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

Stedman's Zoning Ordinance § 7.29 is the code's only building-height rule, and by its own text it reaches multiple family dwellings and office, commercial and industrial buildings rather than single-family homes. Instead of capping height at a fixed number of feet, § 7.29 trades height for yard space: those buildings are not limited in height at all, provided that for each foot of height beyond thirty-five feet, the building's side and rear yard setbacks grow by one additional foot. A forty-five-foot building, ten feet over the thirty-five-foot threshold, would therefore need to add ten feet to whatever side and rear setback its district otherwise requires; there is no stated ceiling on how many feet a building can add so long as the setbacks keep growing to match.

The ordinance does not separately state a height limit for a single-family or duplex residence, and § 7.29's text does not extend its threshold or setback trade-off to those uses, leaving single-family construction governed by the district's other yard and lot standards rather than a height number. As with any other building standard in the ordinance, a structure taller than thirty-five feet needs its zoning permit application, filed with the Zoning Inspector under § 12.321, to show the taller building's increased side and rear setbacks on the required plat under § 12.322 before the Inspector can issue the permit.

A building erected over height without the matching setback increase is a zoning violation under § 12.34, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $50 or thirty days in jail, with each day of the violation a separate offense.