10 rules for unincorporated Buncombe County, North Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
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 travel trailer as a parked vehicle. Living in it is capped, and inoperable units can be abated as junked.
Buncombe County Code Sec. 78-664
If a travel trailer is disconnected from all utilities, is tagged and road-ready, and is not utilized as a temporary dwelling unit on site, it will be considered a parked vehicle for the purposes of this ordinance.
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 standards govern surfacing and layout for commercial and multifamily sites. Access-point placement is set in Sec. 78-661.
Buncombe County Code Sec. 78-658(a)
A parking space shall consist of an improved hard-surfaced or crushed stone area not less than nine feet by 18 feet plus the necessary access space, unless otherwise authorized by the board of adjustment or zoning administrator.
Buncombe County regulates commercial vehicles mainly through zoning: parking or storing heavy trucks, trailers, and equipment in residential districts is limited by the Zoning Ordinance's district use standards. There is no countywide on-street commercial-vehicle ban; state roads follow NCDOT. Asheville and other towns apply their own truck-parking limits.
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 parking follows NC Chapter 20 motor-vehicle law. A vehicle left too long on public grounds can be handled as abandoned.
NC Gen. Stat. 153A-132(b)(1)
An "abandoned motor vehicle" is one that: a. Is left on public grounds or county-owned property in violation of a law or ordinance prohibiting parking; or ... d. Is left for longer than seven days on public grounds.
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 car left over 24 hours on county-owned property as abandoned. Asheville and other towns set their own overnight rules.
NC Gen. Stat. 153A-132(b)(1)
An "abandoned motor vehicle" is one that: ... b. Is left for longer than 24 hours on property owned or operated by the county; or c. Is left for longer than two hours on private property without the consent of the owner, occupant, or lessee of the property.
Buncombe County has no special ordinance restricting home EV chargers. A residential Level 2 charger is installed under the adopted North Carolina Electrical Code with an electrical permit through Buncombe County Permits & Inspections. New commercial charging stations are sited under the Zoning Ordinance's parking and use standards.
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 can be towed once left over two hours on private property without consent, or over seven days on public grounds.
NC Gen. Stat. 153A-132(a)
A county may by ordinance prohibit the abandonment of motor vehicles on public grounds and private property within the county's ordinance-making jurisdiction and on county-owned property wherever located.
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 devices. Residents may not paint curbs or add their own no-parking markings on a public right-of-way. Asheville and other towns set their own curb rules.
Buncombe County Code Sec. 78-661
On corner lots, no planting, structure, sign, fence, wall or other obstruction shall be erected so as to interfere with the sight distance.
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 berths sized to the use. There are no on-street loading zones in the unincorporated county; state roads are NCDOT-controlled. Cities set their own downtown loading rules.
Buncombe County Code Sec. 78-659
For the purpose of this section, an off-street loading space shall have minimum dimensions of 12 feet by 40 feet and an overhead clearance of 14 feet in height above the alley or street grade.
Oversized vehicles, large trucks, buses, and heavy trailers are regulated in unincorporated Buncombe County through zoning district use standards, not a size-based parking ban. There is no county on-street size limit; state roads follow NCDOT. An inoperable oversized vehicle can be abated as junked.
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