Lee County, NC Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Section 4.7.2.2 explains that impervious surface ratio, not a residential-style density count, is the tool used to control coverage in non-residential zoning districts. Impervious surfaces include every building or structure measured to its greatest extent (including eaves and balconies overhangs) plus paved or hard-surfaced areas such as roads, parking lots, gravel paths, and recreation facilities like tennis courts. A maximum ratio of 0.7 means no more than 70 percent of the parcel may be covered. Table 4.7-1 assigns this ratio only to the county's non-residential districts: Neighborhood Commercial, Office & Institutional, and Light Commercial & Office are capped at 0.7 (70 percent); Highway Commercial, General Commercial, and Light Industrial are capped at 0.8 (80 percent); Heavy Industrial is capped at 0.9 (90 percent); and the Central Business District carries a ratio of 1 (no coverage cap).

Residential districts, from Residential Agricultural through Residential Mixed (R-6), show a dash in the impervious surface ratio column because those districts are instead controlled by minimum lot size and maximum density under section 4.7.2.1. Note 4 to the table warns that additional impervious surface restrictions can apply on top of the base ratio for any portion of a site that falls within a Watershed Conservation Overlay District, which under section 4.14 imposes its own built-upon-area limits near the county's water supply streams and rivers.