Dorchester County, SC Ordinances (2026)

A backup or emergency generator is a permitted accessory use under Zoning § 10.3.2(b), but its noise still has to meet the county's decibel table at § 13.1.2, capping continuous noise…

When a subdivision sets aside open space owned or maintained by a homeowners or condominium association, Dorchester County's zoning ordinance forces the recorded covenants to guarantee…

Dorchester County's Zoning and Land Development Standards Ordinance is explicit: the County has no authority to enforce a homeowners association's covenants and restrictions. Article…

Where a subdivision's open space is owned or maintained by a homeowners or condominium association, Dorchester County's zoning ordinance requires the recorded covenants to make…

Dorchester County's zoning ordinance lets a detached garage sit in the front yard, normally off-limits for accessory structures, only in a neighborhood with an active architectural…

Dorchester County requires businesses, industrial uses and larger multi-family or manufactured housing developments to build dedicated off-street loading spaces on-site rather than…

Inside Dorchester County's mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas, a recreational vehicle parked on a lot has to either move within 180 consecutive days or be licensed and ready for highway…

It is unlawful under Code § 14-1 to abandon a vehicle on any public street, public grounds, or private property exposed to public view in Dorchester County, and property owners cannot…

Dorchester County's zoning ordinance splits driveways and small parking areas into paved and unpaved tracks by district. Section 21.3.2 of the Zoning and Land Development Standards…

Dorchester County bans parking a commercial vehicle, defined as anything over 10,000 pounds tare weight, with more than two axles, or taller than 8 feet, for more than one hour in any…

Parking on public roads in Dorchester County follows the state traffic code. S.C. Code 56-5-2530 bars stopping or parking on sidewalks, in intersections, on crosswalks, in front of…

Dorchester County's AR, Agricultural Residential District exists specifically to protect working farms in low-density rural areas. Section 9.1.1 states the district's intent is to…

Dorchester County lets cluster subdivisions add up to 25% more units above their base Cluster Yield Plan as a matter of right. Builders earn the bonus in pieces by adding open space…

Window signs in Dorchester County cannot cover more than 10 percent of a window's aggregate area, on top of whatever facade signage a business already displays. The cap comes from…

Dorchester County limits billboards to the rights-of-way of expressways or within fifty feet of one, and only where that land is zoned Commercial General or Industrial. Under Zoning…

Dorchester County requires a Special Area Permit before any construction, alteration, or nearby development affecting a National Historic Landmark, National Register property, or…

Cluster subdivisions in Dorchester County must plant a canopy street tree every 50 feet on average down the center of the 8-foot lawn verge that separates the sidewalk from the curb…

Dorchester County protects trees by size, not just species: any Significant Tree (12 to 24 inches in diameter, excluding pine) or Required Tree planted to meet an ordinance requirement…

Dorchester County protects Grand trees, its heritage class: any tree 24 inches DBH or larger, including pine. Grand trees may be removed only by permit, and in development only with…

Illuminated billboards in Dorchester County must stand at least 400 feet, measured as a horizontal radius, from any property that is zoned or used for residential purposes. The…

Dorchester County caps most freestanding light poles at 15 feet and bans aiming or focusing light into the sky, with narrow carve-outs for accent lighting, flags, pools, and…

Dorchester County limits light spilling onto neighboring land to one foot-candle at non-residential property lines and just a quarter foot-candle at residential lot lines, and requires…

Dorchester County caps noise at the property line by use type: 90 dB for industrial and warehousing, 80 dB for general commercial, 70 dB for offices and mid/high-density residential…

Dorchester County declares it unlawful for an animal to bark, whine or howl in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion that interferes with a neighbor's use and enjoyment of their…

Unincorporated Dorchester County bans unreasonably loud or disturbing noise under County Code Sec. 28-2 with no fixed decibel limit or quiet hours, judged by character, intensity, and…

Dorchester County has no separate construction-hours rule; loud work falls under the general noise ordinance, Sec. 28-2. Summerville is specific: Sec. 12-34 bars construction machinery…

Dorchester County has no leaf-blower rule; daytime use is unrestricted under the general noise standard, Sec. 28-2. Summerville restricts power tools only at night. HOA landscaping…

Dorchester County requires no party permit; amplified music that disturbs neighbors violates Sec. 28-2. Summerville's Sec. 12-34 specifically names loudspeakers, amplifiers, and…

Dorchester County requires a Zoning Permit before any fence is built, because fence construction falls under the general permit trigger in Section 17.5 of the Zoning and Land…

South Carolina has no shared-cost 'good neighbor' fence statute, so each Dorchester County owner builds and pays for their own fence on their own side of the surveyed line. County code…

Dorchester County caps residential, commercial front-yard, and civic fences at 8 feet, allows 10-foot fences in commercial side/rear yards and on agricultural and industrial land, and…

Dorchester County bans barbed and razor wire on residential, commercial front-yard, and civic fences, restricts chain link to side and rear yards for those uses, but allows barbed wire…

Dorchester County ties every building permit to foundation, rough-in, and final inspections under Section 6-1 of the county code, and work can't move to the next stage without a…

Dorchester County enforces the International Plumbing Code on all unincorporated-area plumbing work under County Code § 6-21, requiring a permit and paid inspection fees before work…

Dorchester County adopts the International Electrical Code and the ICC Electrical Code Administrative Provisions by reference under County Code § 6-21, and § 6-27 bars any new…

Dorchester County requires a paid permit and fee before most construction, alteration or inspection work, and the building official will not issue a permit or perform an inspection…

Dorchester County lets residents run a business out of their home only as a Home Occupation under Zoning and Land Development Standards Section 10.4.3(A). The business must stay…

Dorchester County treats a home daycare or educational program as a type of home occupation under Zoning and Land Development Standards Section 10.4.3(B), letting a resident care for…

Every home occupation permitted under Dorchester County's Zoning and Land Development Standards must avoid impacting the surrounding neighborhood. Section 10.4.3(A)(5) specifically…

South Carolina lets you sell non-hazardous homemade foods from a Dorchester County kitchen with no SCDHEC permit, no inspection, and no revenue cap. Products carry a required label…

Dorchester County's home-occupation rules effectively block a residential auto-repair business. Zoning and Land Development Standards Section 10.4.3(A)(6) bars installing or using…

Dorchester County's zoning ordinance bars any adult establishment from locating within 1,000 feet of a residential district, single- or multi-family dwelling, church, or park, and…

Dealers buying secondhand jewelry, gold or silverware in Dorchester County must file a daily report with the sheriff within 24 hours of each purchase under Code § 8-101, photograph…

Dorchester County zoning lists tattoo parlors under Use Group 14(b), Business Personal Services, and confines them to a conditional use in the Industrial (I) district only. Section…

Dorchester County lists Sweet Gum, Bradford Pear, and River Birch as illegal, invasive, or poor-quality species, which by itself is grounds for the Zoning Administrator to approve a…

Peddlers selling door to door in unincorporated Dorchester County need a $25 annual county license from the clerk of court under Code § 8-136, and can only sell between 8:00 a.m. and…

Dumpsters and dumpster pads are a permitted accessory use countywide under Zoning § 10.3.2(a). Inside the county's Transitional Overlay District corridors, § 11.2.8(C)(7) adds a design…

Dorchester County funds its recycling and disposal system through a mandatory annual user fee charged to every property owner, not through a sorting mandate. Article III of Chapter 34…

Dorchester County requires residents to place household waste inside a county portable disposal container at a designated container site rather than on the ground, and forbids…

Dorchester County bans dumping litter or solid waste on public or private property and waters outside a designated disposal site. Section 34-110 scales the misdemeanor penalty to the…

Dorchester County accepts construction debris and yard waste at its convenience sites only from residents doing their own do-it-yourself projects, never from contractors or commercial…

Dorchester County has no curbside yard waste pickup. Grass, leaves and brush from general yard maintenance, as defined in Code Sec. 34-131, go to a staffed county convenience site…

Every owner of real property in Dorchester County must use the county's solid waste recycling and disposal system under Code Sec. 34-71, which makes participation mandatory rather than…

Dorchester County runs a reclaimed water system through its Water and Sewer Department under Code Division 13, meant to cut potable-water use for irrigation and similar non-potable…

An accessory dwelling unit needs a lot of at least 32,760 square feet under Zoning § 10.4.1, must sit behind the main house meeting the same side and rear yard setbacks, and is capped…

A storage shed is a customarily incidental accessory use under Zoning § 10.3.1(m), but its size is tiered to lot area under § 10.4.2(1)(e), from 1,000 square feet on lots under 14,500…

Converting a garage to living space in Dorchester County is a change of occupancy needing a building permit under the 2021 SC Residential Code. Adding a bathroom or bedroom on septic…

A tiny house is a legal dwelling in Dorchester County only if built to the 2021 SC Residential Code, which adopts Appendix AQ for homes 400 square feet or less. A tiny house on wheels…

Any festival, fundraiser, cultural event, or outdoor concert in unincorporated Dorchester County needs a Temporary Event Permit under the zoning ordinance's outdoor special events…

Dorchester County's zoning code exempts neighborhood gatherings, block parties held by and for the residents of the neighborhood where they occur, from the conditional use permit and…

Events held inside a Federal, State, or County park in Dorchester County do not need the conditional use permit or Temporary Event Permit that the zoning ordinance requires for other…

Tenants and neighbors can force a county inspection of a substandard dwelling by getting five residents to sign a complaint under Code § 6-64, or the county administrator can act on…

Dorchester County's Suburban Residential (SR) district caps single-family lots at 50% impervious surface coverage and non-residential uses at 30%, per Section 7.1.6 of the Zoning and…

Dorchester County's zoning ordinance sets minimum front, side and rear yards for every unincorporated district: 30/10/35 feet in the Suburban Residential (SR) district, 25/7.5/25 feet…

Dorchester County caps residential structures at two stories under Section 7.3.6 of the Zoning and Land Development Standards, the same limit repeated in every Article VII residential…

Dorchester County sets business license tax owed by NAICS-based class under Code § 8-39, using a rate schedule the county must update every odd year to match the state's standardized…

Dorchester County law makes it unlawful to let a fertile cat six months or older run at large on public property or on someone else's private property, while a spayed or neutered cat…

Dorchester County makes it unlawful for any pet store, or its manager or employees, to display, sell, deliver, barter or give away a dog or cat anywhere in the unincorporated county…

Dorchester County classifies veterinary clinics under Use Group 15(b), Medical, a category a 2025 zoning amendment expressly added them to by name. The code allows veterinary clinics…

Dorchester County treats a microchip as a legal stand-in for a collar ID tag under County Code § 4-6, and it pays off at the pound too: § 4-10 holds a microchipped dog or cat for at…

Dorchester County lets a cat roam free only if it is spayed or neutered, microchipped, vaccinated against rabies and ear-tipped, under County Code § 4-20. Meeting all four conditions…

Dorchester County's Animal Control Ordinance (Chapter 4) bars any animal from running at large off the owner's property, requires rabies vaccination at four months, and regulates…

Dorchester County allows up to ten female chickens and rabbits combined on a residential lot larger than 7,500 square feet under Zoning Standards Section 10.3.1(s). Roosters are…

Dorchester County has no breed-specific ban. Its Animal Control Ordinance classifies a 'dangerous animal' by behavior, not breed (Section 4-2), matching South Carolina law, under which…

Dorchester County bans drinking or carrying an open container of beer, wine or liquor at any public boat landing that lacks an on-premises alcohol license. County Code § 28-1 makes…

Dorchester County makes it a crime to loiter in a public place in ways that disturb others, threaten a breach of the peace, or block pedestrians and vehicles. Chapter 28, Article III…

Dorchester County can declare a rental or any dwelling unfit for human habitation for dilapidation, structural defects, unsanitary conditions or fire hazards, then order the owner to…

South Carolina has no statewide rental-registration or landlord-license law, and Dorchester County runs no rental-inspection registry. What it does require is a business license: a…

South Carolina bans local rent control outright. Under S.C. Code Section 27-39-60, no county or city may regulate the rent charged on private residential property. Neither Dorchester…

South Carolina has no just-cause eviction law, and Dorchester County adds none. The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act lets a landlord end a month-to-month tenancy for any reason with…

Any standing water on property in unincorporated Dorchester County that could breed mosquitoes, from a forgotten tire to a flooded ditch, must be removed, treated, or eliminated within…

Building anything over, under or across a Dorchester County-controlled street or right-of-way, other than a driveway entrance, requires an encroachment permit under Code Sec. 38-21…

Vacant lots in unincorporated Dorchester County can't be left to pile up dead trees, uncut grass, weeds, trash, or old tires; Dorchester County Code § 14-65(a) bans any accumulation…

Any development inside a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area in Dorchester County needs a development permit before work starts, under Dorchester County Code § 18-5, and the county's…

New homes and substantial improvements inside a Dorchester County flood zone must sit at least two feet above base flood elevation, the county's freeboard standard under Dorchester…

Before disturbing land anywhere in Dorchester County, you must submit a stormwater management and sediment control plan to the county and obtain a permit under S.C. Code § 48-14-30(A)…

South Carolina treats erosion and sediment as regulated pollution. Any land-disturbing activity in Dorchester County that changes natural cover and can cause erosion needs an approved…

Anyone filling, dredging, draining or building in a South Carolina coastal critical area within Dorchester County, such as the tidal marsh and creek banks along the Ashley and Edisto…

Dorchester County limits when fireworks may be set off in the unincorporated county. Ordinance § 28-7 bans discharging ICC Class C consumer fireworks between 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m…

South Carolina sets no statewide STR permit. Unincorporated Dorchester County hosts need a county business license (Sec. 8-19); Summerville allows STRs only in four zoning districts…

STR guests follow the general noise ordinance, Sec. 28-2 in the unincorporated county and Summerville's Sec. 12-32 nuisance standard in town. Summerville can revoke an STR lodging…

Short-term rental hosts in Dorchester County collect South Carolina's 7 percent accommodations tax on gross rental proceeds under S.C. Code § 12-36-920(A), the same statute that taxes…

Dorchester County sets no fixed inch limit; overgrown grass, weeds, and undergrowth are abated as nuisances under its environment code. The SC Right to Farm Act shields working farms…

You may prune your own trees in Dorchester County, but the county tree ordinance still protects non-pine Grand trees even on small home lots. Overhanging branches may be trimmed to the…

Dorchester County requires a Tree Removal Permit from the Zoning Administrator to destroy any Protected tree. Even an occupied single-family lot of one acre or less must still get a…

Dorchester County has no everyday watering calendar, but under the SC Drought Response Act water providers like Summerville CPW and Dorchester County Water and Sewer must impose staged…

Dorchester County Building Services issues the building permit for every residential pool, spa, and permanent hot tub in the unincorporated county. The pool is built to South…

A hot tub or spa in Dorchester County is regulated like a pool under the ISPSC, needing a permit and a barrier. A safety cover listed and labeled to ASTM F1346 can stand in for a fence.

South Carolina has no statewide juvenile curfew - repeated bills to create one failed - and unincorporated Dorchester County enforces no countywide curfew. Any curfew here is…

Dorchester County parks run on posted hours. Most, like Ashley River Park and Pine Trace Park, are open dawn to dusk; Davis-Bailey Park stays open until 9:30 PM in summer. After-hours…

South Carolina has no solar access law. Unlike Texas, Florida, or California, no statute stops a homeowners association in Dorchester County from restricting or banning rooftop solar…

Growing marijuana at home is illegal in Dorchester County. South Carolina has no medical or recreational cannabis program, and cultivating plants is manufacturing a controlled…