Rutherford County, NC Ordinances (2026)

Unincorporated Rutherford County requires a written building permit from the Building Inspector before anyone builds a shed, garage, workshop, storage building or boathouse, per County…

Unincorporated Rutherford County bars tattoo parlors and body piercing establishments from operating within 2,000 feet of a public school boundary under the county's School Zone…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, no one may install, extend, or generally repair a plumbing system without a written permit from the Department of Inspections, issued under the…

Unincorporated Rutherford County requires a written building permit before construction, alteration, repair, removal, or demolition of any building, with narrow dollar-based exemptions…

Unincorporated Rutherford County requires a written permit from the Department of Inspections before any electrical wiring, devices, appliances, or equipment are installed, extended…

Rutherford County's Department of Inspections requires holders of building permits to call for inspection at set stages, from site to foundation, framing, and a final inspection before…

The building inspector may declare any dilapidated, hazardous, or nuisance building unsafe in unincorporated Rutherford County and order the owner to demolish or repair it within at…

Rutherford County levies a six percent occupancy tax under County Code section 16-12, effective January 1, 2018, up from the 3 percent figure the county's own fee schedule still lists…

Rutherford County's Board of Commissioners delegates authority to permit professional pyrotechnic displays at concerts and public exhibitions to the county manager, while consumer…

Rutherford County does not require every pet to be microchipped, but once the Animal Control Services Director issues a written preventive-measures order for a dog or other animal…

Appendix C of the Rutherford County Code defines an animal as 'at large' when it is off the owner's premises and not under restraint, and defines 'restraint' as being kept on the…

Rutherford County does not license grooming shops separately, but Appendix C's animal cruelty article holds any grooming shop in the unincorporated county to the same indoor facility…

Rutherford County does not require residents to spay or neuter pets they already own, but Appendix C's Adoptions article requires that every dog and cat released from the county animal…

Rutherford County does not ban dog breeds, but Appendix C lets the Animal Control Services Director designate any animal that severely injures someone, repeats potentially-dangerous…

Unincorporated Rutherford County requires every cat four months or older to carry a current rabies vaccination, which counts as current for a cat if given within the preceding twelve…

Development in a special flood hazard area of unincorporated Rutherford County requires a floodplain development permit before work begins, enforced by the floodplain administrator…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, new construction and substantial improvements in a special flood hazard area must reach the regulatory flood protection elevation: the base flood…

In the public water supply watershed portions of unincorporated Rutherford County, the Watershed Protection Ordinance requires a vegetative buffer along perennial streams and…

Anyone subdividing an acre or more of land in unincorporated Rutherford County must show, before preliminary plat approval, that a state-approved erosion and sedimentation control plan…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, Section 907 of the county's Subdivision Regulations (Appendix B) sets the minimum building setback lines for lots in new subdivisions: 20 feet from…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, the Airport Zoning Ordinance in Appendix A caps structure and tree height around Rutherford County Airport. The horizontal zone limits buildings…

Inside the designated public water supply watershed of unincorporated Rutherford County, the Watershed Protection Ordinance caps how much of a lot can be covered. Single-family lots in…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, a dog whose frequent howling, yelping or barking disturbs the neighborhood is legally a 'nuisance' under Appendix C, Article VII, and it is…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, every owner, occupant, tenant or lessee must store garbage in a durable, rust-resistant, rodent-proof, fly-tight container of no more than 35…

Rutherford County's solid waste code classifies used sharps as infectious waste alongside microbiological, pathological and blood-product waste under section 15-18, and the county…

On the Thermal Belt Rail Trail, section 13-39(d) bars motorized vehicles from the corridor but carves out an exception for motorized wheelchairs, electric pedal-assisted bikes meeting…

On the Thermal Belt Rail Trail, Rutherford County's paved multi-use corridor, section 13-37 caps every user's speed at 15 mph, requires a full stop at each street crossing, and…

Unincorporated Rutherford County has no county-run curbside pickup: County Code section 15-24 makes it unlawful to dispose of solid waste except by contracting a licensed hauler…

County Code section 15-29 governs the solid waste/recycling centers Rutherford County maintains around the unincorporated area: waste must go inside the marked containers, nothing may…

County Code section 15-31 forces anyone with an illegal solid waste dump to close it once the health director gives notice: rat baiting for two weeks, then covering the waste with at…

Rutherford County runs no curbside bulk-item pickup for the unincorporated area. Residents must haul bulky waste, defined in section 15-18 as oversized items like appliances, furniture…

Garbage containers in unincorporated Rutherford County must be durable, rust-resistant, water-tight, rodent-proof and fitted with a close-fitting cover, and cannot exceed 35 gallons…

Rutherford County requires a building/electrical permit for any commercial solar farm of six acres or more under the Rutherford County Ordinance for Solar Energy Development, County…

The Thermal Belt Rail Trail, Rutherford County's rail-trail park facility, is open only from dawn until dusk under section 13-36. There is no overnight or after-dark access anywhere…

Rutherford County bans loitering at two public facilities by name: the Thermal Belt Rail Trail under section 13-39(e) and the county sanitary landfill under section 15-28(b)(1). The…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, there is no separate agricultural zoning district; instead the Voluntary Agricultural District ordinance lets landowners enroll qualifying farmland…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, the Voluntary Agricultural District ordinance does not grant farms nuisance immunity; instead it requires the county to post notice that farming…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, the Historic Preservation Commission, created under G.S. 160D-940, can only recommend a Historic District or Landmark designation to the board of…