Bell Arthur, NC
90 local rules on file · Pop. 477 · Pitt County
Showing ordinances that apply to Bell Arthur, NC
Bell Arthur is an unincorporated community with a population of approximately 477 in Pitt County, North Carolina. Because Bell Arthur is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal government or city code. Instead, Pitt County ordinances apply directly to residential and commercial properties here. The rules below are the county-level regulations that govern your area. Nearby incorporated cities in Pitt County may have different rules.
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🏡 Home & Property
🌿 Yard & Garden
🏠 Renting & Housing
🔊 Noise & Neighbors
🐾 Animals & Farming
🔥 Fire & Safety
🚗 Parking & Streets
💼 Business & Licensing
📋 Permits, Signs & Events
🌎 Environment & Utilities
🛡️ Privacy & Civic
🔊 Noise Ordinances
Quiet Hours
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Noise Ordinance sets a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. quiet window for residential areas: Section 3(B)(5) bars repairing, rebuilding or testing any motor vehicle overnight in a way…
Vehicle Noise
Some RestrictionsPitt County bans sounding a vehicle horn or signal device except as a danger signal, and prohibits any horn or signal device that produces an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or that…
Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound
Some RestrictionsPitt County bans playing a radio, phonograph, amplified sound device, television or musical instrument at a volume that disturbs the quiet, comfort or repose of anyone in a nearby…
Barking Dogs
Some RestrictionsPitt County treats a barking dog or noisy bird as a Section 3(B)(6) violation once it makes 'frequent and long continued noise' that disturbs a neighbor's comfort and repose. The…
Decibel Limits
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Noise Ordinance caps sound at the receiving property line using Table I, a grid of maximum decibel levels by property type and time of day. Section 5(A) makes exceeding…
🔥 Fire Regulations
Propane Storage
Few RestrictionsPitt County's Building Codes Enforcement Ordinance does not regulate residential propane storage: Section 9 expressly exempts equipment for storing, handling, transporting and using…
Fireworks
Heavy RestrictionsPitt County bans fireworks outright on every outdoor site the Cultural Arts & Recreation Department manages, Alice F. Keene District Park, the Office Park Recreation Complex, and Lake…
Outdoor Burning
Some RestrictionsPitt County requires a permit before anyone kindles a grass, field, woods, or wind row fire, per Section 17 of the county's Fire Prevention Ordinance. Once a permit issues, a competent…
Fire Pits & Backyard Fires
Light RestrictionsPitt County lets homeowners burn leaves, branches, and yard trimmings from their own property without a county permit, but Section 17 of the Fire Prevention Ordinance attaches five…
🧱 Fence Regulations
Retaining Walls
Some RestrictionsIn Pitt County's regulated floodways and non-encroachment areas, a retaining wall that involves placing fill must meet Section 23's no-rise standard: an engineer must certify it will…
Height Limits
Some RestrictionsPitt County does not set a blanket fence height cap outside sight triangles, but at any road intersection it bars a fence, wall, shrub or tree from blocking the sight distance area…
Fence Permit Requirements
Few RestrictionsPitt County's Zoning Ordinance requires a zoning permit for development generally, but Section 3(C)(2) specifically exempts fences, grouped with other landscaping features, from that…
🐔 Animal Ordinances
Breed Restrictions
Heavy RestrictionsPitt County does not regulate dogs by breed; instead it declares a dog "dangerous" or "vicious" based on documented behavior and then locks it into strict confinement, registration…
Exotic Pets
Heavy RestrictionsPitt County bans owning big cats, venomous reptiles and amphibians, large nonvenomous reptiles and wolves as pets unless the owner registered within one year of the ordinance's March…
Microchipping
Some RestrictionsPitt County doesn't run a county-wide chipping mandate for pet dogs at home. It does require the Animal Shelter to microchip every dog it impounds before the owner can reclaim it, and…
Cat Rules
Some RestrictionsPitt County treats stray, at-large, unwanted and nuisance cats the way it treats stray dogs: Animal Services can place live traps on public or private property, on request, to remove…
Pet Limits
Few RestrictionsPitt County places no cap on how many dogs or cats a person may own for personal, non-breeding purposes. The county's large-commercial-breeder standards say directly that the numeric…
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Zoning Ordinance lets veterinary clinics locate only in the RA Rural Agricultural and RR Rural Residential districts, and only with development standards attached…
Dog Leash Laws
Some RestrictionsPitt County makes every dog owner responsible for the animal's care and control and bans letting a dog run at large anywhere in the unincorporated county. Dogs entering a county park…
Wildlife Rescue Permits
Light RestrictionsPitt County runs no wildlife-rehabilitation permit program of its own. Instead, its dangerous exotic animal ban carves out "wildlife rehabilitators with proper permits," so a state- or…
Chickens & Livestock
Few RestrictionsPitt County's Zoning Ordinance exempts bona fide farm operations, including keeping poultry and livestock, from zoning regulation entirely under state law NCGS 160D-903. The county's…
💼 Home Business
Home Daycare
Some RestrictionsPitt County zoning treats a home daycare as a "Day Care Facility, Residential" use, allowed only in the RA, RR, R40, SR and MFR districts. Outdoor play areas need a security fence at…
Zoning & Home Occupation Permits
Some RestrictionsPitt County allows home occupations by right, with a zoning permit, in most residential and mixed-use districts, but caps the space used for the business at 25 percent of the…
Customer Traffic Restrictions
Some RestrictionsA Pitt County home occupation cannot "generate traffic... beyond what normally occurs in the zoning district" under the Zoning Ordinance's Section 15 definition. The use is capped at…
Signage Rules
Some RestrictionsA Pitt County home-based business can post a professional or occupational name plate up to 32 square feet, no taller than 30 inches if ground-mounted, set back at least 2 feet from…
🏗️ Accessory Structures
ADU Rules
Some RestrictionsPitt County's zoning ordinance permits one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot in the RA, RR, R40, SR and MFR districts. A detached unit under 600 square feet needs only a…
Shed & Carport Rules
Some RestrictionsPitt County lets sheds under 12 feet in any dimension go up without a zoning permit, but anything bigger needs one from the Zoning Administrator. Setbacks and height limits still…
Tiny Homes
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Zoning Ordinance requires a tiny house to meet the North Carolina Residential Code, or be built off-site and certified under the NC Modular Construction Program. A tiny…
🏊 Swimming Pools & Spas
Pool Permits
Light RestrictionsPitt County does not have a stand-alone swimming-pool permit ordinance; a pool only needs its own Floodplain Development Permit when it sits inside a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area…
Fencing & Safety Requirements
Some RestrictionsPitt County's zoning ordinance requires an outdoor swimming pool at a country club or swim and tennis club to be fenced under the Pitt County Health Department's public swimming pool…
🏠 Short-Term Rentals
Host Presence Rule
Some RestrictionsPitt County zones bed and breakfast inns as the county's closest analog to a short-term rental, and its ordinance requires the operator to live on site. The use 'must be owned and…
Short-Term Rental Permits
Some RestrictionsPitt County has no separate short-term rental ordinance. Paid overnight lodging in a private home is regulated as a "Bed and Breakfast Inn" (SIC 7011) under Zoning Ordinance Section…
🚗 Parking Rules
Loading Zones
Some RestrictionsPitt County's zoning ordinance sets no specific loading-zone hours; instead it fixes minimum off-street loading space counts by building size and use, plus strict site-design rules…
Overnight Parking
Some RestrictionsPitt County prohibits leaving a vehicle unattended for more than 12 hours or overnight on any outdoor property the Cultural Arts & Recreation Department manages, including Alice F…
Abandoned Vehicles
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Junk Motor Vehicle Ordinance lets the county remove an inoperable, dismantled or damaged vehicle that is five years old or older and worth less than $100 from public or…
Commercial & Oversized Vehicles
Significant RestrictionsPitt County treats a facility for parking oversized commercial vehicles as its own zoning use under Section 8(VVVV): it needs Conditional Zoning District approval in the RA district…
🔧 Building Safety
Plumbing Permits
Some RestrictionsPitt County requires every building intended for human habitation to have plumbing installed under the North Carolina State Plumbing Code, connected to an approved sanitary sewer or…
Electrical Permits
Some RestrictionsPitt County enforces the North Carolina State Electrical Code, including the National Electrical Code, and requires an Inspections Department permit before any electrical wiring…
Building Permits
Some RestrictionsPitt County requires a permit from the Inspections Department before construction, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, mobile-home setup, sign installation, or a change of building use…
Building Inspections
Some RestrictionsPitt County requires at least six staged inspections during construction, footing, pre-underslab, foundation, frame and rough-in, insulation, and final, and bars work from proceeding…
Childcare Center Rules
Significant RestrictionsPitt County's Zoning Ordinance sets specific siting standards for day care centers and residential day care facilities under Table 5-1 and Section 8.25(Z). A Special Use Permit from…
🌍 Environmental Rules
Stormwater Management
Some RestrictionsPitt County regulates post-development stormwater runoff countywide under the Stormwater Management Ordinance for Nutrient Control, adopted June 3, 2024 and effective July 1, 2024. A…
Erosion Control
Some RestrictionsPitt County requires an approved erosion and sedimentation control plan before any land-disturbing activity uncovering more than one acre, or less than an acre if part of a larger…
Boat Dock Permits
Some RestrictionsPitt County treats a dock, pier, boat ramp, or landing on the Tar River or another waterway as "Development Activity" under Section 5 of its Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, meaning…
Flood Zones
Some RestrictionsAny development inside a Pitt County Special Flood Hazard Area needs a Floodplain Development Permit before work starts, under Section 8 of the county's Flood Damage Prevention…
Flood Elevation Requirements
Some RestrictionsIn Pitt County's Special Flood Hazard Areas, the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance requires new construction and substantial improvements to be elevated to the Regulatory Flood…
Vehicle Idling Restrictions
Some RestrictionsAt an oversized commercial vehicle parking facility in a Pitt County residential district, Zoning Ordinance Section 8(VVVV)(6) bars parked vehicles from idling or making any other…
🪧 Sign Regulations
Freeway-Facing Signs
Heavy RestrictionsPitt County's Outdoor Advertising Sign Ordinance flatly prohibits outdoor advertising signs, commonly called billboards, on freeways in the unincorporated county, while permitting them…
Political Signs
Few RestrictionsTemporary political signs are excluded from the definition of 'outdoor advertising sign' in Pitt County Planning & Development Services Ordinance No. 7, so they are not subject to the…
Garage Sale Signs
Light RestrictionsPitt County exempts a temporary sign, the category covering yard sales, farm auctions and similar events, from permit and fee requirements under Sign Ordinance Section 9(C), but only…
Digital Billboards
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Sign Ordinance carves electronically controlled message signs, the county's term for digital displays, out of its flashing-sign ban, but only if the message holds still…
💡 Outdoor Lighting
Billboard Lighting
Some RestrictionsOutdoor advertising signs illuminated in unincorporated Pitt County must direct and shield their lighting so the light source itself is never visible to motorists or neighbors, and…
Dark Sky Rules
Some RestrictionsPitt County's zoning ordinance requires every detached outdoor light fixture on a use subject to development standards to be a full cutoff fixture, one whose housing blocks any glare…
🔍 Rental Inspections
Inspection Programs
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Inspections Department conducts periodic inspections of existing buildings under N.C.G.S. § 153A-364, and can inspect a rental without a specific complaint if the…
Tenant Complaint Process
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Inspections Department must investigate a rental property once a tenant files a complaint of substandard conditions or requests an inspection. Under the county's Building…
🏪 Business Licensing & Operations
Massage Establishments
Significant RestrictionsPitt County repealed its standalone 1987 Massage Business License Ordinance in 2017; a massage business is now regulated only if it meets the county's narrow 'Massage Parlor'…
Adult Entertainment
Significant RestrictionsPitt County requires a $500 sexually oriented business license before any adult arcade, bookstore, cabaret, motel, theater, escort agency or similar establishment may open, and bars…
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Zoning Ordinance lets a home occupation run from a residence only if it stays under 25 percent of the dwelling's floor area and generates no more traffic, noise…
📐 Building Setbacks & Zoning
Lot Coverage Limits
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Zoning Ordinance sets no general lot-coverage cap for the standard zoning districts in Table 6-1, but inside the water supply watershed protection overlay districts…
Structure Height Limits
Some RestrictionsPitt County sets no flat maximum height for buildings in any conventional zoning district. Instead, once a building rises above 50 feet, its required setback grows one foot for every…
Setback Rules
Some RestrictionsTable 6-1 of the Pitt County Zoning Ordinance sets uniform yard setbacks across all 11 conventional zoning districts: principal buildings must sit back 40 feet from a US or NC highway…
🗑️ Trash & Recycling
Dumpster Rules
Some RestrictionsPitt County's zoning ordinance requires commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-family dumpsters to be screened from view whenever they sit near a residence, a residentially…
Illegal Dumping
Significant RestrictionsPitt County treats illegal dumping, including dumping prohibited materials or excess quantities at solid waste receptacles or the transfer station, dumping in unapproved areas, or…
Bulk Item Disposal
Significant RestrictionsPitt County channels bulky waste, large items like appliances, furniture, junk vehicles, trees, and stumps, into designated rural recycling sites rather than curbside pickup. Section…
Yard Waste Collection
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Solid Waste & Recycling Ordinance defines yard waste as leaves, limbs, grass trimmings and untreated wood, and requires anyone using the county's waste handling facility…
Bin Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Solid Waste & Recycling Ordinance requires garbage to sit in a durable, rust-resistant, watertight container with a close-fitting, fly-tight lid sized for a full week's…
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Solid Waste Recycling, Collection and Disposal Ordinance requires every owner, occupant, tenant, or lessee whose property stores garbage to remove it, or have it removed…
Recycling Requirements
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Solid Waste & Recycling Ordinance requires anyone using the county's waste handling facility, transfer station or recycling centers to separate nine categories of…
🚁 Drone Rules
Commercial Drones
Light RestrictionsA commercial drone operator flying under FAA Part 107, or under an FAA Certificate of Authorization, is exempt from Pitt County's local UAS takeoff-and-landing restrictions entirely…
Recreational Drones
Some RestrictionsFlying a recreational drone in Pitt County means keeping it off private land without the owner's consent, away from weapons, and outside set buffers: 500 feet from active emergency…
Park Drone Restrictions
Significant RestrictionsFlying a drone or any other unmanned aircraft system in a Pitt County park is unlawful unless the operator holds a proper permit and has the County Manager's personal consent. Section…
📢 Noise from Specific Sources
Bar & Nightclub Noise
Some RestrictionsAmplified music from a bar or nightclub that annoys or disturbs residents nearby is a specific violation under Pitt County's Noise Ordinance, not just a general nuisance. The Sheriff's…
Generator Noise
Some RestrictionsA generator loud enough to push sound past the limits in Table 1 of Pitt County's Noise Ordinance, measured at the receiving property line, violates county law. The Pitt County…
🌀 Hurricane Preparedness
🚷 Public Conduct
Public Alcohol Use
Some RestrictionsPitt County prohibits possessing, consuming, or displaying alcoholic beverages on any property the Cultural Arts & Recreation Department manages, including Alice F. Keene District…
Skateboarding Rules
Significant RestrictionsSkateboarding, roller skating, roller blading and riding coasters or scooters on any Pitt County-owned property is unlawful without the Board of Commissioners' written consent. The…
🖥️ Data Centers & Crypto Mining
Data Center Zoning & Siting
Significant RestrictionsPitt County only allows a large-scale data processing facility in the RA, GC, HC, LI and GI districts, and every one of them requires Conditional Zoning District approval under Zoning…
Crypto Mining Rules
Significant RestrictionsPitt County zoning treats cryptocurrency mining as a "Data Processing Facility (Large Scale)" under Zoning Ordinance Section 8(UUUU). The use requires Conditional Zoning District…
Data Center Noise Limits
Some RestrictionsA large-scale data processing facility in Pitt County must keep its noise within the county's separate Noise Ordinance and cannot disrupt adjacent land uses, under Zoning Ordinance…
🎪 Special Events & Permits
Park Event Permits
Some RestrictionsGroups that want to reserve space at Alice F. Keene District Park, the Office Park Recreation Complex, or Lake Glenwood Park for an event must apply at least 30 days in advance under…
Street Fair Rules
Some RestrictionsPitt County allows a Special Temporary Event, covering festivals, fairs and similar gatherings, in any zoning district under Zoning Ordinance Section 8(GGGG), but the Zoning…
🩺 Public Health Rules
Syringe Disposal
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Solid Waste & Recycling Ordinance defines sharps as a form of infectious waste and bars unsterilized, unpackaged infectious waste, including sharps, from the county's…
Rodent Control
Some RestrictionsPitt County's Solid Waste & Recycling Ordinance bars property owners from letting waste accumulate outside the disposal methods the ordinance allows, and it requires refuse to be…
Other Communities in Pitt County
These unincorporated areas are also governed by Pitt County ordinances.