Oconee County, SC Ordinances (2026)

Oconee County has no curbside bulk pickup: furniture, appliances and other large residential loads go to the Solid Waste Complex-Transfer Station. Loads over 500 pounds cannot be…

Oconee County runs no curbside recycling route; residents bring recyclables to a county recycling and convenience center under Sec. 28-7(e). Materials must be clean, free of food…

Oconee County defines yard waste as vegetative matter from landscaping maintenance and routes it to the county mulching yard, not the landfill, free of charge under Sec. 28-7(d)…

Dumping litter or solid waste outside a designated Oconee County disposal facility, or open-dumping on private land, is strictly prohibited under the county's Litter Control Ordinance…

Every solid waste collector working in unincorporated Oconee County must hold a county collector license and display a department decal on each truck. Vehicles must have a watertight…

Unincorporated Oconee County requires solid waste containers to be watertight and vector-resistant, stored in the side or rear yard except on collection day, and never placed so they…

Horns, sirens and signal devices that produce loud, brash or harassing noise are a declared nuisance in unincorporated Oconee County whether they're mounted on a vehicle or not. A car…

Renting a house, room or cabin to transients in unincorporated Oconee County makes the host liable for the local accommodations tax under Ch. 30, Art. III, because the code's…

Hotels, motels and other transient lodging in unincorporated Oconee County pay a 3 percent local accommodations tax on gross rental proceeds under Sec. 30-82. Inside a municipality the…

Radios, stereos, loudspeakers and amplifiers that substantially interfere with a neighbor's comfortable enjoyment of their property are a declared nuisance under Oconee County's noise…

An animal, including a bird, that makes frequent or long-continued noise such as barking, howling or screeching and disturbs a neighbor's comfort and repose is a declared nuisance in…

Driving a vehicle without an effective muffler, or revving the engine with rapid throttle advancing, is a declared noise nuisance anywhere in unincorporated Oconee County. Unlike most…

Leaf blowers and other lawn and yard maintenance equipment are exempt from Oconee County's noise ordinance between 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m. The exemption also covers tree harvesting or…

Construction machinery, heavy-duty equipment and power tools are exempt from Oconee County's noise ordinance between 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m., but running that same equipment between…

Unincorporated Oconee County sets a hard decibel ceiling under Section 12-39: a measured noise level above 70 dB(A) between 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m., or above 60 dB(A) between 10:00…

Unincorporated Oconee County bars construction machinery and power-tool noise between 10:00 p.m. and 6:59 a.m. under Section 12-34(a)(8), unless the county administrator issues a…

In unincorporated Oconee County, day-use picnic areas are open first-come, first-served unless already reserved. The recreation building and some shelters can only be used by…

Oconee County bars airplanes, ultralight aircraft, balloons, parachutes and drones, including unmanned aircraft systems and remote-controlled model aircraft, from taking off, landing…

Flying a drone, model aircraft or any other unmanned flying aircraft in an Oconee County park or recreation area is banned under Sec. 22-115(8), unless the operator has obtained a…

Oconee County takes on no default duty to build or repair sidewalks in unincorporated rights-of-way. A sidewalk is only allowed in a county or private right-of-way if a financially…

Anyone who wants to excavate, cut in a driveway, or otherwise alter a county-maintained road or right-of-way in unincorporated Oconee County must first get a written encroachment…

Oconee County requires an encroachment permit from the county road department for any sign left in a county road right-of-way for more than seven days, but it carves out signs already…

In the zoned areas of unincorporated Oconee County, window signs need no sign permit at all under Chapter 38, Appendix A. Temporary signs get the same permit exemption but carry hard…

Oconee County bans new billboards countywide except for a short list of carve-outs, and visibility from Interstate 85 is one of them. Sec. 32-519 excepts a billboard erected so its…

Oconee County's sign ordinance bans any new billboard, electronic or static, unless it fits one of four narrow exceptions. Sec. 32-520(a) authorizes only excepted billboards in the…

Anyone who wants to run a sexually oriented business in unincorporated Oconee County must first obtain a permit from the county planning director, and the business cannot sit within…

Oconee County will not issue a tattoo studio a letter of compliance unless the site clears every distance test the planning director checks. Sec. 32-420 bars a tattooing facility…

Setting off fireworks close to a neighbor's home without their consent, or detonating carbide cannons or other explosive devices that disturb the peace, is a noise nuisance under…

Oconee County has no standalone open-burning ordinance in its own words. Instead, Section 6-43 adopts the 2021 International Fire Code with South Carolina modifications by reference…

In the zoned areas of unincorporated Oconee County, Chapter 38, Appendix A(c) requires exterior lighting on any project needing a zoning permit to be shielded and directed so it…

Chapter 38, Appendix A(c)(3) tells developers in the zoned areas of unincorporated Oconee County that lighting shall not illuminate neighboring properties or distract or harm the…

Anyone subdividing land in unincorporated Oconee County must build perpetually maintained drainage systems that remove all stormwater runoff from the site under Sec. 32-216(a). The…

In the special flood hazard areas of unincorporated Oconee County, new or substantially improved buildings must have their lowest floor elevated at least three feet above the base…

Before any construction, fill, or manufactured home placement begins in a mapped special flood hazard area of unincorporated Oconee County, the owner must get a development permit from…

Within 750 feet of Lake Keowee or Lake Jocassee's full pond contour, Oconee County's Lake Overlay District requires an entrenched silt fence before a zoning inspection can happen, with…

Oconee County doesn't set a blanket fence height cap, but in the zoned areas of unincorporated Oconee County, Chapter 38, Appendix A(e)(15) bars any fence, wall, or structure between…

In the zoned areas of unincorporated Oconee County, retaining walls are exempt from the yard setback rules that apply to buildings. Section 38-9.3(2)j lets fences, freestanding walls…

Chapter 40, Article V protects every historical memorial, marker, monument, tombstone, or plaque on publicly owned or controlled land in unincorporated Oconee County. Sec. 40-102…

Oconee County does not require owners to microchip pets in general, but Section 4-6 imposes a mandatory $15.00 microchip implant fee on any impounded animal that was not already…

Oconee County has no cat licensing requirement. Its Animal Control Act (Chapter 4) instead carves out a 'community cat' category: caretaker-fed, ear-tipped, sterilized and vaccinated…

Every owned animal in unincorporated Oconee County must be kept under restraint or confined to the owner's premises. If a dog is tethered instead of fenced, Section 4-4 sets minimum…

Oconee County bans no dog breed. Section 4-2 states an animal 'is not a dangerous animal solely by virtue of its breed or species,' so dangerous-dog status turns entirely on an…

Oconee County does not mandate spay/neuter for pets generally, but Section 4-10 bars the county animal shelter from releasing any dog or cat for adoption unless it is already…

Unincorporated Oconee County permits noncommercial crop, livestock and poultry production by right in nine of its twelve zoning districts, including the Residential District, under the…

Unincorporated Oconee County has adopted the 2021 International Plumbing Code with South Carolina modifications under Section 6-46, and Section 6-82 requires anyone installing…

Unincorporated Oconee County has adopted the 2020 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) with South Carolina modifications under Section 6-48, and Section 6-82 requires anyone installing…

Anyone who wants to build, alter, or repair a building or structure in unincorporated Oconee County, or install regulated electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing systems, must get a…

Once a Sec. 6-82 permit is issued in unincorporated Oconee County, it must stay at the job site and be available to the building official or another Codes Department employee on…

Oconee County treats a day care center as a commercial use governed by zoning: Section 38-12.2 defines it, Section 38-10.16's use matrix decides which of the twelve zoning districts…

Oconee County's code defines 'aggressive manner' solicitation, touching, blocking someone's path, threatening gestures or profanity, and flatly bans it on any public right-of-way…

Possessing or drinking any alcoholic beverage is banned in Oconee County parks and recreation areas, including Hartwell Lake Recreation Areas, under Sec. 22-115(9), unless the county…

A shed or detached accessory structure placed in a mapped special flood hazard area of unincorporated Oconee County must meet size-based flood standards: over 400 square feet, it's…

In unincorporated Oconee County, no one may solicit door-to-door or on public property between sunset and sunrise, and any property posted 'No Trespassing,' 'No Peddlers,' or 'No…

Unincorporated Oconee County outlaws camping on any street, sidewalk, park, or playground, or leaving a vehicle parked there to the detriment of public travel, under Sec. 20-53(b)(2)…

In unincorporated Oconee County, standing, lying or sitting on a public sidewalk, street or alley in a way that blocks pedestrian or public travel becomes a violation the moment a law…

Every Oconee County park and recreation area is closed to the public between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. daily, including Sunday, under Sec. 22-115(16)a of the county code, with narrow…

Oconee County ties a home-based business's allowed traffic directly to its parking. Sec. 38-5.7 requires a home occupation in nine zoning districts, from Traditional Rural to Highway…

Running a business from home in unincorporated Oconee County means staying inside a strict definition. Sec. 38-12.2 caps a home occupation at 25 percent of the dwelling's floor area…

Unincorporated Oconee County lets a resident run an in-home, duly licensed day care as a home occupation. Section 38-12.2 folds licensed home daycare into the home occupation…

In the zoned areas of unincorporated Oconee County, every lot's front, side, and rear setback is measured inward from the property line, or from the road right-of-way where it extends…

In the zoned areas of unincorporated Oconee County, most structures are capped by district dimensional tables at 65 feet, but Section 38-9.4(a) sets the countywide backstop: anything…

Oconee County enforces substandard and dangerous structures in the unincorporated area through the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted by reference at Sec. 6-51 of…

Oconee County regulates weeds and plant growth on property in the unincorporated county through the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted at Sec. 6-51. The county's own…

Unincorporated Oconee County requires residential pools and spas to meet the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, adopted by reference at Sec. 6-52. The code, not a…

Before building a residential pool or spa in unincorporated Oconee County, the owner or contractor must apply to the building official and get a permit under Sec. 6-82, because the…

Unincorporated Oconee County protects farmland through its Agriculture District (AD), a zoning classification created under Section 38-10.6 to keep rural land in agricultural use while…

In the Fair Play Village sub-district of Oconee County's I-85 Overlay, Section 38-11.2(2)C gives property owners 30 days after certified-mail notice from the zoning administrator to…