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

Section 4.7.4.1 defines building height as the vertical distance from the average natural grade along the foundation to the average height between the eaves and ridge line of a gable, hip, or gambrel roof, the highest point of a mansard roof, or the highest point of the coping on a flat roof. Table 4.7-1 lists a 40-foot maximum for Residential Agricultural, Restricted Residential, and every Residential Single-Family and Residential Mixed district down through R-6. The Multi-Family (MF-12) district allows 60 feet, matching Office & Institutional, while Neighborhood Commercial and Light Commercial & Office (C-1) are capped at 50 feet.

Highway Commercial, General Commercial, the Central Business District, Light Industrial, and Heavy Industrial carry a dash in the height column, meaning the table sets no district-specific maximum for those zones. Section 4.7.4.2 exempts certain features from any height limit entirely: belfries, cupolas, spires, domes, monuments, airway beacons, structures for essential services, windmills, flagpoles, chimneys and chimney flues, telecommunications towers (subject to section 5.33's separate standards), bulkheads, elevators, and water tanks, plus any similar rooftop mechanical appurtenance as long as it does not cover more than 33 percent of the roof area.