Brunswick County, NC Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

A defines height as measured from the average of the finished ground level to the highest point of the roof or structure. B requires any building or structure intended for human occupation that exceeds 40 feet to get fire marshal approval before the county issues a building permit, and the fire marshal may impose special fire-protection measures under National Fire Protection Association and North Carolina Building Code criteria. Table 4-1 sets the base maximum height at 40 feet for the RR, R-7500, R-6000 and SBR-6000 conventional residential districts, and 50 feet in MR-3200.

A footnote to that table lets additional height above the district maximum, up to 75 feet, be built by right outside Viewshed Protection Overlay areas at a rate of one additional foot of building height for every one additional foot of yard depth added on the front, rear and side yards; inside a Viewshed Protection Overlay, that trade-off is two feet of added yard depth for every one foot of added height, and any structure over 75 feet needs Planning Board approval. Certain features are excluded from the height count in every district, including bona fide farm buildings other than dwellings, chimneys extending up to ten feet above the roofline, steeples and spires on places of worship, and utility poles, aerials and water tanks.