Lee County, NC Ordinances (2026)

Yard waste, defined by the county as vegetative matter from landscaping, is on the list of items Lee County's solid waste collection facilities will not accept, alongside dead animals…

Dumping solid waste or recyclable material anywhere in unincorporated Lee County outside an approved site is illegal under Article X of the county code. Accumulating more than 50…

In unincorporated Lee County, bulky items like furniture and large auto parts can't sit outside a home longer than 72 hours unless a licensed junk dealer owns them. Residents with a…

Unincorporated Lee County has no municipal curbside pickup schedule. Owners and tenants must clear all solid waste from their property at least once every seven days, and residents…

Because unincorporated Lee County residents drop waste off rather than set it at a curb, the rules governing pickup center on container standards and facility procedure: garbage must…

Lee County encourages, but does not mandate, separating recyclables from trash. The director of general services designates which materials count as recyclable, and once material is…

Non-residential, multi-family, and single-family attached developments in unincorporated Lee County that don't use curbside roll-out carts must screen solid waste dumpsters from public…

In unincorporated Lee County, garbage must be kept in a durable, rust-resistant, watertight container with a close-fitted, flytight cover under Sec. 22-16, and refuse must be stored so…

In unincorporated Lee County, Section 22-82 of the county code flatly prohibits open burning of solid waste or recyclable materials, whether household garbage, bulky items or…

Lee County bans possessing, exploding, discharging or burning fireworks, or bringing them into any county park, under Sec. 18-37(c). San-Lee Educational and Recreational Park repeats…

Every dwelling unit in unincorporated Lee County must have at least one working smoke detector outside any sleeping area, sounding at least 85 decibels at ten feet, under Minimum…

Lee County requires sharps to be packaged in a rigid, leak-proof, puncture-resistant sealed container before they can go out with general solid waste. Sharps that aren't packaged that…

Section 6-124(a) of the Minimum Housing Code requires every premises, building and structure in unincorporated Lee County to be maintained free of vermin and rodent harborage and…

Lee County's only general loitering ordinance is narrow: it bars loitering or congregating at any solid waste facility and bars leaving a vehicle unattended on that county property. It…

Unincorporated Lee County bars soliciting money in an aggressive manner, on public transit, or within 15 feet of a bank, check-cashing business or ATM during business hours, backed by…

Possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages, or inhaling or ingesting illicit drugs, is not permitted in any Lee County park under Sec. 18-37(a). San-Lee Educational and Recreational…

In unincorporated Lee County, Sec. 2-52 bans smoking and tobacco use, including vaping, inside every county government building and vehicle and across all county-owned grounds…

In unincorporated Lee County, a dwelling that fails Minimum Housing Code standards is deemed substandard and the inspector can pursue civil penalties up to $3,000 plus a court-ordered…

A tenant, occupant or at least five county residents can file a housing complaint with the Lee County inspector, who must investigate and, if violations are found, serve the owner a…

No one may operate a massage parlor or work as a massagist in unincorporated Lee County without a sheriff-issued license, which requires fingerprinting and an annual renewal fee, and…

Unincorporated Lee County treats sexually oriented businesses as a special-use-permit use under UDO section 5.2. An adult establishment cannot sit within 1,000 feet of a residential…

Lee County has no standalone tattoo or body-art licensing ordinance. Regulation runs entirely through the Unified Development Ordinance's permitted-use table, which allows tattoo…

Unincorporated Lee County bars running a mechanically powered saw, drill, grinder, or lawn or garden tool such as a leaf blower in a residential area at nighttime, though daytime lawn…

Unincorporated Lee County bans outdoor use of loudspeakers, loudspeaker systems or other noise-amplification devices in residential areas unless a permit for the specific event has…

Playing a radio, tape or CD player in a motor vehicle on a public street or lot in unincorporated Lee County is a prohibited noise if the sound crosses 30 feet from the vehicle, backed…

Campers in Lee County's parks must observe quiet hours between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under Sec. 18-35(d)(11), and visitors of registered campers must leave by 11:00 p.m. unless they…

Unincorporated Lee County treats a barking or howling animal as a public nuisance under Sec. 4-40(a)(4) once the noise runs ten straight minutes or a half hour on and off and disturbs…

Land near the Sanford-Lee County Regional Airport falls under an Airport Overlay District that rates every land use for noise compatibility on a decibel scale, blocking incompatible…

Peddlers, itinerant merchants and flea market operators in unincorporated Lee County must apply for a county permit, pay a $25 application fee plus a $75 issuance fee, and pass a…

In unincorporated Lee County, land-disturbing construction activity must conform to the state Sedimentation and Pollution Control Act, and the county will not issue a zoning clearance…

Development near Lee County's water supply streams and rivers must keep a 30-foot vegetative buffer, hold built-upon area to district-specific limits like 24 percent in the Little…

Unincorporated Lee County requires a development permit before any construction, filling, grading or land disturbance begins within a FEMA-designated area of special flood hazard…

New construction and substantial improvements in a mapped Lee County flood hazard area must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated at least two feet above the base…

Multi-family developments in unincorporated Lee County must shield security lighting so it points downward and does not shine into dwelling units on the site or on adjacent property…

In unincorporated Lee County, outdoor advertising (billboard) signs are allowed only in the HC, LI and HI zoning districts, never near Sanford or Broadway where billboards are banned…

Unincorporated Lee County's UDO sets buffer and fencing standards for animal hospitals, kennels and shelters. Section 5.3.2 keeps buildings and facilities at least 500 feet from any…

Unincorporated Lee County makes it unlawful to harbor or release an inherently dangerous exotic animal, covering non-domestic canids, big cats over 15 pounds, bears, venomous reptiles…

At San-Lee Educational and Recreational Park in unincorporated Lee County, Sec. 18-63(7) bans feeding any wildlife, wild fowl or fish, and also bars trapping, molesting, catching…

Lee County's parks ordinance bans harming, trapping, hunting, shooting or feeding any bird, mammal, reptile or amphibian on county park property, and it is illegal to take eggs, nests…

Unincorporated Lee County doesn't require microchipping of pets generally, but Sec. 4-41 conditions reclaiming a dog or cat impounded for running at large on the owner agreeing to…

Sec. 4-41 bans letting any animal run 'at large' in unincorporated Lee County and specifically requires a dog to stay on a leash at all times in any park, school, or building the…

Lee County has no breed-specific ban; Sec. 4-33 defines 'dangerous animal' by behavior only, such as an unprovoked bite causing broken bones, and Sec. 4-43 makes it unlawful for an…

Lee County doesn't license cats, but Sec. 4-41(a)(3) bars letting a female cat run at large while in heat, Sec. 4-124 requires every cat adopted from animal services to be altered and…

Unincorporated Lee County allows one accessory dwelling per lot where the use matrix permits it, requiring the unit to sit to the side or rear of the main house, meet the same setbacks…

In unincorporated Lee County, backyard sheds and other accessory structures must meet the Table 5-1 setback chart in the Unified Development Ordinance. In the RA and RR districts, the…

Lee County allows temporary political signs up to six square feet on private property without a permit, banning them from the right-of-way, utility poles, public trees, and street…

Window signs facing a public street or public parking area in unincorporated Lee County cannot cover more than 30 percent of a storefront's glass area, or the sign is reclassified as a…

Electronic message board and changeable-copy areas on permitted ground and wall signs in unincorporated Lee County cannot exceed 50 percent of the total sign area, except that…

Outdoor advertising billboards are banned inside Sanford and Broadway but allowed in unincorporated Lee County only in HC, LI, and HI zoning districts, capped at 300 square feet, kept…

Unincorporated Lee County's UDO defines and zones child care by size. A 'home child care' is a child care arrangement inside a residence serving more than two but fewer than nine…

Lee County's Unified Development Ordinance § 5.16 lets residents run a home occupation as an accessory use inside a dwelling unit in unincorporated Lee County, provided the business…

Lee County caps home occupation client traffic at six visits a day under UDO Table 5.16-2, with visiting hours limited to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and only one visit per client per day…

In unincorporated Lee County, a home occupation may put up only one ground sign or one wall sign, and a ground sign is allowed only in the RA zoning district; every other residential…

Unincorporated Lee County requires child care facilities to meet both state licensing and local building standards under UDO section 5.10.3. Operators must show the community…

Unincorporated Lee County enforces construction standards through the North Carolina State Building Code, adopted wholesale by County Code Sec. 6-52. Any building or structure that is…

Unincorporated Lee County has no home-grown plumbing code: Sec. 6-53 adopts the current N.C. Building Code Plumbing Code by reference. Section 6-58(b) then requires that any building…

Anyone building, altering, or changing the use of a structure in unincorporated Lee County must first obtain a zoning clearance permit from the Department of Community Development…

Unincorporated Lee County adopts the National Electrical Code by reference as its electrical code under Sec. 6-55, exactly as the N.C. Building Code Council publishes it. Section…

Sec. 18-36 of the Lee County Code lets the parks and recreation director post daily operating hours for every county park and close any park, or part of one, at any time for safety…

Anyone planning an organized demonstration, gathering, performance, speech or youth campout in a Lee County park needs an advance permit under Sec. 18-35(h), and all payments…

Unincorporated Lee County's Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Ordinance creates a voluntary agricultural district (VAD) program under Sec. 3-4 aimed squarely at…

Lee County's enhanced voluntary agricultural district (EVAD) lets a farm sell up to 25 percent of its gross sales as nonfarm products while still counting as a bona fide farm exempt…

Under the Minimum Housing Code's property-maintenance standard, Sec. 6-124(d), every yard and exterior property area on an occupied dwelling in unincorporated Lee County must stay free…

Lee County's Unified Development Ordinance defines xeriscape as landscaping with native plants that works with existing site conditions to conserve water, and Appendix B exempts any…

Lee County bans outdoor loudspeakers and public address systems at every lounge, disco, nightclub, pool hall and private club under UDO § 5.26, and keeps these entertainment…

In unincorporated Lee County, the Unified Development Ordinance requires a zoning clearance permit before anyone can 'construct any structure' under UDO Section 3.2.3.1, but Appendix…

Lee County requires an eight-foot-wide street yard along every public street frontage on nonresidential and multi-family development sites, planted with one large tree or two small…

Lee County requires every required parking area and vehicular surface to be graded for drainage and paved with concrete or bituminous asphalt under UDO § 8.2.6, with narrow exceptions…

Lee County requires every nonresidential building to provide adequate off-street loading and unloading space on the same lot under UDO § 8.6, with maneuvering room sized so delivery…

Unincorporated Lee County caps non-residential lot coverage through an impervious surface ratio, not a simple percentage rule. Table 4.7-1 sets that ratio from 0.7 in Neighborhood…

Unincorporated Lee County sets minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks by zoning district in Table 4.7-1, ranging from 30/15/30 feet in the Residential Agricultural district down…

Unincorporated Lee County caps building height at 40 feet in every single-family district, 60 feet in the Multi-Family (MF-12) and Office & Institutional districts, and sets no listed…

Lee County's governing body designates historic landmarks through its Unified Development Ordinance, and once a landmark or historic district is designated, no exterior alteration or…

Unincorporated Lee County has no ordinance capping how many yard sales a resident may hold, but the code treats any sale activity beyond four days a year at one location as a regulated…