Lee County, NC Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

The Unified Development Ordinance sets a two-step permitting sequence for unincorporated Lee County. Section 3.2.3.1 requires a zoning clearance permit before any structure is built, land is used, or use is changed, and a separate building permit from the county's building inspections department. To get the clearance, applicants file a complete application on the prescribed form with the administrator (section 3.2.3.6); if site plan review under section 3.6 is not required, a plot plan showing structure location, setbacks, off-street parking, and the 100-year floodplain must be submitted instead.

The administrator approves, conditionally approves, or denies the clearance, and any denial can be appealed under section 3.7. A zoning clearance permit issued under section 3.2.3.8 stays valid only if a building permit is obtained within six months; if 12 months pass with no building permit, the clearance expires and the applicant must resubmit plans, fees, and a new application. Section 3.2.3.9 allows a written request to extend the deadline for finishing improvements when weather or similar factors intervene, but the extension cannot push completion more than one year past the original request.

Under section 3.2.4.1, issuance of every building permit and certificate of occupancy in the county rests with the Inspections Division of the Sanford/Lee Community Development Department, which applies the most recently adopted North Carolina State Building Codes. New construction needing a building permit or certificate of occupancy also needs its own zoning clearance permit under section 3.2.4.2. Sedimentation and erosion control permits, sign permits, and temporary use permits are handled as separate administrative permits within the same section 3.2 framework.