In 1920, Mayor James L. Key (1837-1939) introduced a proposal that resulted in the creation of the City Planning Commission and Department of Planning Commission. The City Planning Commission held meetings where the public could voice their opinions on Atlanta’s development and growth. It also included a Board of Zoning Appeals. In 1952, Atlanta and Fulton County consolidated their planning departments to create the Department of Municipal Planning, which included the renamed Municipal Planning Board and the Board of Adjustment.

In 1957, the Department of Municipal Planning changed names again, this time to the Department of Planning. In 1974, Atlanta established a new charter under which the department was reorganized into the Department of Budget and Planning, which the Commissioner oversaw and included a Bureau of Planning and a Bureau of Budget Policy and Evaluation. When Atlanta underwent another reorganization in 1982, it abolished the Department of Budget and Planning and created the Department of Community Development, which included a Bureau of Housing and Development, Bureau of Buildings, and Bureau of Planning. In 2003, the city renamed the department the Department of Planning and Development. It included a Bureau of Buildings, Bureau of Housing and Code Compliance, Bureau of Planning, and Atlanta Urban Design.

In 2017, the department became known as the Department of City Planning with the stated mission to “enable high quality, sustainable and equitable growth and development of Atlanta by facilitating more options for travel, abundant housing for all people, thriving neighborhoods, exceptional design in architecture and public spaces, preservation of historic resources, innovative regulatory practices, safe and durable buildings, attentive customer service and public engagement in all our work.” It includes an Office of the Commissioner, Office of Design, Office of Housing and Community Development, Office of Buildings, Office of Zoning and Development, and Neighborhood Planning Units.