Cary, NC

The Town of Cary prohibits open burning of refuse or combustible material anywhere in town limits unless a Town of Cary burning permit is issued and kept on-site during burning.

Every occupied dwelling or dwelling unit in the Town of Cary must have at least one operable smoke detector outside the sleeping areas, near the ceiling, under the town's Minimum…

The Town of Cary treats unpermitted fireworks as a noise-code violation: firing squibs, firecrackers, gunpowder or other pyrotechnics is unlawful without a police-issued permit.

Camp fires, cookouts, and other backyard recreational fires in Cary require a Town burning permit and must be confined to a fire department-approved container at all times.

North Carolina regulates propane storage statewide under G.S. Chapter 119, Article 5. The Board of Agriculture adopts a code of safety, NFPA 58 via 02 NCAC 38 .0700, governing the…

North Carolina vests statewide wildfire response and burn ban authority in the Commissioner of Agriculture and the State Forester, whose declared bans override local burn permits.

The Town of Cary requires a fence permit only for fences built adjacent to a thoroughfare or collector street right-of-way, under the Land Development Ordinance's fence and wall…

Retaining walls over 30 inches tall in Cary, Wake County must include a guard or barricade, 36 inches on residential lots, 42 inches for other uses, under the Land Development…

The Town of Cary prohibits electrically charged fences and barbed or razor wire fencing town-wide, with narrow exceptions for bona fide farm livestock enclosures and public-safety…

Cary caps fences and walls inside required yard setbacks at 8 feet, outside setbacks allows building-height limits instead, and bars any fence from blocking a corner sight-distance…

Cary allows residential composting of on-site waste as long as the pile sits at least 25 feet from any dwelling, excludes meat, dairy, and most pet waste, and creates no odor or pests.

Cary requires overhanging vegetation above streets, sidewalks and greenways to keep minimum clearance, from eight feet over sidewalks up to sixteen feet over designated thoroughfare…

The Town of Cary exempts intentionally planted landscaped areas and heavily wooded lots from its 8-inch vegetation height cap, letting Wake and Chatham County residents keep native or…

Cary's Land Development Ordinance requires builders to fence off and protect existing trees marked for preservation before grading begins, with signage warning workers to stay out of…

The Town of Cary limits outdoor irrigation from its water system to alternate days assigned by street address, with hand-held watering exempt.

The Town of Cary bars any responsible person from letting vegetation grow past eight inches near streets, sidewalks, or buildings, with exceptions carved out for heavily wooded lots…

The Town of Cary's alternate-day watering rule for landscape irrigation applies only to potable town water, so harvested rainwater is unrestricted for lawn or garden use.

Wake County does not count artificial turf as impervious surface when it's installed over a pervious base per the manufacturer's specifications, easing stormwater coverage limits for…

The Town of Cary makes abandoning a motor vehicle on public or private property unlawful, defining it as leaving a vehicle over 2 hours on private property, 24 hours on town property…

Cary confines boat, RV and trailer storage to side or rear yards, never in front of the principal structure or within a required setback.

The Town of Cary bans parking any vehicle or trailer 80 inches or more wide, or 30 feet or more long, on town streets except while loading, under emergency repair, or at an active…

The Town of Cary requires commercial and multifamily developments to provide off-street loading berths sized and screened under the town's Land Development Ordinance.

Where posted signs designate certain Cary streets under Traffic Schedule 9, the Town of Cary bans parking between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., with an exception for owners working nearby.

Cary's LDO caps vehicle parking area on single-unit and duplex lots at 40% of the streetyard, requires an improved surface like concrete or asphalt, and limits unpaved parking to…

The Town of Cary bars stopping, standing, or parking on sidewalks, in intersections, in front of private driveways, or on crosswalks, among eighteen listed prohibited street locations.

North Carolina's private-lot towing statute, G.S. 20-219.2, is not a statewide rule: it applies only in 13 named counties, including Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Forsyth, and…

Cary's Land Development Ordinance bars veterinary hospitals and offices from keeping kennels outside the principal building, and requires any outdoor yard area to be enclosed by an…

In the Town of Cary, Wake County, North Carolina, the Land Development Ordinance lets homeowners on lots of 6,000+ square feet keep up to five hens as an accessory use with a town…

The Town of Cary makes it unlawful to let a domestic animal run at large in town or on town property, with dogs allowed off-leash only in designated Cary dog parks, in Wake County…

The Town of Cary, Wake County, North Carolina has designated all land within its corporate limits, plus town-owned property outside those limits, as a bird sanctuary under state law…

The Town of Cary treats animals kept in excessive numbers or in ways offensive or dangerous to public health as a nuisance, subject to a written complaint and abatement process in Wake…

The Town of Cary, Wake County, North Carolina allows residential beekeeping as an accessory use with a town permit: up to five hives per lot, each set at least 10 feet from property…

The Town of Cary requires a valid federal or state permit plus secure confinement or restraint before anyone may keep an exotic or wild animal within town limits in Wake County, North…

Cary does not impose breed-specific legislation. North Carolina state law addresses dangerous dogs regardless of breed. Individual dogs may be designated as dangerous or potentially…

The Town of Cary's Land Development Ordinance permits home occupations as an accessory use in residential zoning districts, but only if the operator lives on site and the business…

Cary's LDO bars Type I home occupations, those providing services off-site, from letting any customers or clients visit the home; only a Type II occupation may serve clients on-site…

Cary allows a small day care home for up to 6 children as an accessory use by right, with state licensing, parking, and residency conditions.

A home occupation in unincorporated Wake County may post just one wall or ground sign, capped at four square feet per side and eight feet tall, under UDO §4-72-4(G).

North Carolina has no cottage food law in the usual sense: there is no statutory sales cap, no annual gross-receipts ceiling, and no permit fee. Instead the state treats a home kitchen…

Outside bars, advertising and public rights-of-way, the Town of Cary caps other amplified sound equipment at 60 dB(A) affecting homes from 9 a.m.-9 p.m., dropping to 50 dB(A)…

The Town of Cary exempts construction work and machinery from its noise ordinance only Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturdays and state holidays 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; work outside those…

Cary bans loud vehicle noise and car stereos audible 30 feet away, with a limited 60 dB(A) allowance for business or political sound equipment.

In the Town of Cary, Wake County, North Carolina, a dog's barking becomes a nuisance once it continues more than 15 minutes in any 30-minute window; neighbors file a written complaint…

Cary's noise code makes it unlawful to create sound exceeding 60 dB(A) affecting another occupied residential structure, measured at the nearest residential property line, at any hour…

The Town of Cary's noise ordinance exempts normal aircraft operations entirely, though scale model aircraft noise is not covered by the exemption.

Wake County Code §92.04(A)(2) exempts lawn care equipment and agricultural activities from the noise pollution ordinance during DAYTIME HOURS (7 a.m. - 11 p.m.). There is no…

Wake County Code §92.05(L) bans operating or maintaining any garage or filling station in a residential district so as to cause plainly audible unreasonable noise during nighttime…

Cary requires a 4-foot fence or self-latching gate around below-ground pools, hot tubs, and spas 18 inches deep or more, with a covered-spa exemption.

Cary's LDO requires gates with self-closing, self-latching hardware at every access point into an above-ground swimming pool, hot tub, or spa, to keep unattended children from drowning.

Cary allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot with a detached, single-unit home, capped in size and limited to one off-street parking space.

Cary caps detached sheds and other accessory buildings at 33% of the house's heated floor area and requires them to meet Chapter 6 setbacks.

Short-term rental guests in unincorporated Wake County are subject to Chapter 92 of the Wake County Code (adopted 12-4-2023). §92.05(D) singles out playing radios, stereos, TVs…

Wake County levies a 6% Room Occupancy Tax on the gross receipts from rental of any room, lodging or accommodation furnished by a hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, Airbnb, VRBO or…

Wake County itself does not issue a single short-term rental permit for unincorporated areas: the Wake County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) regulates homestays and tourist homes…

On Town of Cary sites subject to development plan review, floodlights and spotlights must be aimed and shielded away from neighboring properties; single-unit homes are exempt from this…

Cary's Land Development Ordinance limits outdoor light poles to 18 feet for non-cutoff fixtures and 35-37 feet for shielded cutoff fixtures, reviewed at development-plan approval…

The Town of Cary requires anyone peddling or soliciting sales door-to-door to obtain a police department permit first, unless the resident invited the visit.

Cary confines permitted door-to-door soliciting to 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (5 p.m. in standard time) and lets any resident bar entry simply by not inviting the visit: there's no separate…

Cary requires mobile food trucks operating on private lots to get a Planning Department accessory use permit, and bars them from parks, sidewalks, and street rights-of-way without…

Cary's LDO requires food truck operators to secure an accessory use permit from the property owner for each site, valid up to one year, before selling from a mobile food vending…

Cary requires an accessory use permit for food trucks and sets strict distance rules: 150 feet from homes, 100 feet from restaurants, capped at 3 per lot.

The Town of Cary collects leaf and yard waste curbside once a week for residential customers only, with holiday weeks running on a special schedule.

The Town of Cary runs a voluntary curbside recycling program for residential customers, separating selected materials from trash for weekly town pickup rather than requiring…

Cary residents may set roll-out carts at the curb no earlier than dusk before pickup, must have them out by 7 a.m. on collection day, and must pull them back by 6 a.m. the next morning.

Cary requires residents to keep compostable yard and leaf waste separated from regular garbage for weekly curbside collection: this is a yard-waste mandate, not a food-scrap program.

The Town of Cary collects household garbage and rubbish once each week under its solid waste collection policy, with special schedules substituted during authorized holiday weeks.

The Town of Cary requires all dumpsters, compactors, and recycling bins at commercial and multifamily sites to be enclosed and hidden from streets and neighbors.

The Town of Cary makes it unlawful to dump waste on streets, sidewalks, parks or land you don't own, and violators must clean up and pay the town's removal costs.

Cary requires roll-out trash carts to be curbside by 7:00 a.m. on collection day and back in storage by 6:00 a.m. the next morning, or a fee applies.

Wake County bans leaving bulky waste like old furniture or appliances outside a home for more than 72 hours, except for licensed junk dealers.

The Town of Cary can order an abutting property owner to repair a sidewalk, and if the owner doesn't act within 30 days of notice, the town does the work and assesses the cost against…

Cary bars property owners from letting objects, structures, or vegetation block sidewalks, greenways, bike lanes, or street rights-of-way, with set clearance limits for overhanging…

Cary lets adjacent owners get a town manager permit for minor encroachments like irrigation, fencing and landscaping into street rights-of-way and sidewalks.

Cary bans all signs, including political signs, from town-maintained street rights-of-way; a political sign left there is deemed abandoned under state law and anyone may remove it…

The Town of Cary bans off-site billboards, pole signs, and every digital or electronic message sign outright: the billboard ban even carries its own severability clause so it survives…

The Town of Cary caps window signs at 25 percent of each window pane's glass area on both business and residential property, with no separate illumination and no permit required.

Cary's Land Development Ordinance excludes holiday and seasonal decorations, including inflatable displays, from sign permitting as long as they carry no advertising.

Any organized event in the Town of Cary expected to draw 100 or more people, parades, fairs, carnivals, celebrations, needs a temporary use permit before it can be held.

The Town of Cary doesn't require a permit for a block party held entirely on a private residence's grounds or a multi-family common area, but annual day limits still apply.

Holding an organized entertainment event, demonstration, or exhibition in a Town of Cary park requires written permission from the parks, recreation and cultural resources director…

Fairs, carnivals and festivals held on private parcels in unincorporated Wake County need a Land Use Permit and are capped at six events, 30 days per year.

Cary's housing code requires carbon monoxide detectors in covered dwellings, mandating that they be provided and maintained exactly as North Carolina state law requires.

The Town of Cary enforces electrical work through the state-adopted North Carolina Building Code, which it adopts by reference rather than writing its own local electrical standard, in…

The Town of Cary requires an approved water or sewer connection for improved property near town lines and mandates compliance with the North Carolina State Plumbing Code, in Wake…

The Town of Cary's Land Development Ordinance requires day care centers in Wake County to install a solid, opaque fence at least four feet high around outdoor play areas, plus…

The Town of Cary requires a building permit from its Inspections and Permits Department before any State-Building-Code-governed structure is constructed, reconstructed, altered…

Under the Town of Cary, Wake County, North Carolina's Code of Ordinances, the inspections and permits director or an agent has an absolute right to enter any construction, alteration…

The Town of Cary bans open containers and drinking of malt beverages or wine on public streets, with narrow exceptions for approved consumption areas and designated social districts.

The Town of Cary makes it a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate on public streets, sidewalks, parks, or outdoors in public view anywhere in town.

Wake County bans smoking, tobacco and vapor use in every county building, county vehicle, and on all county grounds, including parks, greenways and trails.

Cary exempts generator maintenance from its noise ordinance only on weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., under 80 dB(A), with the manufacturer's mufflers intact.

The Town of Cary caps amplified sound from restaurants, taverns, bars, coffeehouses and private clubs at 65 dB(A) affecting nearby homes by day, dropping to 55 dB(A) after 9 p.m. and…

Cary treats an unrepaired plumbing leak as prohibited water waste, requiring the customer to fix it once notified by the utilities director.

The Town of Cary, North Carolina requires property owners to switch irrigation systems from potable town water to reclaimed water within 90 days of notice that reclaimed water is…

The Town of Cary makes it unlawful to conduct land-disturbing activity without a grading permit, and requires erosion and sedimentation control measures under its Land Development…

The Town of Cary requires a Floodplain Development Permit before any construction begins in a Special Flood Hazard Area or Future Conditions Flood Hazard Area, reviewed by the Town's…

New development in the Town of Cary cannot increase peak stormwater runoff leaving the site during a one-year design storm, under the town's Land Development Ordinance.

New homes in Cary flood zones must sit at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation, not just at it.

The Coastal Area Management Act, N.C.G.S. 113A-100 through 113A-134.3, requires CAMA permits for development in 20 coastal counties and Areas of Environmental Concern, preempting local…

New development in the Town of Cary's Town Center district must meet design standards in the Community Appearance Manual, Downtown Streetscape Master Plan, and Site Design Standards…

The Town of Cary's Conservation Residential Overlay lets developments exceed the lot count allowed by underlying zoning in exchange for preserving open space, on sites of at least ten…

Adult businesses in the Town of Cary need a special use permit and must sit 2,000 feet from any other adult business and 1,000 feet from schools, churches, parks and homes.

Cary bans automotive repair as a home accessory use whenever it's on more than one vehicle at a time or on a vehicle not owned by a resident.

Cary regulates non-consensual towing from private parking lots, requiring posted signage, a 15-minute police report, and a two-hour response window to release a vehicle.

Tobacco, vape and hemp retail stores in unincorporated Wake County must sit at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks, homes and other such stores.

Wake County requires a county license from the Tax Collector before operating a massage parlor, health salon or physical culture studio, with approval turning on the applicant's moral…

Cary's Land Development Ordinance bars removal of any designated 'champion tree' during development unless narrow, staff- or ZBA-approved criteria are met, protecting the town's…

Cary's Land Development Ordinance protects large 'champion trees', individual trees above set caliper thresholds by species, and bars removing or disturbing one during development…

Cary's Land Development Ordinance requires new development to plant upper-story shade trees along street frontage, spacing them no more than 40 feet apart within the required…

The Town of Cary's Land Development Ordinance requires new landscape material installed in required perimeter buffers to be native or non-invasive non-native, drought-tolerant…

The Town of Cary's Land Development Ordinance allows garage and yard sales without a temporary use permit, but limits each lot to two sales and four total days per calendar year.

The Town of Cary designates historic landmarks by ordinance when the Historic Preservation Commission finds a property has special historical, architectural, or cultural significance…

In the Town of Cary's Jordan Lake Watershed overlay, low-density projects cap impervious surface at 24% of project area, rising to 36% for projects with streets built without curbs and…

Cary's Land Development Ordinance caps residential building height at 35 feet across the R-80 through R-8 and TR districts under Table 6.1-1, with a one-foot bonus for each extra foot…

Cary's Land Development Ordinance sets minimum front, side, and rear building setbacks by zoning district in Table 6.1-1; a structure cannot be built, used, or occupied unless it meets…

Town of Cary's charter authorizes traffic control photographic systems (red light cameras) to civilly enforce red-light violations, with a $50 penalty per offense and proceeds funding…

The Town of Cary bans stopping, standing, or parking any vehicle in a street area clearly marked as a bicycle travel lane, with a narrow nighttime exception on just two Wake County…

North Carolina runs two entirely separate regimes, and which one you are in is decided by five miles per hour. A golf cart is defined as a vehicle not capable of exceeding 20 mph, and…

The Town of Cary's housing inspector investigates and inspects housing in Wake County to identify units unfit for human habitation, acting on a resident petition, a public authority's…

Any five Cary residents can petition the housing inspector to investigate a dwelling as unfit for habitation, triggering a preliminary investigation, formal complaint, and hearing…

Cary's nuisance code bars owners from letting structures fall into unstable, fire-damaged, or otherwise hazardous condition, backed by town-ordered abatement and civil penalties for…

Cary's Town Council lists specific conditions, structural failure, fire/water damage, blocked exits, and lack of working utilities or smoke detectors, that legally render Wake County…

For nonpayment of rent, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-3 requires a 10-day demand for past-due rent before the lease term is forfeited. The landlord then files summary ejectment under Article 3…

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46 caps residential late fees on monthly rent at $15 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater, and bars charging the fee until rent is at least five days…

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14 sets notice periods to end periodic tenancies: seven days for month-to-month, two days for week-to-week, and one month or more before the year ends for…

North Carolina law preempts local rent control. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.1, no county or city may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance that regulates the amount of rent…

North Carolina restricts cities from requiring residential rental registration, permits, or fees absent a specific qualifying public safety problem.

North Carolina caps a residential security deposit by tenancy length under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-51: two weeks' rent for week-to-week, one and one-half months' rent for month-to-month…

North Carolina recognizes adverse possession after 20 years of open, continuous possession under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-40, or after 7 years if the possessor holds under color of title…

The Town of Cary bars anyone from its parks after dark unless the park has lights for extended-use activities or the parks director gives written after-hours permission.

North Carolina permits cities and counties to enact juvenile curfews under general police power but requires constitutional safeguards under state law.

Cary's housing code makes occupants responsible for exterminating insects, rodents and pests in their unit, but shifts that duty to the owner when infestation stems from a…

Wake County Code §130.05 (adopted 11-9-2022, effective 12-9-2022) prohibits firearm discharge within 300 yards of any dwelling, school, church, warehouse, playground, or park without…

North Carolina issues concealed handgun permits through county sheriffs under NCGS 14-415.10 and recognizes reciprocity with many states; permitless carry is not authorized statewide.

North Carolina generally permits open carry of handguns and long guns without a permit, but local discharge ordinances and posted-property restrictions may apply under state law.

North Carolina permits transporting firearms in a vehicle, but a handgun carried concealed within reach generally requires a concealed handgun permit under NCGS 14-269 and 14-415.10.

Wake County exempts bona fide farm properties in the unincorporated county from UDO zoning provisions, including farmhouses and farm buildings.

North Carolina protects established agricultural and forestry operations from nuisance lawsuits under NCGS 106-701, the Right to Farm Act, with strict limits on plaintiff eligibility…

It is unlawful in unincorporated Wake County to walk, stand, sit, lie or place an object so as to block pedestrian or vehicular passage while begging, panhandling or soliciting on the…

Home cultivation of marijuana is illegal in Wake County and statewide. Under NCGS §90-95(a)(1) it is unlawful to manufacture (which includes cultivation) any controlled substance, and…

Ground- and roof-mounted solar energy systems in unincorporated Wake County need permits, with FAA notice and a recorded decommissioning plan required for larger arrays.

North Carolina voids any deed restriction, covenant, or HOA agreement that bans, or effectively bans, solar collectors on residential property, under G.S. 22B-20. The protection covers…

North Carolina repealed its state commercial drone operator permit and knowledge test effective December 1, 2024, so commercial pilots now need only the FAA Part 107 remote pilot…

North Carolina General Statute 15A-300.1 and related laws set statewide rules for unmanned aircraft, banning drone surveillance without consent and weaponized drones, while federal law…

North Carolina has no statewide predictive scheduling law and effectively preempts local fair workweek or predictive scheduling ordinances through its Wage and Hour Act framework.

North Carolina lets exempt nonprofits run bingo and raffles under Chapter 14, Part 2's charitable-gaming statutes. Bingo requires a $200 annual license from the Alcohol Law Enforcement…

North Carolina's gambling law, N.C.G.S. § 14-292, makes it a Class 2 misdemeanor for anyone to bet money, property, or anything of value on a game of chance, whether the wager is…

North Carolina legalized sports wagering under G.S. Chapter 18C, Article 9, effective March 2024. The State Lottery Commission licenses online and in-person sportsbooks; interactive…

Under the North Carolina Planned Community Act, G.S. 47F-3-116, any assessment unpaid for 30 days or longer becomes a lien on the lot. If unpaid for 90 days or more, the association…

North Carolina's Planned Community Act requires HOAs to hold at least one association meeting each year (G.S. 47F-3-108) with 10-60 days' advance notice stating the agenda, and to give…

North Carolina law overrides certain HOA restrictions. G.S. 22B-20 voids covenants that prohibit residential solar collectors (with narrow visibility exceptions). G.S. 47F-3-121…

North Carolina suspends an HOA's power to require landscaping irrigation once the area is designated severe, extreme, or exceptional drought and a government body has imposed water…

State law strips North Carolina homeowners associations of power to block the American or state flag on a member's own lot. G.S. 47F-3-121(1) voids any covenant restriction on a flag…

North Carolina's G.S. 47F-3-107.1 requires due process before an HOA can fine an owner. A hearing must be held before the executive board or an adjudicatory panel, with notice of the…

North Carolina lets a homeowners association foreclose on a house without ever filing a lawsuit. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47F-3-116, an assessment unpaid for 30 days can be turned into…

North Carolina is one of the few states whose legislature expressly authorized sobriety and license checkpoints by statute. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-16.3A lets any law enforcement agency…

North Carolina never enacted an express right to record police, and it never enacted a buffer law either. What it has is a one-party consent wiretap statute: N.C. Gen. Stat. §…

North Carolina has no general stop-and-identify statute. A pedestrian stopped on the street commits no offense by declining to give a name, and the state's entire vagrancy article…

North Carolina is one of the few states that wrote consent searches into statute instead of leaving them to case law. Article 9 of Chapter 15A defines consent as a statement to the…

North Carolina has no statewide ban on plastic straws and does not authorize local governments to ban single-use plastic straws or other utensils.

Federal law sets the minimum tobacco purchase age at 21 nationwide, but North Carolina's own statute, NCGS 14-313, still sets the state age at 18, so retailers must follow the stricter…

North Carolina has not enacted a statewide flavored tobacco or flavored vape ban, and no state law authorizes local governments to ban flavored tobacco products, leaving flavor rules…

North Carolina lets any motor vehicle carry up to two spot lamps and up to two front auxiliary driving lamps, and it caps every other added lamp at 25 candlepower unless the beam is…

North Carolina has no statute telling you where a dash cam may be mounted. Part 9 of Article 3 of Chapter 20 regulates the windshield only for tint and for safety glass, and nothing in…

North Carolina has never authorised lane splitting and has never written a section that uses the phrase. The motorcycle lane statute, G.S. 20-146.1, entitles a motorcycle to the full…

North Carolina bans anything over a plate that makes part of it unreadable, and it names frames and clear covers specifically. G.S. 20-63(g) makes it an infraction to cover a plate…

North Carolina has no statute regulating radar detectors in a private passenger vehicle. The words radar and detector appear nowhere in the 868 sections of Chapter 20, the Motor…

North Carolina lets you run studded tires on any day of the year. G.S. 20-122(b) permits studs on regular and snow tires "for increased safety" so long as they project no more than one…

North Carolina allows aftermarket tint on any window except the windshield down to 35% total light transmission, with reflectance of 20% or less and no red, yellow or amber film. The…