Permit Fee with deposit, $100.00. Of that, $75.00 is a refundable deposit returned once the completed work is approved, according to the 2026-2027 fee schedule.

Material choice is where the erosion goals show up. A new primary driveway must be concrete. The presentation says asphalt is no longer permitted, and the application form lists concrete or pavers for a primary driveway. A parking pad has to connect to an approved driveway. It can use permeable concrete, permeable interlocking pavers, gravel or stone grid systems, permeable paving grids, geo cells or similar materials. Any gravel must be at least ¾ inch and must stay in place during stormwater runoff. The committee can change a pad's size or location based on how much hard surface it adds, and the POA may require a driveway culvert.

Once a project is approved, the work must be finished within six months. Only the committee's recorded vote, sent in writing, is binding. A household approved on December 8 would therefore have its six-month window run well into 2027. The posted materials don't say how the POA treats a vehicle on an unapproved surface while approved work is still being built. That's a good question to ask the office when you apply.

Guests and Contractors Through the Holidays

The warning period covers Thanksgiving and December, when most of the year's overnight guests and holiday events happen. Street and right-of-way parking is not allowed unless the POA approves it in advance for an emergency, a contractor or a guest. Approved street parking must have two wheels off the road. On Lakeview, Monticello and Tall Pines, cones and flaggers are also required.

The biggest community event of the season is the Plantation Women's Club's Fairfield Plantation Christmas Tour of Homes on Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It features six decorated homes and a Christmas Vendor Market. Proceeds go to Villa Rica's Shop With A Cop program, and tickets must be purchased by December 1. December 1 is also the last committee submittal date of the year. The posted materials don't describe a special parking plan for event days. Hosts with extra cars expected should ask the POA ahead of time.

What the Posted Documents Don't Answer

Several practical details are missing from the POA's public pages. The FAQ and presentation do not list the fine amounts for parking violations. The full Rules document lists an Appendix E, "Fine & Citation Schedules," but that appendix is where the amounts would be. The materials promise warnings from October through December. They don't say who issues them, how they arrive or how long a household has to fix the problem. There's also no posted form or lead time for temporary guest or contractor parking approval.

The documents also use two names for the committee. The FAQ calls it the Property Compliance Committee, and the Rules define PCC as the Property Control Committee. When you call, confirm which office handles your request.

The POA office is the direct source for all of these answers. You can reach it at 770-832-2360, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The POA's Property Compliance page names Thomas Lambert as Property Compliance Officer and links to the applications. Asking now, during the warning period, still leaves four committee cycles to act on the answer before January, starting with the October 6 submittal date.

If you're weighing a parking pad, a driveway change or a vehicle count against the new rules, Kelly Berry and The Home Team are glad to talk it through. We can point you to local contractors who handle concrete and permeable surfaces, and we can help you plan the timing around the committee calendar.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.