Buncombe County, NC Ordinances (2026)

Buncombe County cannot zone out bona fide farm uses, so keeping chickens, fowl, and livestock on qualifying property in the unincorporated county is broadly allowed under NCGS…

Buncombe County sets no simple household pet limit, but keeping seven or more dogs or cats on one premises makes the property a 'kennel' requiring a permit (Sec. 6-28). Keeping animals…

Buncombe County does not ban any dog breed. Both the county code (Sec. 6-28) and NC state law (NCGS 67-4.1) define a 'dangerous dog' by behavior, not breed. A dog is dangerous only if…

Cats four months or older in Buncombe County must be vaccinated against rabies and wear a collar with the current rabies tag at all times (Sec. 6-56). Cats are covered by the same…

Buncombe County requires every dog or cat over six months old to be spayed or neutered unless the owner buys a $100 unaltered animal permit from the sheriff's animal control division…

Buncombe County's animal ordinance makes it a public nuisance to feed, harbor or attract bears or other wild animals if the activity threatens public health, safety or welfare…

Buncombe County Sec. 6-61 makes it unlawful to keep any venomous reptile or any other wild or exotic animal within the county. Zoos, performing-animal exhibitions, circuses, and…

In unincorporated Buncombe County, dogs and other animals must stay on the owner's premises. Off the property, an animal must be under the control of a competent person by a chain…

In unincorporated Buncombe County, a single vacation rental (up to two homes / 9,000 sq ft) is a permitted use in most zoning districts. Larger vacation rental complexes need a…

Buncombe County's Zoning Ordinance requires a vacation rental complex or rooming house to provide at least one off-street parking space for every two guest rooms, and to screen parking…

A Buncombe County vacation rental complex may contain no more than 10 separate vacation rental units; anything larger is treated as a hotel/motel. Complexes must also provide one…

Public pools in Buncombe County must have compliant, unexpired anti-entrapment drain covers, depth markings, and warning signs under 15A NCAC 18A .2500, or the permit is suspended…

A backyard residential pool needs a building and electrical permit from Buncombe County Permits & Inspections; there is no state operation permit for a private pool. Any pool open to…

Buncombe County's base zoning districts do not fix a single lot-coverage percentage, but the Steep Slope/High Elevation Overlay District strictly caps disturbed and impervious surface…

Homes built inside Buncombe County's Steep Slope/High Elevation Overlay District, land above 2,500 feet with a natural slope of 35 percent or more, are capped at 35 feet of building…

In the unincorporated county's R-1 Residential district, Buncombe County requires a 20-foot front yard, 10-foot side yard, and 20-foot rear yard where there is no public sewer…

Adult establishments in unincorporated Buncombe County need a county business license, plus a separate license for every entertainer, before opening under Sec. 14-123. Sec…

Buncombe County's zoning ordinance leaves motor vehicle maintenance and repair blank, meaning not permitted, in all four residential districts: R-LD, R-1, R-2 and R-3. Table 1 of Sec…

Masseurs, masseuses, and massage parlors or health salons in unincorporated Buncombe County need a license from the board of commissioners before opening. Sec. 14-79 limits operating…

Anyone operating a pawnshop in unincorporated Buncombe County pays a license fee that the board of commissioners sets "from time to time" rather than fixes in the code itself, per Sec…

Buncombe County does not paint or regulate curb-color parking markings, because its roads are state-maintained by NCDOT, which controls all pavement markings and traffic-control…

Buncombe County does not run a municipal street network or enact everyday on-street parking rules. Roads outside Asheville and other towns are state-maintained by NCDOT, so on-street…

Buncombe County prohibits abandoning and junking vehicles on public and private property. Its ordinance (Chapter 26, Article VI) draws authority from NC Gen. Stat. 153A-132. A vehicle…

Buncombe County sets off-street loading standards through Sec. 78-659 of its Zoning Ordinance, requiring qualifying business, trade, and industrial sites to provide off-street loading…

Buncombe County does not require homeowners to pave a residential driveway, but a new driveway onto a state road needs an NCDOT permit, and the Zoning Ordinance's off-street parking…

There is no countywide overnight on-street parking ban in unincorporated Buncombe County; state-maintained roads are governed by NCDOT and NC motor-vehicle law. The county can treat a…

Buncombe County does not ban keeping a personal RV, travel trailer, camper, or boat at your home in the unincorporated county. The Zoning Ordinance treats a road-ready, disconnected…

Keeping any animal or bird that, by frequent or long-continued noise, disturbs the comfort and repose of neighbors is a prohibited noise in unincorporated Buncombe County. Farm-animal…

Buncombe County has no leaf-blower-specific ordinance. Blowers and power fans fall under the general noise rule: they must be adequately muffled so they don't unreasonably disturb…

Buncombe County's noise ordinance sets no numeric decibel limit. Instead it prohibits any 'unreasonably loud, disturbing, and unnecessary' noise, judged by a reasonable-person standard…

Playing a radio, TV, stereo, or musical instrument loud enough to disturb neighbors is banned countywide between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. under County Code Sec. 26-181(b)(2), part of the…

Buncombe County bans commercial loudspeakers and amplifiers outright and caps noncommercial use so a speaker's voice cannot carry more than 150 feet under County Code Sec…

Building work that generates noise, including excavation, demolition, alteration, or repair, is barred in residential districts between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. under County Code Sec…

In unincorporated Buncombe County, running a vehicle so out of repair or loaded that it makes loud grating, rattling, or screeching noise, or discharging exhaust without an effective…

Buncombe County has no ordinance prohibiting artificial turf on residential property. In the Steep Slope and Protected Ridge overlays and in watersheds, however, ground cover counts…

Buncombe County does not require rainwater harvesting, but its zoning code rewards it. A Community Oriented Development can earn 5 of up to 250 percent bonus density points by…

Buncombe County does not require native landscaping on ordinary lots, but in the Steep Slope and Protected Ridge overlays, required screening trees must be native species with no…

Buncombe County does not require a permit to remove trees on ordinary private property. The real county tree standards apply in the Steep Slope and Protected Ridge overlay districts…

Buncombe County zoning does not require a separate zoning permit for an ordinary residential fence, and the North Carolina building code exempts residential fences up to seven feet…

Buncombe County's Zoning Ordinance does not set a standalone retaining-wall height limit, but a wall that also functions as a fence follows the ten-foot setback-exemption rule. In the…

Buncombe County lets residents use any common fence material for a standard fence. Where screening between uses is required, a solid visual barrier fence, earth mounding, and evergreen…

Buncombe County's Zoning Ordinance sets no maximum height for a standard residential fence in the unincorporated county. Instead it exempts fences ten feet or less from setback rules…

A fence ten feet or less may sit on the shared property line in unincorporated Buncombe County. On corner lots, no fence, wall, planting, sign, or obstruction may be erected so as to…

Buncombe County's zoning ordinance caps yard sales at two weeks per year per residential property. Sec. 78-581 defines a yard sale as a retail sale on residential property that can't…

A carport is an accessory structure. In unincorporated Buncombe County, a carport of 320 sq ft or less and 15 ft or less in height must be at least seven feet from side and rear…

Buncombe County classifies a tiny home on wheels as a travel trailer. It may be used as a temporary dwelling for no more than 180 days per calendar year, only in districts that permit…

Owners, tenants and agents in charge of vacant lots in unincorporated Buncombe County must keep them clean, safe and free of bottles, cans, abandoned vehicle parts, trash and garbage…

Buncombe County's building inspector can declare any dilapidated, fire-hazard or nuisance building "unsafe" and order the owner to repair or demolish it. Owners get a hearing and a…

Buncombe County treats dumping refuse outside an approved landfill, transfer station, or your own approved receptacle as a criminal offense under Sec. 62-30(d)(3). The director of…

Shopping centers, restaurants, service stations, schools, churches and other commercial or institutional sites in unincorporated Buncombe County must provide dumpsters or…

Buncombe County's landfill will not take yard waste. Sec. 62-32 lists yard waste alongside white goods, used oil, lead-acid batteries, antifreeze, and aluminum cans as materials that…

Every residential garbage container in unincorporated Buncombe County must be watertight, rodent-proof, fitted with a tight-fitting lid kept closed except when in use, and sized to…

In unincorporated Buncombe County, FCC Environmental collects garbage weekly and recycling every other week. Find your day with the county's FCC collection map at buncombenc.gov…

Buncombe County offers curbside recycling to FCC subscribers and free drop-off at the landfill and transfer station. Accepted: metal cans, plastics #1–7, glass bottles/jars, cartons…

Buncombe County inspects unincorporated-area rental dwellings for fitness for human habitation, but only after a complaint, not on a fixed schedule. The enforcement officer can enter a…

Every rental dwelling in unincorporated Buncombe County needs a UL-listed (or equivalent) smoke detector on each level, plus detectors in stairwells, hallways, and common areas of…

Recreational fires like a backyard fire pit must stay at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material in unincorporated Buncombe County under County Code Sec. 30-49(i), and…

North Carolina bans nearly all consumer fireworks statewide. Only non-aerial, non-explosive novelties, sparklers, fountains, snakes, party poppers, and smoke devices are legal…

Residents may burn leaves, brush, and yard trimmings from their own property on approved burn days between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., with nothing added after 6 p.m. Burning trash, plastics…

Buncombe County's zoning ordinance flatly bans crypto-currency mining operations anywhere in the county. Sec. 78-581 defines the use and states outright that it isn't permitted, and…

Non-crypto-currency data centers in unincorporated Buncombe County cannot exceed 55 dBA at the property line at any time of day, and must run a pre-construction sound study to set a…

Data centers of 5,000 square feet or more need a pre-construction sound study and can't exceed 55 dBA at the property line under Buncombe County's zoning ordinance. Operations must be…

Any landlord who doesn't live in Buncombe County but rents out property in the unincorporated area must register a local agent with the county's rental housing director to accept legal…

Rental dwellings in unincorporated Buncombe County must meet the minimum standards in Sec. 10-159 of the county's Rental Housing Ordinance: a potable water supply, a working kitchen…

Unincorporated Buncombe County requires a permit from the plumbing inspector before installing, extending or repairing any plumbing system. Minor house-side repairs that don't disturb…

Unincorporated Buncombe County requires a permit from the electrical inspector before installing, extending, altering or repairing electrical wiring, devices or equipment. Minor…

Unincorporated Buncombe County requires a written permit from the building inspector before constructing, altering, repairing or removing any building or structure. Work costing $5,000…

Possessing, drinking, displaying or selling beer, wine or liquor on any Buncombe County-owned or operated property, including county parks, is unlawful unless the parks and recreation…

Buncombe County bans lighted smoking material in every county building, on every county-owned outdoor ground, and inside county vehicles. Because "grounds" is defined as unenclosed…

A home occupation in unincorporated Buncombe County can employ no more than two people who don't live on the property, and it can't generate more traffic than a residential…

A home-based day nursery or private kindergarten in unincorporated Buncombe County is capped at eight children under Code Sec. 78-678(a)(2), and is permitted with special requirements…

A home occupation in unincorporated Buncombe County may have one unlighted sign on the premises no more than two square feet in area. There may be no display, no outside storage, and…

A home occupation is allowed in Buncombe County residential zoning as a use conducted entirely within the dwelling or an accessory structure and clearly incidental to residential use…

Buncombe County requires all permanently installed outdoor lighting fixtures over 1,250 lumens to be full cutoff or cutoff fixtures that block upward glow, under Code Sec…

Buncombe County caps outdoor light spilling onto neighboring land at 0.75 footcandles measured at the property line, or 3.0 footcandles at a public street right-of-way, under Code Sec…

New development or redevelopment of one acre or more in unincorporated Buncombe County needs an approved stormwater permit under County Code Sec. 26-322(a), with high-density projects…

Buncombe County, North Carolina enforces flood damage prevention under Chapter 34, Article II of the Buncombe County Code, administered by the Planning and Development Department's…

Disturbing one acre or more of land anywhere in unincorporated Buncombe County, or as little as a quarter acre on a steep residential lot, requires an approved erosion control plan and…

Buncombe County's zoning ordinance regulates only commercial/institutional signage, not residential yard signs, so political signs on private property in the unincorporated county are…

Buncombe County caps yard sale signs at six square feet, one per lot, under the definitions section of its off-premises sign ordinance. Signs must come down within one day after the…

Buncombe County lets landowners enroll qualifying farmland in a Voluntary or Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District, requiring at least 50 contiguous acres and a ten-year…

Buncombe County requires notice, posted maps and a standard disclosure that spraying, manure spreading, machinery and livestock operations may occur day or night near a Voluntary or…

Owners of multi-dwelling buildings and boarding houses in unincorporated Buncombe County must exterminate insects, rodents, and other pests on the premises, per Sec. 10-159(7) of the…

A rally, demonstration, march, public speech or public meeting expected to draw more than 100 people in a Buncombe County park needs a written permit from the parks and recreation…