Harnett County, NC Ordinances (2026)

Harnett County's Unified Development Ordinance exempts bona fide farms in the unincorporated county from its zoning provisions entirely. Cropland, timberland, barns, and up to four…

Harnett County's Voluntary Agricultural District Ordinance, Chapter 152, lets qualifying farms enroll for protection from non-farm development and condemnation. Section 152.115…

Harnett Regional Water (HRW) will adjust a customer's water bill once every 12 months when the customer furnishes proof that a leak was repaired. The bill is reduced by half of the…

Harnett County's Flood Damage Prevention ordinance requires new and substantially improved structures in a special flood hazard area to sit at or above the base flood elevation plus…

New residential development disturbing more than one acre, and nonresidential projects adding more than 22,000 square feet of disturbed area, must submit a stormwater management…

Developers grading, excavating, or cutting land in unincorporated Harnett County must mulch, seed, sod, or otherwise stabilize disturbed surfaces to prevent erosion and sedimentation…

Development within Harnett County's special flood hazard areas, mapped on FEMA's October 3, 2006 Flood Insurance Rate Maps, is administered by the Floodplain Administrator, who…

Harnett County makes it a misdemeanor to dispose of solid waste anywhere except a permitted landfill, an approved incinerator, a county disposal site, or by reclamation and recycling…

Harnett County's development code requires trash containment areas, including compactors and dumpsters, to be located and designed so they are not visible from adjacent rights-of-way…

Harnett County offers recycling as one of several voluntary disposal outlets rather than mandating it: residents may drop waste at a county recycling collection site, but only waste…

Harnett County charges $25 per ton to dump stumps, limbs, leaves, and construction debris at the demolition landfill, but waives that fee entirely for separated yard waste: leaves and…

Every property owner, tenant, or occupant in unincorporated Harnett County must remove all solid waste from the property at least once every seven days. County disposal sites only…

Anyone who collects garbage for hire in Harnett County must run covered, leakproof vehicles, remove waste at least weekly, and dispose of it daily at a licensed sanitary landfill…

Bulky items, tires, and construction debris cannot go into Harnett County's neighborhood mini-station containers; they have to go straight to the sanitary landfill, where household…

Harnett County's Inspections Department requires every permit holder to call for approval at six defined construction stages under County Code § 151.030: foundation, framing…

Any childcare facility's outdoor play area in Harnett County has to sit outside the front yard setback and be enclosed by a fence tight enough that a 4-inch sphere can't pass through…

Harnett County adopts the National Electrical Code under § 151.006, and § 151.048(D) requires a written permit from the Electrical Inspector before any wiring installation, extension…

Harnett County has adopted the North Carolina Plumbing Code under § 151.004, and § 151.048(B) bars starting plumbing installation or extension without a written permit from the…

Harnett County Code § 151.048 requires a written permit from the Building Inspector before any construction, alteration, repair, removal or demolition of a building. Work costing…

Harnett County's subdivision utility standards require fire hydrants spaced no more than 500 feet apart in residential subdivisions with at least 500 gallons-per-minute flow; where…

Harnett County doesn't require sterilizing pets generally, but once a dog is finally declared dangerous or potentially dangerous under § 90.09(D)(3), the owner must have it tattooed or…

Harnett County Code § 90.06(A) bans letting a dog run at large off its owner's direct control, with escalating civil fines of $100, $200, and $400 for repeat violations, though hunting…

Harnett County doesn't ban breeds by name, but § 90.09 lets the General Services Director declare any dog dangerous or potentially dangerous after an unprovoked attack, forcing strict…

Harnett County Code § 90.12 flatly bans keeping inherently dangerous wild or exotic animals, including big cats, primates, bears, wolves, coyotes, and poisonous or giant reptiles, with…

Harnett County zoning treats a veterinarian service as a regulated animal-services use under the Unified Development Ordinance. Any outdoor animal yard must sit behind an eight-foot…

Harnett County caps yard sales at two per calendar year on any one lot, with each sale running no more than two days, under § 153.114(I) of the Unified Development Ordinance's…

Harnett County requires a temporary land use and zoning permit for any temporary event, including bazaars, carnivals, fairs, and festivals, under Zoning Ordinance § 153.114(G). Events…

In Harnett County's RA-40, RA-30, RA-20R, and RA-20M residential zoning districts, private property can hold no more than three junked motor vehicles outside an enclosed building, and…

Harnett County Code § 151.072 lets the Inspector condemn any building that is especially dangerous to life from fire risk, bad walls, overloaded floors, decay or unsafe wiring, posting…

New construction and substantial improvements in Harnett County's mapped flood zones must elevate the reference level to the base flood elevation plus two feet of freeboard, or two…

Harnett County exempts billboard lighting from the general outdoor lighting standards of § 153.156 but regulates it directly under § 153.159(I)(4): display lighting must be shielded…

Harnett County's § 153.156 bans uplighting in every zoning district unless the fixture is shielded by a roof overhang or similar structure, requires wall-pack fixtures to be full…

Harnett County requires nonresidential and major-subdivision lighting to be positioned so it does not glare onto neighboring property or spill into the public right-of-way, and every…

Harnett County's solid waste chapter bars open burning of solid waste outright, allowing it only to whatever narrow extent state air quality rules permit. The chapter defers entirely…

Harnett County's Explosives Detonation Ordinance bans open detonations within 1,500 feet of schools, churches, or homes without consent, but § 131.09(G) carves fireworks and…

Businesses in unincorporated Harnett County must load and unload entirely on their own property, in a permanent loading berth at least 12 feet wide, 55 feet long, and with 15 feet of…

Harnett County requires automobile repair facilities to pave any front-yard or handicap-accessible parking with asphalt or concrete, and at least half of all required parking overall…

Harnett County's zoning code lets a homeowner keep one personal recreational vehicle or travel trailer on a residential lot, but only in the rear or side yard, per § 153.112(C)(3) of…

Construction noise in unincorporated Harnett County is barred between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in residential areas, and between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. everywhere else, under §…

Harnett County caps continuous sound at 55 decibels near residential property between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., down from the 60-decibel daytime limit, under Code of Ordinances §…

Harnett County bans operating a vehicle so out of repair, modified, loaded or driven that it creates loud grating, grinding, rattling or tire-screeching noise, and separately requires…

Harnett County sets numeric decibel ceilings by land use in § 92.29: continuous residential sound is capped at 60 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 55 dB(A) overnight, commercial…

Harnett County treats a barking dog or noisy pet as a Chapter 92 noise violation, not just an animal-control matter: § 92.27(G) bars keeping any animal or bird that causes 'frequent or…

Harnett County bans commercial loudspeaker and amplifier advertising outright and caps non-commercial amplified speech at audibility within 150 feet under § 92.27(L). A truck- or…

Harnett County's Military Corridor Overlay District regulates land use, not decibels, inside the Pope Army Airfield Aircraft Noise Zones near Fort Bragg. Development within five miles…

Portable and standby generators fall under § 92.27(K)'s ban on unmuffled internal combustion engines: any blower, power fan, or engine that causes noise from the explosion of operating…

Harnett County bans running a stereo, radio, boombox or similar device loud enough to be 'plainly audible' to anyone besides the listener under § 92.27(B) of the Code of Ordinances. In…

Harnett County limits portable food sales stands to a temporary use permit under § 153.114(C) of the Unified Development Ordinance. Operators get up to 120 days per any 12-month period…

Harnett County caps window signs at 25% of a storefront's total window area under § 153.159(G)(10), and compliant window signs need no permit and do not count against the property's…

Harnett County allows electronic display techniques on outdoor advertising signs in Commercial/Business Districts, but every billboard image must hold static for at least 20 minutes…

Harnett County caps outdoor advertising signs along interstate highways at 500 square feet of display area, 35 feet in height at street grade (up to 45 feet overall), and requires a…

Harnett County requires any sign advertising a yard sale to come down once the sale is over, under § 153.114(I)(3) of the Unified Development Ordinance. The requirement rides along…

Harnett County's sign ordinance bans portable signs, including vehicle-displayed signs, county-wide, but carves out an express exception for temporary political signs under §…

Harnett County doesn't set one flat height cap for fences countywide, but it does regulate corner lots directly: nothing, including a fence, may block sight lines more than two feet…

For developments the county requires to have a homeowners association, unpaid dues or fees become a lien on the individual property under section 153.138(H). The HOA also carries…

Harnett County requires any subdivision with a homeowners association to have its by-laws approved by the Development Review Board before final plat, form the HOA before homes are…

Harnett County's Unified Development Ordinance explicitly says it doesn't interfere with, abrogate, or annul private covenants or easements between property owners. County zoning and…

Recreational campground and RV park owners in Harnett County have to keep every park-owned facility and common area in good repair and free of material that would breed or harbor…

Harnett County requires a building permit before constructing an inground residential pool. The Central Permitting Fee Schedule at § 150.04 charges $100 for an inground swimming pool…

Harnett County's Unified Development Ordinance sets minimum front, rear and side yard setbacks for every residential district in the unincorporated county. Under § 153.093, the front…

Harnett County caps residential building height at 35 feet in the RA-40, RA-30, RA-20M and RA-20R districts under § 153.093. Section 153.093(A)(10) also lets buildings in the rural…

Inside Harnett County's water supply watershed districts, residential and nonresidential development is capped at 24% built-upon area on a project-by-project basis, rising to 36% in…

Harnett County caps in-home childcare at five preschool-age children plus eight school-age children, and the provider has to live at the property full time. The outdoor play area needs…

Harnett County allows a customary home occupation inside any dwelling under UDC Section 153.108(A), but caps it at one paid assistant, half the structure's floor space, and zero use of…

Harnett County residents who believe someone is violating the county's noise ordinance report it to the Sheriff's Office under § 92.10 of the Code of Ordinances. The Sheriff's Office…

The Harnett County Board of Commissioners designates historic landmarks by resolution on recommendation of the Historical Properties Commission, and once designated, no exterior…

Harnett County requires developers of major subdivisions with more than six lots to plant or retain one deciduous street tree for every 50 linear feet of street, staggered along both…

Installing residential solar panels in Harnett County is treated as electrical work: § 151.006 adopts the National Electrical Code, § 151.048(D) bars starting the wiring without a…

Harnett County requires a Sheriff-issued license before anyone works as a massagist or operates a massage parlor. Massagists pay $50 a year, parlors pay $500, and licenses must be…

A sexually-oriented business in Harnett County (adult bookstore, adult movie theater, or nightclub) can't locate within 2,000 feet of a church, school, another such business, a…

Once the Harnett County Department of Public Utilities Director declares a Stage II water shortage warning, irrigation is cut to two fixed days a week by address digit, vehicle and…

Harnett County has no red-light or school-zone speed camera program; its only automated traffic camera targets drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus. Under §§ 132.01-132.06…

In unincorporated Harnett County, a shed or other accessory building can't sit in a required yard or within five feet of another building. Structures up to 600 square feet get a break…