Rowan County, NC Accessory Structures: ADU Rules (2026)

Sec. 21-56(1)d sits within the zoning ordinance's specific criteria for uses listed as SR (special requirements) in the residential group, so an ADU still needs the site plan review required by Sec. 21-52 and must meet the general SR criteria in Sec. 21-55, including the shielded-lighting and screening standards, in addition to its own rules. The unit cannot exceed one thousand square feet and must remain smaller than the principal dwelling on the lot, and the code allows only one ADU per lot regardless of lot size.

Because setbacks for the ADU match the principal structure setbacks rather than the more permissive accessory-structure setbacks in Sec. 21-84, an ADU in the Rural Agricultural (RA) district needs the same 30-foot front and 10-foot side and rear yards as the house itself. A manufactured home cannot be used as an ADU, and the unit cannot be subdivided off the parcel unless the resulting lots independently meet subdivision and environmental health standards. Every ADU needs its own wastewater disposal and water supply, either from a municipal connection or a system approved by the Rowan County Environmental Health Department, and on a lot within a water supply watershed the parcel must be at least twice the minimum lot size otherwise required for a single principal dwelling. On lots smaller than two acres, the ADU has to sit behind the principal dwelling rather than beside or in front of it.