Brunswick County, NC Ordinances (2026)

Anyone can start a Brunswick County housing-code investigation of a substandard unincorporated-county dwelling by filing a petition with the public officer: a public authority may…

Brunswick County's public health nuisance ordinance lists the property conditions residents most often report to the county: piled-up rubbish and junk, vermin harborage, dead animal…

Brunswick County's central permit office commits to inspecting permitted work within two days of a request and never later than three working days, under Code § 1-8.5-36(b); missing an…

Brunswick County, North Carolina does not ban exotic pets outright: it requires a $100 annual sheriff-issued permit, insurance or bond, and an inspected secure enclosure before anyone…

Brunswick County, North Carolina regulates dogs by proven behavior, not by breed. A dog is declared dangerous through a sheriff's investigation after it bites, injures or attacks, and…

Brunswick County's UDO lists poultry and livestock keeping as an 'Agricultural' use, permitted by right only in the RR, C-LD, C-I and I-G districts and not permitted in the R-7500…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina, owners must keep dogs and other animals on their own property or under restraint at all times. An animal previously deemed at large…

Brunswick County, North Carolina treats a roaming or nuisance cat as an animal-control violation and gives feral cats a shorter, three-day holding period before a three-person staff…

Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance treats beekeeping (apiculture) as an agricultural use. The Use Table permits agricultural uses, including apiculture, by right only in…

Brunswick County's UDO allows veterinary clinics, animal hospitals and kennels as a limited use in the RR district, but requires a 300-foot separation between outdoor animal areas and…

Brunswick County's noise ordinance singles out gatherings of 10 or more people that spill outdoors into a yard, balcony, parking lot or common area: if the resulting noise is plainly…

Brunswick County, North Carolina does not have a general public loitering law for the unincorporated county. Its only loitering rule reaches county-owned solid waste facilities: Code…

Brunswick County bars loudspeakers, public address systems, mobile sound trucks, and similar amplified sound equipment from being plainly audible on a neighboring property, or through…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, radios, TVs, musical instruments and similar sound devices cannot be operated so that sound is plainly audible on a neighboring property between…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, leaf blowers, lawnmowers and other lawn care equipment cannot be run so that the noise is plainly audible on a neighbor's property between 7:00 p.m…

Brunswick County bans motor vehicle and motorcycle exhaust or mechanical noise that carries 200 feet or more, and car stereo or sound-amplifying noise audible at 50 feet, anywhere in…

Brunswick County's noise ordinance expressly exempts normal aircraft and airport noise from every quiet-hours and plainly-audible limit that applies to other sound sources in the…

Brunswick County treats a dog that barks nonstop for five minutes, or intermittently for ten, between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. as prima facie evidence of a noise violation. Code…

Brunswick County bans plainly audible construction or demolition noise in the unincorporated county between 7:00 p.m. (or sunset, whichever is later) and 7:00 a.m. Code Section…

Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance sets driveway design rules for unincorporated county properties: driveways must meet NCDOT's minimum width standards and clear…

Unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina limits a home-based business to one commercially licensed vehicle, capped at 1-ton capacity, and that vehicle cannot create visible…

Leaving an abandoned motor vehicle on public grounds, county property or someone else's private land in unincorporated Brunswick County is unlawful under Code § 1-7-122. A vehicle…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, commercial loading docks and berths must sit at least 30 feet from any street intersection and stay out of required yards. A dock facing a…

Brunswick County levies a 1% room occupancy tax on private residences and cottages rented for less than fifteen days in the unincorporated county, on top of state sales tax. The tax…

Brunswick County, North Carolina's UDO treats a short-term rental of 10 days or less as a "Tourist Home" use and requires 2 off-street parking spaces per bedroom, more than the…

Brunswick County's UDO allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot as a limited zoning use, but it must sit inside the primary home or meet the accessory-structure standards, keep the…

Brunswick County's UDO keeps sheds and other accessory structures out of the front yard in most residential districts, requires a 5-foot side and rear setback, and caps height at 35…

Brunswick County requires every pawnshop owner or operator in the unincorporated county to run an electronic inventory system linked to the sheriff's office and upload every pawned or…

Unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina allows up to two vehicles registered to a resident to be repaired at once on residential property, but bars repair or storage in the…

When a vehicle is towed without the owner's consent from unincorporated Brunswick County property, Code § 1-7-129 requires notice to the registered owner within 24 hours (72 hours if…

Brunswick County confines adult and sexually oriented businesses to the I-G Industrial General district, requires a Special Use Permit, and bans locating within 1,500 feet of homes…

Brunswick County requires every business in the unincorporated county that buys rubber, leather, rubber belting or scrap metal as scrap, salvage or surplus to run an electronic…

Brunswick County requires anyone who works as a massagist or operates a massage parlor in the unincorporated county to hold a sheriff-issued license, submit to fingerprinting, and meet…

Brunswick County's Water Emergency Ordinance lets the public utilities director impose three escalating stages of watering restrictions during drought or system failure. Stage 2 and…

Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance directs that required landscape plans favor native vegetation and lower-maintenance plant material. The standard applies to required…

Brunswick County, North Carolina requires recyclables to be clean and source-separated from solid waste at its landfill and convenience sites in the unincorporated county. Code Sec…

Brunswick County, North Carolina provides residential trash pick-up service to the unincorporated county under Code Sec. 1-11-23(4)a, using vendor-owned receptacles that residents must…

Brunswick County, North Carolina tells unincorporated residents exactly where and when to put out a solid waste receptacle: at the curb or road edge, clear of traffic, no earlier than…

Brunswick County, North Carolina caps how long bulky waste can sit outside a home in the unincorporated county at seven days, and requires anything too large for a standard trash cart…

Brunswick County, North Carolina requires unincorporated residents to keep their trash receptacle clean and odor-controlled and to bag or tie loose household trash before it goes in…

Brunswick County, North Carolina makes it unlawful to use an unpermitted dump site for solid waste in the unincorporated county, and backs it with escalating fines: $100 for a first…

Brunswick County, North Carolina bans yard waste from regular residential curbside pick-up in the unincorporated county and requires it to be securely covered or tied when placed near…

Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance requires dumpsters and trash handling facilities at nonresidential, multifamily, campground and mobile home park sites in the…

Outdoor swimming pools in unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina must be enclosed by a wire fence or equivalent barrier at least 4 feet high, and private pools cannot sit…

Building a residential pool in unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina requires a building permit before construction begins, and the county's central permit office will not…

Any land-disturbing activity of one acre or more in unincorporated Brunswick County needs a sediment and erosion control permit before the county will issue the related stormwater…

Brunswick County's Stormwater Quality Management and Discharge Control Ordinance requires a county stormwater permit for most commercial, industrial, and large residential development…

Private docks, piers and bulkheads count as 'Development Activity' under Brunswick County's Flood Damage Prevention rules. Anyone building a dock within a Special Flood Hazard Area in…

Any development activity within a Special Flood Hazard Area of unincorporated Brunswick County needs a Floodplain Development Permit before work begins, under the county's Flood Damage…

New construction and substantially improved buildings inside a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area of unincorporated Brunswick County must have their lowest floor, including any basement…

Brunswick County's noise ordinance exempts generator noise from its civil and criminal penalties when the generator is run as part of emergency work during a natural disaster or a…

Brunswick County's noise ordinance does not need a decibel meter to prove a car stereo or personal sound system is too loud. Under Code Section 1-9-562, hearing the rhythmic bass…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina, a home occupation cannot generate traffic or parking that is detrimental to the neighborhood or creates congestion on the street…

Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance allows home occupations as an accessory use in unincorporated areas, but caps the business at 50% of the dwelling's gross floor area…

A home occupation in unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina, may display only one sign, no larger than 3 square feet, showing just the business name and address, under Unified…

Brunswick County's UDO allows an in-home day care as a limited use in every residential zoning district, but caps enrollment at five preschoolers, three school-age children, or three…

Brunswick County's Building Inspections Department requires a call-in inspection at nine defined stages of construction, from footings and framing through electrical, plumbing and a…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina, the Minimum Housing Code requires any interior surface or any exterior surface within reach of children under seven that carries…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, no one may start building, altering, moving or removing a structure, or make electrical, plumbing, heating, sign or septic changes, without first…

Brunswick County, North Carolina's fire prevention code does not require automatic sprinkler systems in one- or two-family homes. The county's own ordinance says the code applies to…

Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance sets zoning standards for day care facilities in the unincorporated county, not inside Leland, Southport, Oak Island, Shallotte or the…

Brunswick County adopts the National Electrical Code by reference for all electrical work in the unincorporated county (Code § 1-8.5-33(b)), and § 1-8.5-35(a)(4) makes an electrical…

Brunswick County requires a plumbing permit before any installation, extension or repair of a plumbing system in the unincorporated county, and adopts North Carolina's state plumbing…

Brunswick County, North Carolina allows roof-mounted and ground-mounted solar collectors as an accessory use in any unincorporated zoning district, with application drawings, an…

Brunswick County's Voluntary Agricultural District Program states its purpose includes increasing protection of enrolled farms from nuisance suits and non-farm pressure, under UDO…

Brunswick County runs a Voluntary Agricultural District Program under UDO Section 4.9, adopted under G.S. 106-735 through 106-743 and Chapter 160D, that lets owners of at least three…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina, all open burning is prohibited unless it fits a narrow list of exceptions in the county code. Household garbage, lumber, and any…

Brunswick County requires a state-licensed operator and a county fire permit before any public fireworks, blasting, or pyrotechnic event in the unincorporated county. Code…

Brunswick County Public Utilities customers who repair a water leak can get a one-time billing credit each year by submitting a written request with proof of the repair. The credit…

Brunswick County allows property owners to connect to its reclaimed water distribution system for irrigation once a transmission main reaches their property. Connection is voluntary…

For conventional single-family development in unincorporated Brunswick County, UDO Table 4-1 sets a 25-foot minimum front yard in every residential district, rear yards from 9 to 25…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, the Unified Development Ordinance caps conventional residential buildings at 40 feet in the RR, R-7500, R-6000 and SBR-6000 districts and 50 feet in…

Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance lets residential projects of 15 or more units in the unincorporated county earn a density bonus of up to 25% for workforce housing, a…

Brunswick County, North Carolina requires new one- and two-family residential construction in the unincorporated county to follow Appendix D, Windstorm Resistive Construction, of the…

Before rebuilding after hurricane damage in unincorporated Brunswick County's flood hazard areas, owners must meet the county's Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation, the Base Flood…

Brunswick County, North Carolina's Minimum Housing Code lets a county public officer order the owner of a dilapidated, unfit dwelling to repair it within 90 days or vacate and demolish…

Brunswick County, North Carolina's Minimum Housing Code sets specific habitability floors for every rented dwelling: heat to at least 68 degrees, working plumbing tied to an approved…

Businesses in unincorporated Brunswick County holding an on- or off-premises ABC malt beverage or wine permit must obtain a county privilege license under Code §§ 1-5-63 to 1-5-64…

Brunswick County's Minimum Housing Code requires every rental dwelling in the unincorporated county to have screened doors and windows, screened basement openings, and to be kept free…

Brunswick County doesn't require a general permit for door-to-door solicitors or peddlers in the unincorporated county, but it does flatly bar itinerant merchants, salesmen, promoters…

Brunswick County enforces the North Carolina Fire Prevention Code's open-flame cooking device rule in the unincorporated county through its own civil penalty schedule: Code…

A renter in unincorporated Brunswick County can trigger a county housing inspection by filing a petition or complaint directly with the public officer about conditions in their own…

Brunswick County, North Carolina does not outlaw any invasive plant species by name. The Unified Development Ordinance only says use of known invasive or problem plants is strongly…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina, a yard or garage sale may post one on-premise sign plus up to three off-premises directional signs, each no larger than four square…

Outdoor advertising structures facing Brunswick County's busiest highways get the largest sign allowance in the county's code, but only along three specific corridors. Under UDO…

Off-premises digital billboards in unincorporated Brunswick County must dim automatically with ambient light, freeze on a single image if they malfunction, and hold each display for at…

Brunswick County lets campaign and political signs go up without a permit anywhere in the unincorporated county's zoning districts, but every sign that lacks a commercial message and…

Temporary holiday decorations, banners and special-event signs for religious, charitable, civic or fraternal nonprofits in unincorporated Brunswick County can go up without a permit…

Brunswick County, North Carolina bans barbed or razor wire and electrified fences in every zoning district unless they enclose livestock, and only in the RR Rural Low Density…

Brunswick County, North Carolina caps fence and wall height by zoning district and yard. In the RR and R-7500 residential districts the limit is 6 feet in the front yard and all other…

Brunswick County, North Carolina's UDO allows retaining walls up to four feet in height within required yards. That specific limit controls over a separate, more general provision…

Brunswick County's Zoning Administrator will issue a development permit whenever a project meets the Unified Development Ordinance, even if the permit conflicts with a subdivision's…

A street fair, festival or other outdoor event expecting 1,000 or more guests in unincorporated Brunswick County needs a large event Temporary Use Permit from the Zoning Administrator…

In unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina, a property owner may hold a garage or yard sale on their own property once every four months at that location, capped at three…

Brunswick County, North Carolina protects named heritage tree species on qualifying development sites. The UDO defines heritage trees as flowering Dogwood, Live Oak, Longleaf Pine…

Brunswick County, North Carolina's UDO prohibits site lighting that unnecessarily illuminates and substantially interferes with a neighbor's use of their property. Light next to a…